It only increased by 13%, while other countries registered increases between 20% and 50%
Photograph of June 16, 2021, taken from a drone, showing the northern area of the city of Quito (Ecuador). EFE/Jose Jacome
During the last year, the country risk inEcuador has remained between 700 and 800 points. Although it is considered high, the Ecuadorian country risk is the one that has had the least increase in the region since May 2021. The Scope report for Argentina showed the results of other countries such as Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Panama, Uruguay, Venezuela and Brazil.
Country risk measures the total risk related to investments and financing in one country in contrast to another. In a nutshell, it measures the possibilities of paying a country’s foreign debt.
The behavior of Ecuador’s country risk has been novel. In the 2021 presidential elections, during the campaign, this indicator was above 1,100 points. However, when Guillermo Lasso’s victory was announced, the index decreased considerably and dropped to 824 points.
In the case of Ecuador< /b>, country risk increased by 13% from May 24, 2021, when President Guillermo Lasso took office, until May 24, 2022, according to Ámbito, which monitors the country risk of several Latin American nations and the world.
There are countries in the region whose country risk increased considerably. For example, in the case of Colombia and Brazil this indicator rose by 50% in one year. In contrast, the country risk of Peru, Argentina and Panama rose above 20 %. The increase in the country risk score in the region is the result of political decisions or conflicts that take place in the region.
Another quarterly survey, the one prepared by Euromoney that evaluated 174 nations , highlights that 101 countries suffered the effects of inflation, the war in Ukraine and other domestic and international conflicts. Only 61 countries improved on this indicator. The case of Ecuador stands out at the regional level.
According to Euromoney, Ecuador is in the “medium risk” classification and is one of the 61 countries that show a significant recovery. According to projections, in the next five years, Ecuador could climb 40 places in the world ranking. The Andean country is a few places below Bulgaria, Hungary and Kazakhstan.
According to these analyses, Ecuador would appear as a country with fewer risks to grant project financing, to acquire goods or to invest capital.
This positive perception is reflected in the amounts of foreign investment raised by the government of Guillermo Lasso, who in his accountability for his first year as president, said that the country has obtained USD 5,000 million in investments.
The president also assured that his administration has cleaned up public finances by reducing the fiscal deficit: “by a little more than USD 5,000 million between 2020 and 2022. Upon assuming our mandate, growth projections did not exceed 2.8%. But we soon changed the trend and the final result was 4.2%”.
Regarding the investment portfolio, which Lasso promotes on every official trip, the president said that: “Today our investment portfolio has expanded to USD 39,000 million, which only reaffirms that Ecuador is a country of opportunities. In the area of infrastructure alone, we have identified investments for more than USD 5,200 million.”
Foreign investment and trade agreements are one of the main axes of the Lasso administration. According to the president, he hopes that by the end of his term, in 2025, the country will have signed at least ten trade agreements with different countries and trade groups from Asia, Europe and America. Among the most important is the treaty with Mexico, which will allow the country to be part of the Pacific Alliance.