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58<br />
3.1 European foreign investment in Latin America and<br />
geo-strategical trade competition<br />
Among the 15 largest non-Latin American multinational corporations which<br />
operated in Latin America in 2001, there were 5 transnationals from the European<br />
Union – four of them were among the 5 largest: 1. Telefónica (Spain), 2. Coca Cola<br />
(USA), 3. VW (Germany), 4. Daimler-Chrysler (Germany), 5. Endesa (Spain).<br />
If transnational corporations are classified according to their country of origin,<br />
where their headquarters are located, then Germany is positioned third, Spain second<br />
and the USA first in the foreign investment ranking for Latin America:<br />
“Considering re-investment and investment via third countries Germany ranks<br />
third in the list of Latin America’s investment partners with an investment stock<br />
of 42 billion US-dollars preceded by Spain and the USA [...] more than 85%<br />
of German investment in Latin America concentrates on the manufacturing<br />
industry [...] and the volume of production of German subsidiary companies<br />
in Latin America amounted to approximately 65.3 billion US-dollars and [exceeded]<br />
total German exports to the region (approx. 16 billion) by more than<br />
four times.” 122<br />
According to numbers from the “Lateinamerika-Konferenz der deutschen<br />
Wirtschaft” (Latin American Conference of the German Economy) more than 10,000<br />
German companies maintain economic relations with Latin America. Around 2,800<br />
German companies have representations, branches or production sites in Latin<br />
America. 123 Mr. Rösler from the Ibero-Amerika-Verein, which is an institution close to<br />
the German employers’ umbrella organization BDI, concludes in his annual report:<br />
122 Own translation of the following original text: “Unter Berücksichtigung der Reinvestitionen und der Investitionen über<br />
Drittländer nimmt Deutschland mit einem Investitionsbestand von US$ 42 Mrd. nach den USA und Spanien den<br />
3. Platz in der Rangliste der Investitionspartner Lateinamerikas ein [...,ü]ber 85 % der deutschen Lateinamerika-<br />
Investitionen sind in der verarbeitenden Industrie konzentriert [...] und das Produktionsvolumen der deutschen<br />
Tochterunternehmen in Lateinamerika [überstieg] im Jahr 2001 mit ca. 65,3 Mrd den gesamten deutschen<br />
Export in die Region (ca. 16 Mrd) um mehr als das vierfache”. Taken from: Rösler, Peter: Auslandsinvestitionen in<br />
Lateinamerika, Ibero-Amerika Verein, July 30, 2003. For the difference between reinvestment and investment flows,<br />
see: Rösler, Peter: Auslandsinvestitionen in Lateinamerika, Ibero-Amerika-Verein, July 30, 2003: “Reinvestitionen<br />
stehen an erster Stelle: Beim Ausbau des deutschen Engagements in Lateinamerika spielt der Zufluß neuer<br />
Mittel aus Deutschland schon seit längerer Zeit nicht mehr die Hauptrolle. Viele Lateinamerika-Töchter deutscher<br />
Unternehmen finanzieren die als notwendig erachteten Ersatz- oder Neuinvestitionen weitgehend aus dem eigenen<br />
Cash-flow. In Brasilien und Mexiko ist deshalb inzwischen der Gesamtwert der Reinvestitionen höher, als der<br />
kumulierte Direktinvestitionszufluß aus Deutschland. Allerdings werden in den offiziellen lateinamerikanischen<br />
Statistiken die umfangreichen deutschen Reinvestitionen kaum berücksichtigt.” Own translation: “Reinvestment is<br />
in first place: Regarding the extension of German engagement in Latin America, the inflow of new funds has ceased<br />
to play a major role a long time ago. Many Latin American subsidiaries of German companies finance the new or<br />
replacement investment regarded as necessary through their own cash-flow. In Brasil and Mexico therefore in the<br />
meantime the total value of reinvestment is higher than the accumulated inflow of direct investment from Germany.<br />
In the official Latin American statistics, however, the broad German reinvestment is scarcely considered.”<br />
123 http://www.localglobal.de/lak/vortraege/Forum_Kaup.pdf.