15:31 | Lima, Nov. 22 (ANDINA).
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Peru has nearly doubled over the past two years, jumping from US$ 8.2 billion in 2011 to US$ 16 billion in 2013, according to Peruvian Economy and Finance Minister Luis Miguel Castilla.
During a Q&A session with members of the Peruvian Congress on Thursday, Minister Castilla said that both public and private investments totaled US$ 60 billion as of November 15 this year, up 50 percent from the US$ 40 billion two years ago.
He recalled that world economic growth between 2006 and 2011, before the onset of the global economic crisis, was averaging 5 percent but in the past two years it declined to below 3%.
Meanwhile, Latin America slowed from a growth rate of about 5 percent to around 2.5 percent in the same periods, he added.
The minister noted that despite a slowdown in the economy, Peru's GDP growth rate has more than doubled that of the average Latin American country.
Regarding the government's investment budget, Castilla said that it has increased from 3.15 billion soles in 2006 to 10.5 billion this year.
(END) WR/CCR/DLG/EEP
Published: 11/22/2013