Countries › Mexico › Guide › 12. Sectors › Sectors in Mexico: foreign ownership caps by activity, electricity under the 2025 Electricity Sector Law, oil and gas through Pemex mixed contracts, mining concessions and duties, and telecom concessions

Sectors in Mexico: foreign ownership caps by activity, electricity under the 2025 Electricity Sector Law, oil and gas through Pemex mixed contracts, mining concessions and duties, and telecom concessions

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

Most of the Mexican economy is open to 100 percent foreign ownership, but a short list of activities is reserved to the State or to Mexicans, a few carry 10 or 49 percent caps, and others need Foreign Investment Commission approval above 49 percent. The 2024 constitutional energy reform and the laws of 18 March 2025 keep oil and gas exploration and the power grid with the State: private power plants need a permit from 0.7 MW, the State keeps at least 54 percent of energy injected into the grid, and private oil companies enter mainly through Pemex mixed contracts in which Pemex holds at least 40 percent. Mining concessions now last 30 years plus one 25 year extension, are granted only by public tender and never for lithium, and pay an 8.5 percent special duty on mining profit, a 1 percent duty on gold, silver and platinum sales and a fee per hectare; telecom has no foreign cap, while broadcasting is capped at 49 percent.

USD conversions use MXN 18.5026 per US dollar, the US Federal Reserve H.10 noon buying rate in New York for 16 October 2026 (FRED series DEXMXUS), the latest observation available when this page was verified. Legal conversions in Mexico use the Banxico FIX, which differs slightly. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Default foreign ownership limit in activities not listed in the Foreign Investment Law	100 %LIE art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Foreign ownership cap in broadcasting	49 %LIE art. 7, section III, item x), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Foreign ownership cap in domestic air transport	49 %LIE art. 7, section III, item y), as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Foreign ownership allowed in domestic land transport of passengers and freight	0 %LIE art. 6, section I, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum State share of average energy injected into the grid per calendar year	54 %Ley del Sector Eléctrico art. 12, section VI, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Plant capacity from which a generation permit is required	0.7 MWLey del Sector Eléctrico art. 19, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum CFE stake in a mixed investment power project	54 %Ley del Sector Eléctrico art. 40, section I, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum Pemex participating interest in a mixed contract	40 %Ley del Sector Hidrocarburos art. 31, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Cost recovery cap in a mixed assignment, share of revenue (up to 40 percent with approval)	30 %Ley del Sector Hidrocarburos art. 30, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Mining concession term	30 yearsLey de Minería art. 15, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Single mining concession extension	25 yearsLey de Minería art. 15, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Special mining duty on mining profit	8.5 %Ley Federal de Derechos art. 268, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Extraordinary mining duty on gold, silver and platinum sales	1 %Ley Federal de Derechos art. 270, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Mining fee per hectare each half year from year 11 of the concession, 2026	230.41 MXNLey Federal de Derechos art. 263, section VI; RMF 2026 Annex 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Lithium concessions available to private parties	No Ley de Minería art. 5 Bis; Constitution art. 27, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Maximum term of a telecom single concession, renewable	30 yearsLey en Materia de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión art. 51, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Sector map for foreign capital. The default is open: foreign investors may own any share of a Mexican company in any activity not listed in the Foreign Investment Law. Reserved to the State (art. 5): exploration and extraction of oil and other hydrocarbons; planning and control of the national electric system and the public transmission and distribution service; nuclear power generation; radioactive minerals; telegraphs, radiotelegraphy and postal service; issuing bank notes and minting coins; control and supervision of ports, airports and heliports. Reserved to Mexicans or Mexican companies with a foreigners exclusion clause (art. 6): domestic land transport of passengers, tourism and freight (excluding courier and parcel services) and development banks; the limit cannot be bypassed through trusts, agreements, bylaws or pyramid structures. Caps (art. 7): up to 10 percent in production cooperatives; up to 49 percent in explosives, firearms, ammunition and fireworks (excluding explosives bought for industrial and mining use), newspapers printed for national circulation only, series T shares of companies owning farm, ranch or forest land, fishing (excluding aquaculture), integral port administration, pilotage, domestic and cabotage shipping (excluding cruises and dredging), fuel supply for ships, aircraft and rail, broadcasting (subject to reciprocity with the country of the investor or of its ultimate controller) and domestic air transport, air taxi and specialized air services. Above 49 percent only with a favorable resolution of the Foreign Investment Commission (art. 8): towing, mooring and launch services, high seas shipping, public aerodromes, private schools at all levels, legal services and railways.
Cost to do it: No fee to invest in an open activity. Where art. 8 applies, the investor files for a Foreign Investment Commission resolution before exceeding 49 percent; see investing/overview for the procedure and the general asset threshold for CNIE review under art. 9.
Example: A US group buying 100 percent of a Mexican auto parts maker, a data center operator or a mobile network needs no sector approval. Buying 60 percent of a Mexican private university or a rail operator needs a prior CNIE resolution; buying more than 49 percent of a domestic airline or a radio station is not allowed. / The caps are percentages, so they bind the same way whatever the deal size, for example a USD 50 million stake in a MXN 1,000 million (about USD 54 million) company.Ley de Inversión Extranjera (LIE), DOF 27 December 1993, art. 5 reformed DOF 11 August 2014, art. 7 reformed DOF 26 June 2017, last reform of the law DOF 27 May 2024 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text), Arts. 5, 6, 7 and 8, 2017-06-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Electricity: the State keeps the grid and at least 54 percent of generation; private plants need a CNE permit from 0.7 MW. Under the Constitution, planning and control of the national electric system and the public transmission and distribution service belong exclusively to the Nation and are not open to concessions; private parties may take part in the other activities as the law provides, but never with prevalence over the state company (CFE). The Electricity Sector Law makes planning by the Ministry of Energy binding and requires the State to keep at least 54 percent of the average energy injected into the grid in each calendar year, within a wholesale market run on economic dispatch. Generation may be done by the State, by private parties alone or in mixed schemes, through three routes: distributed generation, self supply (autoconsumo, isolated or interconnected, with a simplified permit for interconnected plants of 0.7 to 20 MW) and generation for the wholesale market. Plants of 0.7 MW or more need a generation permit from the National Energy Commission (CNE); smaller plants are exempt, as are emergency backup plants. Mixed schemes are long term production, where the private party funds the plant and sells all output to CFE with optional transfer of the assets to CFE at the end at no cost, and mixed investment, where CFE holds at least 54 percent of the project; the regulation caps mixed projects at 30 years. Exports and imports of electricity need Ministry of Energy authorization. Permits and contracts granted under the former laws stay in force until they expire but cannot be extended, and holders may migrate to the new routes.
Cost to do it: Before building, the project also needs an energy sector social impact assessment (MIS), which the Ministry of Energy must decide within 90 calendar days (LSE art. 139). CNE permit fees are not stated here because the fee schedule in the Ley Federal de Derechos (art. 56) still refers to the former regulator and the former permit categories.
Example: A manufacturer in Nuevo León installs a 15 MW rooftop and ground solar plant for its own plant, interconnected to the grid. At 15 MW it needs a CNE generation permit, but it falls within the 0.7 to 20 MW band eligible for the simplified self supply procedure. A 0.5 MW rooftop system would need no generation permit. / The thresholds are in megawatts, so they apply whatever the project cost, for example a 15 MW plant costing on the order of USD 10 million to USD 15 million.Constitución Política, art. 27, sixth paragraph, and art. 28, reformed DOF 31 October 2024; Ley del Sector Eléctrico (LSE), new law DOF 18 March 2025, in force the following day; Reglamento de la Ley del Sector Eléctrico, DOF 3 October 2025, LSE arts. 12, 16 to 20, 30, 35, 38 to 40 and transitory articles Quinto and Noveno; Reglamento art. 73, 2025-03-18 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: The LSE of 18 March 2025 repealed the Ley de la Industria Eléctrica of 2014, moved permitting to the new National Energy Commission, wrote the 54 percent State share into law and created the long term production and mixed investment schemes. Its regulation followed on 3 October 2025.

