SANTIAGO, Chile, CMC - The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) says the region received a “new record high” of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2012. According to the ECLAC report “Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2012”, the region received US$173.3 billion dollars of FDI (6.7 per cent more than in 2011), “despite an external context characterized by shrinking FDI flows worldwide”. The report attributes the “new record high” to the region's steady economic growth, high prices for raw materials and the impressive returns on investments related to natural resource exploitation.