Operating in Chile since 1969, Japanese trading giant Mitsui remains one of the country’s largest and most important foreign investors, with businesses ranging from energy and mineral resources to foods, chemicals and infrastructure.
As if this year, Mitsui Chile invested nearly $4 billion in further diversifying its activities in the country, most recently assisting in strengthening the agriculture and fertilizer industries. But Mitsui has not forgotten its history as a trading company.
“This country is always keeping its eye on trade when it comes to policy. It has 25 FTAs with more than 40 countries. The situation here is stable compared to other South American countries,” said Mitsui Chile President Yoshinori Takase.
“We have a lot of networks. It’s not just necessarily with Japanese companies. The best solution for us is diversification, as it is tailor-made in our line of business. We have to design the best opportunities for the best parties,” Takase added.
According to the company chief, Chile is in the top ten markets given priority attention by Mitsui’s headquarters in Tokyo.
Located in a country known for its wealth in mineral resources, Mitsui has set up a fund with venture capital firm Aurus to research copper consumption and finance innovation within the copper industry.
In the field of energy, Mitsui this year signed up to a power generation project with the national oil company ENAP to develop a 1200-megawatt power plant for residential consumers in the next two years.
