Brazil is behind only three other nations: China, the USA, and India. It has overtaken Russia when large corporations make their choices.

G1, in São Paulo

A report from UNCTAD, a branch of the United Nations which analyzes trade and development, has shown that Brazil will be the fourth choice for foreign direct investment by large companies from 2009 to 2011, according to information released on Wednesday July 22nd.

Brazil comes after China, the USA and India on the list, but ahead of Russia. Although the top five main countries attracting investment remain unchanged since the last edition of the report, Brazil has gone up a place in the ranking, from fifth to fourth, having overtaken Russia. The USA moved up into second place, ahead of India.

BRIC and Latin America
According to UNCTAD data, BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) remain investment priorities because of the "considerable growth of their markets, access to cheap labor, and, in some cases, natural resources".

Overall, says the report, these nations have been attracting most investment. In 2008 investment in Brazil rose by 30.3%, totaling US$ 45.1 billion. Foreign direct investment in India rose that year by 85.1%, to US$ 46.5 billion.

After the Near East, Latin America is the second most-sought-after region by large international companies, "despite its limited outlook for GDP growth", says the report. Amongst the 30 countries that are most attractive to foreign investment from 2009 to 2011, four are from Latin o America: Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Peru.

Effects of the crisis
According to the UNCTAD study, large multinational companies have been hit hard by the economic crisis. Last year, 40% of companies said they had been affected by the crisis. This year, 85% of companies complained about the economic slowdown.

The unstable business environment resulted in 58% of companies saying they have been forced to cut international direct investment in 2009. Large companies expect recovery to begin in 2010, picking up as of 2011.