Walmart OKs $1.3 Billion Worth Mexican Investment

By klaireaustria

Dec 09, 2016 10:24 AM EST

On the news is the Walmart's Mexico unit will invest $1.3 billion over the next three years, company officials announced Wednesday at an event with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Walmart de Mexico y Central America (Walmex), Guilherme Loureiro, said that the money will go toward bolstering the company's logistics infrastructure, building new distribution centers and expanding existing ones.

There are about more than 10,000 new permanent direct jobs will be created as a result, he said.

"We are convinced that Mexico is a country rich in opportunities," said Guilherme Loureiro, noting that Walmart has invested $2.6 billion in Mexico over the last four years.

The executive, Guilherme Loureiro recalled that Walmart welcomes 4 million shoppers daily at its Mexican stores, has 28,000 suppliers and employs more than 200,000 people.

Walmex is the second largest company in the Mexican Stock Exchange, with nearly $24 billion in revenue reported in 2015, El Universal newspaper reported. It has presence in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Guilherme Loureiro stressed that the new investment "was generated by profits obtained in Mexico," appearing to quell any doubts about any transfer of jobs or investment from the United States.

Peña Nieto, on the other hand has hailed the announcement, saying it shows the confidence the country's largest private-sector employer has in the country.

"Mexico is one of the few economies in the hemisphere that is growing," Peña Nieto  said during the announcement of the investment plan.

"[Mexico] has become the main economic engine of America." Peña Nieto furthered.

Peña Nieto likewise said that from the time he took office in December 2012 until September of this year, Mexico received $127 billion in foreign direct investment, up 50 percent from the first 46 months of the previous administration.

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