Foreign investment in LatAm hits five-year low: study

Foreign investment in Latin America hit a five-year low in 2015 as economies in the mineral-rich region slowed down, a UN body said on Wednesday.

Foreign direct investment in the region fell by nine percent to $179 billion, said the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

It said that was the lowest level since 2010.

"This outcome is due to lower investment in sectors linked to natural resources, mainly mining and hydrocarbons, and to the deceleration of economic growth, above all in Brazil," the commission said in a statement.

Mining countries such as Chile and Peru were hit while Mexico actually saw its investments increase thanks to its auto and telecom industries.

Brazil is in its worst recession in decades. Its economy contracted by 3.8 percent last year.

The Chile-based commission forecast that the level of investment in the region would plunge by a further eight percent this year.

The region's economy as a whole is expected to continue its contraction this year, shrinking by 0.6 percent, according to the forecast.