Analysts are pointing to new resources entering the capital market thanks to the increase in the quotation of the AFPs, which would leave them with greater resources to invest and which raised the spirits of investors.
At a press conference at La Moneda Palace, Finance Minister Mario Marcel referred to the latest sectoral data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) regarding trade and industry.
He also spoke about the positive reaction of the local stock market, after the IPSA managed to overcome the 7,200 point barrier and closed on Thursday with a new historical high.
Marcel highlights sectoral data from the INE
Regarding the first point: The Trade Activity Index (IAC) for December 2024 grew by 6.4%, while the Industrial Production Index (IPI) grew by 8.8%, setting a good precedent for the next Monthly Economic Activity Index (Imacec).
In this regard, Marcel was positive and said that in the case of trade, it was the "best figure since July 2018, ignoring the entire period of over-expansion that we had as a result of pension fund withdrawals and universal IFE, etc."
For the industry, this is the highest figure since July 2013.
"These are quite encouraging figures for the Imacec, which the Central Bank will publish on Monday. We believe that all of them indicate a very positive end to the year from an economic point of view, despite the concerns that arose during the year," said Marcel.
“We have finally ended up with a booming economy, which surpassed its previous peaks at the end of 2024, and that, by the way, is a very good starting point for facing 2025,” he added.
The reaction of the Stock Exchange after the approval of the pension reform
Marcel also referred to the rise experienced by the IPSA on the Santiago Stock Exchange on Thursday, where the indicator reached historic highs after the approval of the pension reform.
Analysts are pointing to new resources entering the capital market thanks to the increase in the quotation of the AFPs, which would leave them with greater resources to invest and which raised the spirits of investors.
In this regard, the Minister of Finance commented that "the stock markets are always very volatile, but the fact that we have had a significant jump, I think, reflects the fact that the market values the fact that there are political agreements on reforms that are relevant for the country."
“Secondly, this reform finally brings to a close a very complex episode, which was the withdrawal of pension funds and the loss of depth left by the capital market. Now, with the reform, that will begin to gradually reverse,” he said.
According to the head of public finances, they estimate that “within a period of around 7 or 8 years, the relative level of pension fund assets in the local capital market will recover. With that, many of the problems that still prevail from withdrawals, such as the evolution of the fixed-income market, the term of mortgage loans, will also improve,” he concluded.
