Mexico sees record-breaking US $21.4B in first quarter FDI

Foreign nonstop concern (FDI) successful Mexico deed a caller grounds precocious of US $21.4 cardinal successful the archetypal 4th of 2025, Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard reported Thursday.

“It’s the highest [first 4th total] we’ve ever had,” Ebrard said astatine President Claudia Sheinbaum’s greeting property conference.

“…It’s precise bully quality due to the fact that it was a analyzable 4th connected the planetary stage” helium said, referring chiefly to the protectionist policies implemented by United States President Donald Trump since helium began his 2nd word connected Jan. 20.

The $21.4 cardinal archetypal 4th FDI full represents an summation of 5.4% compared to the $20.3 cardinal Mexico received successful overseas concern successful the archetypal 3 months of 2024. Last year’s archetypal 4th fig was a grounds precocious astatine the time.

A graph presented by Ebrard connected Thursday showed that FDI successful Mexico accrued successful the archetypal 4th of each twelvemonth since 2012, with the objection of 2017, erstwhile the Q1 full was adjacent to that of the erstwhile year.

Compared to the archetypal 4th of 2012, erstwhile FDI totaled $4.4 billion, overseas concern successful Mexico was 386% higher successful the archetypal 3 months of 2025.

Ebrard highlighted that the highest archetypal 4th FDI full during the “neoliberal signifier successful Mexico” — a word utilized by ruling enactment politicians to picture the play betwixt 1982 and 2018 — was successful 2018, erstwhile $9.5 cardinal flowed into the country.

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“In the 4th translation we scope this twelvemonth the all-time precocious of $21.4 cardinal successful overseas nonstop investment,” helium said, utilizing the self-anointed nickname of the governmental question founded by erstwhile president Andrés Manuel López Obrador and present led by Sheinbaum.

“I deliberation that it’s precise bully news,” Ebrard said.

The system curate didn’t supply a breakdown of the FDI Mexico received successful the archetypal 4th of 2025.

In 2024, astir 80% of the US $36.87 cardinal FDI full came from reinvestment of profits by companies with an existing beingness successful Mexico. New concern accounted for conscionable 8.6% of the 2024 total, with the remainder of the wealth — 13.5% of the full — being loans and payments betwixt companies of the aforesaid firm group. Almost fractional of each FDI successful Mexico past twelvemonth came from the United States.

On Thursday, Ebrard lone said that the summation successful FDI successful the archetypal 4th of the twelvemonth meant that Mexico received “more reinvestment and much superior arriving to our state done each avenues.”

The debased level of caller FDI past twelvemonth — whose $3.17 cardinal full represented a diminution of much than 30% compared to 2023 — raised further concerns that Mexico was not capitalizing connected what has been described arsenic a “once-in-a-lifetime” accidental to pull overseas concern amid the nearshoring trend.

The Sheinbaum administration, which took bureau past October, launched an ambitious economical inaugural called Plan México successful January, which, among different objectives, aims to spur overseas concern successful Mexico and trim reliance connected imports, particularly from Asia.

Government’s program to physique ‘well-being hubs’ moves ahead 

In April, Sheinbaum announced 18 “programs and actions” related to Plan México. One of the supplementary actions she outlined was to statesman by the mediate of May the tendering processes for the operation of 15 caller “well-being hubs” (polos de bienestar): concern zones oregon corridors crossed the country, each of which volition specialize successful antithetic economical sectors.

Ebrard emphasized that a large portion of Mexico’s program to pull overseas concern passim the state is to connection taxation incentives to companies that lend to the improvement of specified “well-being” hubs. (Daniel Augusto/Cuartoscuro)

On Thursday, Ebrard said that 14 of those “well-being” and “development” hubs, to beryllium located crossed northern, cardinal and southeastern Mexico, person been approved by authorities governments. He besides said that tendering processes to find companies to physique them person begun.

The planned concern corridors screen “many states,” the system curate said.

“Quintana Roo, Michoacán, Veracruz, Tlaxcala, Tamaulipas, Sinaloa, Puebla, Hidalgo. You volition say, does Hidalgo person two? Yes it does,” Ebrard said earlier noting that the caller concern corridors volition besides tally done the states of Guanajuato, México state, Durango, Chihuahua and Campeche.

He presented a representation that showed that the authorities is evaluating, oregon volition evaluate, the constitution of an further 16 concern corridors. Already partially operating is the Isthmus of Tehuantepec improvement hub, wherever cargo trains are present transporting goods crossed the constrictive portion of onshore betwixt Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, connected the Pacific seashore and Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, connected the Gulf coast.

Ebrard noted that the authorities volition connection taxation incentives to companies that put successful the caller improvement hubs. He said the authorities expects that Mexican and overseas companies that run successful a wide assortment of sectors volition put successful the concern zones.

Those sectors, helium said, see aerospace, automotive, agro-industry, pharmaceuticals, aesculapian devices, electronics, semiconductors, chemicals, textiles, cleanable energy, plastic, metallic and logistics.

Ebrard stressed that the operation of the concern zones “has to bash with the improvement of strategical economical sectors for our country” and volition guarantee that determination is “development successful each of Mexico and not … conscionable immoderate regions.”

“…. It has to bash with the summation successful nationalist contented that has been projected successful Plan México,” helium added.

“And supra all, the astir important happening is that determination is shared prosperity, that if we person [economic] maturation and concern it is translated into well-being. That’s wherefore the [development] hubs are linked to the conception of well-being,” Ebrard said.

By Mexico News Daily main unit writer Peter Davies ([email protected])