While São Paulo continues to attract the largest volumes of financial services foreign direct investment (FDI) in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region’s latest aggregate figure has plummeted from a year earlier. More than $285m reached São Paulo in the 12 months until the end of August 2015, compared with $1.97bn in the previous ranking, according to estimates by database fDi Intelligence.
Concerns over Brazil’s economy, corruption scandals and political uncertainty have dented the appeal of its main financial centre, as well as the general business environment. The only two investors in São Paulo were Visa International and Irish re-insurer XL Group.
