Chile-approved foreign investment off 40 pct in '09

SANTIAGO Dec 23 (Reuters) - Foreign investment in Chile approved by the government fell 40 percent year-over-year in 2009 to $6.28 billion, Economy Minister Hugo Lavados said on Wednesday.

The amount actually invested between January and October totaled $4.04 billion, Lavados told a news conference.

The world's top copper producer saw mining, energy and retail companies put some of their projects on ice this year because of the global financial crisis.

Some mining companies, however, have resumed planned investment in the country as copper prices recover, more than doubling so far this year.

The Chilean economy is expected to contract by 1.9 percent in 2009, according to a forecast from the central bank. The bank sees the economy rebounding with economic growth of between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent in 2010. (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by Simon Gardner and Padraic Cassidy)