BUSINESS SECTION

Mexico's Foreign Direct Investment Falls

Mexico's Foreign Direct Investment Falls During First Half of 2005

MEXICO CITY (AP) - August 19, 2005 - Foreign direct investment in Mexico was US$7.46 billion (euro6.13 billion) in the first half of this year, the Economy Department said Friday.

The amount was below the US$10.29 billion (euro12.73 billion) reported in the like 2004 period, when the equity buyouts of local bank BBVA-Bancomer and cement company Holcim Apasco by their parent companies boosted investment.

By excluding those inflows from the comparison, FDI was 8.3 percent higher than in the first six months of 2004, the Economy Ministry said in a statement.

Of the US$7.46 billion in first-half FDI, US$2.12 billion (euro1.74 billion) was in new investment, $2.4 billion (euro1.97) was reinvested profits, US$1.54 billion (euro1.27 billion) was transfers among companies and US$1.39 billion (euro1.14 billion) was imports of fixed assets by assembly-for-export plants, or maquiladoras.

The top sources of investment were the United States, Spain, the Netherlands and Canada.

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