Canada’s Ambassador in Mexico Pierre Alarie said that there is a wide variety of Canadian companies who are interested in investing in Mexico for the first time or in expanding operations.
He said that Mexico’s appeal has increased in the aerospace, automotive, energy and especially mining sectors.
In a press conference held after his participation in the 2016 CanCham (Canada Chamber of Commerce) Day, Alarie said that Mexico is a great partner for investments. Currently 70 percent of the direct foreign investment in mining come from Canada, despite the fall in the price of minerals.
He said that obtaining capital the this sector is not easy, as the negotiations with communities near mines and their regulations needs to be improved.
When speaking about the $800 million investment in a gold mine in Cocula, Guerrero, he acknowledged that the security problem in Mexico, particularly in “sensitive areas,” constitutes a worry for entrepreneurs.
Alarie said that there are firms which have reported spending up to 2 percent of their income on this issue.
The arrival of Canadian money to Mexico keeps an average growth of 8 to 10 percent, as each year approximately $500 million are invested, he said.
In this sense, Alarie along with Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, called for the protection of the benefits brought by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has multiplied the commercial exchange between Mexico and Canada by eight.
