China's Ministry of Commerce said the country's investors poured a total of US$80 billion in Latin America last year and that figure is expected to increase this year as more Chinese firms are lured into the region.

The Ministry of Commerce said Chinese investors have expressed renewed interest in investing in South America due to the new industrial policy in Brazil, the energy reform in Mexico, and the special economic zones set up in Cuba.

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Latin America now accounts for 13 per cent of the total Chinese direct investments abroad, the Ministry said. Over the next five years, Chinese companies are expected to invest US$500 billion overseas and a huge part of the amount could go into Latin America.

Investments into the region from China are set to rise this year and Chinese firms wrap up infrastructure deals and agreements this year.

Recently, international freight forwarder and logistics management firm China Logistics Group Inc. said it will further expand its shipping volumes for its South American route out of Shanghai this year, in order to better serve the growing demand for such service.

Chairman and CEO Danny Chen said the company is expected to expand its shipping volumes as trade between China and Latin America has been increasing over the past five years due in large part to strong economic growth in countries like Brazil and Argentina.

The company recently established new agent relationships with two South America-based companies, CMA CGM and Evergreen International Corp.

Chen estimated freight volume from these two new relationships will be approximately 5,000 twenty foot equivalent units.

Another Chinese firm, the Chinalco Mining Corp, started its operations at its Toromocho open-pit copper project in Peru.

The Toromocho copper mine is the first of its kind in Latin America to be fully set up by a Chinese firm from scratch, with preliminary expenses reaching US$3.5b billion.

Chinalco announced plans of spending US$1.3 billion more on expansion, expecting to produce a million tons of copper concentrate annually.