The interest of foreign investors in Brazil has grown more than the global average in recent years. In total, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in new productive projects in the country increased by 67% from 2022 to May 2025 compared to the period from 2015 to 2019. Globally, the number was 24%.
This level of growth occurs despite political fragmentation and increased tariff barriers. While developed economies announced more contributions to each other — especially the United States —, flows to China decreased. The Asian country, in turn, consolidated its role as investor, increasing advertisements for Europe, Latin America and the Middle East.
“A relevant change is observed in the geography of these investments: they are being directed to greater geographic distances, but to smaller geopolitical distances”
Emerging countries, on the other hand, have attracted investment promises from across the geopolitical spectrum. When observing the main multinationals from emerging economies, the tendency was to maintain the geopolitical reach of their advertisements more constant. In Brazil, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, around 65% of companies maintained a geopolitical distance from FDI announcements — in contrast to around 35% in the United States, Japan, South Korea and China.
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“Brazil is a historically neutral country from a geopolitical point of view and, in a scenario like the current one, this is an important asset that we have. The trend is towards diversification in the origin of investments, with new flows coming from Asia and the Middle East, in addition to traditional European partners”, says senior partner at McKinsey, Nelson Ferreira. He also adds that Brazilian companies have the potential to expand their production capacity to growing markets, such as India, Central America and Southeast Asia, “being closer to end consumers and gaining prominence in an increasingly decentralized world”.
The annual FDI destined for Brazil between 2022 and data recorded until May 2025, shows McKinsey, was US$37 billion. Europe contributed approximately 50% of the FDI announced in Brazil, followed by the United States, with around 15%.
On the contrary, annual FDI flows announced by Brazilian companies decreased by 19%, falling from US$2.9 billion in the period from 2015 to 2019 to US$3.2 billion from 2022 to May 2025.
The consultancy data only considers investments called greenfield: new productive projects with gross capital formation. It does not consider the total flow, which would also include mergers, acquisitions and reinvestment of profits.
There is even a global pattern of mega-businesses in foreign direct investments with larger bets from multinationals. According to the study, mega-businesses worth more than US$1 billion represent just 1% of businesses across national borders, but add up to half of the total value, up from a third five years ago.
Sectors
Among the sectors that attract the most foreign direct investment, energy leads, with 46% of FDI announced in Brazil since 2022. Growth in this segment, the study points out, is driven by contracts worth more than US$1 billion, including projects for a plant in Ceará and an oil and gas project in the Campos Basin.
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For Ferreira, the combination of natural advantages and institutional stability in a “global scenario of fragmentation”. “With abundant renewable energy and a strong agricultural base, the country has become a priority destination for projects in agriculture, energy and commodities. We also have other important assets, such as greater geopolitical neutrality, a large domestic market and labor.”
A next leap in the ability to attract direct investment in Brazil depends on more stable macroeconomic conditions and a new cycle of industrial investment, says Ferreira. He explains that high interest rates and capital costs still limit projects in advanced manufacturing and there is a process of deterioration in industrial competitiveness.
“To gain competitiveness in strategic industries, the country needs a new cycle of investment and modernization leveraging new technologies such as digitalization, automation and AI”, says the senior partner at McKinsey.
