By Carlos Lopez 
 

A total of 65% of Spanish companies want to increase their investments in Latin America in 2020, down from 74% in 2019, according to the Spanish Investment in Latin America report.

This decline is driven by the pessimism regarding the economy in that region and global uncertainty due to trade conflicts, the coronavirus and Brexit, the report said.

The percentage of companies that want to increase investment in the region rose to 72% for small and medium enterprises, according to the report.

Only 20% of Spanish companies expect the economy in Latin America to evolve positively in 2020, falling from 45% last year. On the other hand, 67% of the companies surveyed expect a negative economic context in the region.

Among the factors contributing to the pessimism, the report highlights violent protests in Chile, the "stagnation" of Manuel Lopez Obrador's government in Mexico and problems with the pension reform in Brazil.

The share of firms expecting to increase their revenues in Latin America in the next three years also declined to 74% in 2020 from 76% in 2019, the report said.

The countries where a better economic outlook is expected are Colombia, Peru and Panama, according to the Spanish companies surveyed. On the other hand, Venezuela is the country that investors like the least, the report showed.

Mexico is the country in Latin America where more Spanish companies expect to increase their investments in 2020, followed by Colombia, Peru and Brazil, the report said.

Two thirds of the companies surveyed don't expect a favorable global economic context in 2020, an increase compared with the previous five years.

The International Monetary Fund forecast 1.5% gross domestic product growth in Latin America in 2020.

The Spanish Investment in Latin America report was produced by IE Business School in collaboration with airline Iberia and consulting firm Llorente y Cuenca.

Write to Carlos Lopez Perez at carlos.perea@dowjones.com and Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2020 11:50 ET (16:50 GMT)