Sheinbaum Launches New Investment Office to Fast-Track Strategic Projects in Mexico

During her daily press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the publication of a decree, signed on May 4th, which  established the Presidential Office for the Promotion of Investment.

Ximena Escobedo Juárez, Undersecretary of Industry and Commerce at  the Secretariat of Economy, explained that the office is to reinforce the economic cabinet’s current efforts with the investment portfolio under President Sheinbaum’s leadership. 

The main objectives of the office are to ensure investment procedures are approved within a maximum 30-day period, Escobedo explained. The office will advise and support companies throughout the entire process to optimize resolutions and maximize efficiency.

Ximena Escobedo highlighted that the projects must meet at least one of these criteria to qualify for this mechanism:

• Those to be developed in one of the designated hubs: Well-being hubs, the Interoceanic Corridor, or those promoted by the Secretariat of Economy. 

• Those with an investment of 2 billion Mexican pesos ($114,878,420 dollars approx.) or more. 

• Those linked to the strategic sectors defined in Plan Mexico, such as energy, infrastructure, technology, chemicals, electronics, aerospace, semiconductors, textiles, medical services, pharmaceuticals, and automotive.

All projects will be approved by a committee headed by the Secretariat of Economy and the Digital Transformation Agency. The committee is comprised  of the Secretariat of Finance, the Secretariat of Energy,  the Secretariat of Environment, the Secretariat of Good Governance, and the Advisory Council for Regional Economic Development and Relocation (CADERR). 

The committee was installed on May 28th, since then there are already  22 projects that have received the committee’s approval, representing an investment of $8 billion USD; and these authorizations will be issued within the next 30 days, noted Ximena Escobedo. She added that this decree also establishes that projects not submitted through this specific mechanism—but which are part of the Mexican government’s investment portfolio—may be authorized in less than 90 days once they meet all the requirements. 

President Claudia Sheinbaum explained that this entire process is digitalized, which will streamline operations, prevent corruption and bureaucracy. She noted that some procedures currently take up to two years  to open a business, adding that the primary demand from medium and large business owners is to speed up these timelines.

Photo: Gemini AI