Emerging multinationals from China and Latin America: a comparative analysis

Latin American countries were pioneers in developing economies’ outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) activities. Since late 1960s and early 1970s, Latin American countries, mainly Argentina and Brazil, led the first wave of OFDI from developing economies. Though they lost ground during the 1980s debt crisis, Latin American OFDI has been catching up since late 1990s. In contrast, China’s participation in OFDI started much later, mainly after the year 2000, but accelerated quickly after 2008. Even though China and Latin American countries are the main investors from emerging markets, they have many differences in their OFDI characteristics, capabilities, and development paths. This paper analyzes and compares Chinese and Latin American OFDI, distinguishing their different internationalization phases. It also looks at industrial and firm level characteristics, analyzing China’s Minmetals and Brazil’s Vale.

*****This piece originally appeared as Lourdes Casanova et al., "Emerging Multinationals from China and Latin America: A Comparative Analysis,” Transnational Corporations Review (2018).