Mexico received $4.8 billion in foreign direct investment during the first three months of the year, up 10.5 percent from the same period of 2010, the economy ministry said on Monday. Mexico's finance minister said last month FDI in Mexico should rise this year to about $20 billion. That would be an increase of around 13 percent from the amount of money foreign companies sank into their Mexican business projects in 2010.
Mexico's FDI took a big hit during the 2008-2009 recession, and even the ministry's forecast would leave it well below 2007 or 2008 levels. Mexico has been Latin America's laggard in the recovery from the global economic crisis, with gross domestic product only surpassing pre-recession levels at the end of last year. The economy is expected to grow at least 4 percent this year.