Ecuador doubled foreign investment in six months, although it slowed in the second quarter

Ecuador closed the first half of 2026 with USD 715.5 million in foreign direct investment (FDI). EFE/Elvis González Ecuador closed the first half of 2026 with USD 715.5 million in foreign direct investment (FDI), more than double the amount recorded during the first six months of the previous year. The increase was accompanied by a change in the sectors that received the largest flows: commerce, manufacturing, and business services concentrated a large share of the resources, while investment directed at mines and quarries declined. Updated figures from the Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE) show year-on-year growth of 101.3%, from approximately USD 355 million between January and June 2025. The result makes 2026 the second-highest first half for FDI in the last decade, after 2022, when USD 814.6 million was recorded. The increase, however, did not maintain the same intensity throughout the six months. Of the USD 715.5 million accumulated, approximately USD 477.6 million corresponded to the first quarter and USD 237.9 million to the second. This means that between April and June, investment was roughly half of what was recorded between January and March. Even so, the year-on-year comparison for the second quarter shows an expansion. The USD 237.9 million recorded between April and June represented an increase of 107.5% compared to the USD 114.7 million registered during the same period of 2025. The data published at the close of the half-year also modified the result initially reported for the first three months of the year. In July, the BCE had placed first-quarter FDI at USD 431.5 million. The statistical update subsequently raised that figure by around USD 46 million, to USD 477.6 million. Commerce became the main recipient of foreign investment during the half-year, with USD 161.6 million. Very close behind was manufacturing, with USD 155.7 million, followed by services provided to businesses, with USD 152.9 million. Agriculture, forestry, hunting, and fishing received another USD 126.4 million. These four activities concentrated more than 83% of the foreign investment recorded in Ecuador between January and June. Manufacturing showed one of the most pronounced changes. In the first half of 2025 it had received USD 38.7 million, so the amount recorded a year later was approximately four times higher. Commerce also increased considerably compared to the USD 48.2 million of the previous year, while investment in agriculture grew 73.6%. Mining followed a different trajectory. Mines and quarries received around USD 69.4 million during the half-year, 43.5% less than a year earlier, when that activity ranked first among the destinations of foreign investment. Photograph showing the facilities of the mining company Ecuacorriente, this Thursday, in Tundayme (Ecuador). EFE/José Jácome There were also variations in the origin of the funds. Singapore accumulated approximately USD 155.2 million during the half-year and Peru USD 105.8 million. Together they accounted for more than a third of the FDI recorded in Ecuador. During the second quarter, however, the BCE identified Costa Rica, the United States, and Uruguay among the main countries of origin of the flows. The foreign investment statistic is not entirely equivalent to new money transferred from other countries. The methodology used for the balance of payments incorporates both equity holdings and profits that foreign companies decide to retain and reinvest in Ecuador, as well as financial transactions between related companies. In the second quarter, for example, USD 146.7 million of the USD 237.9 million recorded as FDI corresponded to reinvested profits. That component represented close to 62% of the period's total. The performance of foreign investment coincided with a favorable second quarter for the external accounts. Ecuador obtained a current account surplus of USD 1,425 million, while exports reached USD 10,263.3 million, 7.5% more than a year earlier and the highest quarterly value recorded up to that point. The magnitude of FDI remains smaller compared to other sources of foreign currency. Remittances sent to the country totaled USD 3,898 million during the first half, around 5.4 times the USD 715.5 million recorded as foreign investment.