- Latin America: The Economic Commission for Latin America (Cepal) and the World Bank have published a study on foreign investment in Latin America and the Caribbean countries. Edited by Michael Mortimore and entitled "Inversión extranjera en América Latina y el Caribe", the 223-page study makes the following observations: i) in 1998 and 1999, European investment exceeded American investment in the region for the first time; ii) unlike the Asian continent, which has seen a significant decline in FDI (foreign direct investment) due to the financial crisis, Latin America has managed to maintain its appeal, with USD 76.727 billion in FDI in 1998. This amount accounted for 41% of total investment in developing countries; iii) provisional figures for 1999 show that FDI in Latin America totalled USD 86 billion, with Europe taking the lead in foreign investment over the United States; iv) Europeans' interest in this region is due principally to the dynamism of Spanish investors. Spain's share in privatisations in the region in 1998 and 1999 accounted for 8.7%, second behind the United States (14.8%); v) Latin America's appeal for Spain includes a shared language and similar cultural roots, familiarity with the legal and administrative system, the openness of the Latin American economy to foreigners and the deregulation of services; vi) Brazil heads the list of Latin American countries in terms of volume of FDI, with an estimated USD 31 billion, well ahead of Argentina (21 billion), Mexico (10 billion) and Chile (8.9 billion); vii) Americans invest more heavily in Mexico and the Central American countries while Europeans give precedence to the Mercosur countries and Chile; - Brazil: According to Antonio Correa Lacerda, Vice-President of the Brazilian consulting firm on transnational enterprises and globalisationd (Sobeet), "foreign investors have new confidence and are now taking advantage of low prices for Brazilian companies in the wake of the sharp devaluation of the real". Brazil will therefore remain for 1999, after China, the emerging country with the highest volume of foreign direct investment and the fifth highest in the world. Last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) totalled an unexpected EUR 29.76 billion, a trend that has been continuing since the start of 2000, with nearly EUR 1.39 billion invested in the first two weeks of this year. Investments include the installation of foreign companies (45% of the total), privatisations (35%) and mergers and acquisitions. Among the emerging countries, Brazil now offers the greatest opportunities for the latter type of operation. The most sought-after sectors are energy, chemicals, cars, food and services (telecommunications and finance). The most active investors are the Americans and Spaniards, followed by the Germans, British, Dutch and French.