Chile has been known for its modern, diversified and stable economy. Several recent events have dampened the economy but looking at the past the country is sure to make a comeback. Read this article (about 3 mins read) to find out a little more about Chile and its economy.
On my recent visit to Chile, I was lucky to experience a rather unique culture – both social and business. It took almost a day and a half of travelling across two continents to get to the capital city of Santiago.
On arriving in Santiago, I was pleasantly surprised. The business district is very modern with tall glass façade buildings, high-end malls and swanky restaurants. There are other parts of the city with neoclassical architecture and small side streets with people displaying art and decoration for sale and the occasional street musician. Almost anywhere you go in the city, you will see the grand Andes mountains overlooking you.
The Costanera Center, a high-end business and commercial complex, has one of the highest observatories in South America and offers an amazing 360 degrees view of Santiago and the Andes mountains. A friend suggested that I visit Santa Lucia, a hill in the center of the city. The climb up the hill was not such an uphill task but you do encounter some narrow stairways. At the top is a viewpoint, again offering a breath-taking view of the long Andes mountain range and the city.
The country is famous for its traditional cuisine. I relished the Pastel de Choclo, a traditional corn pudding dish served with olives, onions and meat. Chileans love their sandwiches. Almost every evening Chileans have the El Completo which can contain meat, but certainly has avocados and mayonnaise in it. Chile also has some of the world’s finest wines and is slowly becoming popular for its beer.
Coming to the Chilean Eeconomy…
The World Bank ranks Chile as a high-income economy. In fact, it is one of the most advanced and competitive economies in Latin America. With a GDP of close to USD 300 bn and growing, the country holds promise for businesses. Some of the large sectors of the Chilean economy include mining (copper mining capital of the world), fishing (world’s second largest salmon producer), food (meat, seafood, prunes and other fruits), and forestry among others. Many other sectors that support these key sectors have also been growing strongly, for instance machinery, packaging and transportation. The Chilean Government aims to strengthen domestic capacity, promote exports and attract foreign investment.
Bilateral trade relations with India…
While moving around Santiago, I was happy to see a large number of Bajaj motorcycles, Mahindra SUVs and pickup trucks and Indian made Suzuki and Hyundai cars. Chile’s imports from India stood at about USD 900 million in 2019. Automobiles and components, pharmaceuticals, machinery and textiles were the top exported categories. Exports from Chile to India totalled USD 1.2 billion, mainly in the form of copper ores and concentrates.
Civil protests that began in mid-October due an increase in cost of living and the ongoing pandemic have had a negative impact on economic conditions in Chile. However, it would be prudent to be optimistic, that a once stable economy would only want to prove its resilience once this wave of difficult situations passes.
Chile is truly a global economy (although my Chilean colleague laughed saying that “we are only recently seeing people from other parts of the world coming here and working, and we rarely travel to other parts since we are so far away”). Latitude and longitude aside, Chile offers great opportunities in terms of investment, production, exports and imports.
Would you like to learn more about the potential for your company and products in Chile? Get in touch.
The opinions expressed in this article are mine and do not reflect the views or opinions of Avalon Global Research. Also, Chile would definitely have more to offer, this article is solely based on my personal experiences.
Author: Levin D Souza
Levin is an Associate Director at AGR Knowledge and is primarily responsible for project delivery, client management and business development. He has over 12 years of experience in business research and consulting. At Avalon, his focus industries include transportation & logistics, travel and industrial goods. Outside of work, he loves reading, sports and traveling.