Hogan Lovells launches the Italian-Mexican desk

Leah Dunlop - Partner Hogan Lovells Italy said "This is a fantastic opportunity for both offices. We already act as one integrated team globally, however this initiative highlights our ambitions to develop valuable synergies and to service all the legal needs of companies interested in investing in the Italian and Mexican markets.”

Juan Francisco Torres-Landa – Head of Latin America Practice Group, Partner Hogan Lovells Mexico said “As part of this, we will seek out opportunities to collaborate with all institutions, associations and organizations that are committed to promoting and encouraging the economic and business relations between the two countries. Events and initiatives have also been organized in the coming months that will focus on the importance of trade relations between the two countries and to highlight the opportunities for foreign investors in the key economic sectors of both countries. The exercise ultimately has to do with uniting more opportunities between two continents that have a lot in common.”

Omar Guerrero – Managing Partner Hogan Lovells Mexico said “This is an incredible opportunity to consolidate our global footprint, and in particular the successful connections between our offices in Italy and Mexico in a seamless manner. The goal is to serve our clients in an efficient, quality-oriented and business-minded manner. Today marks a day where we can accomplish more of our local roots and global reach work philosophy.”

Luigi De Chiara - Ambassador of Italy to Mexico, pointed out: “Italy and Mexico are like-minded countries with economic, commercial and investment relations particularly intense. New EU-Mexico Trade Agreement, NAFTA 2, financial incentives and industry parks: there is still a great potential to be exploited. I am sure that the Hogan Lovells’s new Italy-Mexico Desk will be playing a major role, along with institutions of both countries, in guiding companies towards new markets and further enhancing the bilateral economic relations”.

Carlos García de Alba - Ambassador of Mexico to Italy, pointed out: “Mexico and Italy maintain a solid, broad, diversified and deep relationship. Today our countries have gone from mere mutual sympathy to being important partners and strategic allies.”

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General framework of economic and commercial trends

According to the data published by the Mexican Ministry of Economy, during 2019, Italy became the fifth country globally (5th) with the highest flow of FDI to Mexico, generating 4,5 % of all the FDI attracted during this year. The reported data show the huge growth of direct investment made by Italian companies in Mexico, considering that in the year 2000 the total amount of Italian direct investment to Mexico barely reached 45.5 million dollars.

Furthermore, there are Mexican investments in many of the Italian regions. They are equivalent to about two billion euros and generate about two thousand direct jobs. Bilateral trade in 2019 amounted to 7,645 million dollars.

This trend has been confirmed also in the period January-November 2020 when, despite the pandemic’s impact, the Italian-Mexican trade exchange was up to 5,475 million dollars.

We can currently find about 1,800 Italian companies operating in Mexico and around 300 of them also have a production plant, a subsidiary or a commercial office within the country.

These companies are located in almost every State of Mexican Republic, thanks to fiscal incentives and to the presence of modern business parks in several States. Although the highest concentration of Italian company can be found in the central region of Bajío (around 15% of all Italian companies), in the northern region of the country (Nuevo León, Cohauila) as well as around the most populated urban areas (Mexico City, Guadalajara, Toluca, Puebla). The economic sectors in which Italian companies operate most are, among all, manufacturing, automotive, energy (particularly renewable energy), pharmaceutical, textile, food and beverage.

In addition, it has to be emphasized that nowadays Mexico is one of the Italy’s first trading partners from Latin America and it’s also one of the top target markets for the Italian exported goods throughout America.

Among the main Italian products exported to Mexico, we can point all types of industrial machinery and equipment, chemical products, rubber products and plastics. In recent years there has been also a steady growth in demand for Italy’s flagship products such as clothing, footwear, furniture and food products. On the other hand, among the main Mexican products exported to Italy it is worth mentioning electronic, electro-medical and measuring equipment, as well as mineral raw materials.