Buyout firms investing in Latin America raised a record $8.1 billion in 2010, more than twice the previous year, partly because of growing interest from local investors, the Latin American Venture Capital Association said on Monday. Momentum is building in Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina, where less competition for existing assets is bringing the attention of dealmakers. Brazil, the region's biggest economy, kept luring most commitments and investors last year, because of its diversified economy. "As private equity and venture capital environments improve and political and economic factors remain favorable, we are seeing unprecedented interest from global investors looking to diversify their portfolios," Cate Ambrose, president of New York-based LAVCA, as the association is known, said in a statement.
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