3. Oil and gas: no concessions; private capital enters through Pemex mixed contracts or, exceptionally, State contracts. Oil and hydrocarbons in the subsoil belong to the Nation and no concessions are granted; exploration and extraction are strategic and carried out through assignments to state companies or contracts with them or with private parties. The Ministry of Energy grants Pemex assignments for its own development or for mixed development; in a mixed assignment Pemex keeps the exclusive right to the assignment, cannot transfer it, must hold at least 40 percent participating interest in the mixed contract, and any party may act as operator. From production revenue, the taxes of the assignment are paid first, then cost recovery of up to 30 percent of revenue (up to 40 percent with approval of the Pemex board and the Ministry of Energy), and the rest is shared by participating interest. Only exceptionally may the Ministry of Energy tender exploration and extraction contracts directly, under guidelines issued beforehand, and any transfer of corporate control of a contractor or of operational control of a contract area needs prior Ministry approval. Midstream and downstream activities are open to private parties with permits: the Ministry of Energy permits oil refining, transport and trade and imports and exports of oil, gas, fuels and petrochemicals; the CNE permits gas processing, transport, storage, distribution, trade and retail and the storage, distribution, trade and retail of fuels, with weekly volumetric reporting.
Cost to do it: Permit fees and hydrocarbon duties are outside this page; the key economic terms of a mixed contract are the 40 percent minimum Pemex interest and the 30 percent cost recovery cap (40 percent with approval).
Example: A field produces MXN 1,000 million of hydrocarbons in a year under a mixed contract with a 60 percent private partner. After the assignment's taxes, at most MXN 300 million can go to cost recovery under the 30 percent cap; the remaining revenue is split 40 percent to Pemex and 60 percent to the partner. / MXN 1,000 million is about USD 54.0 million; the 30 percent cost recovery cap is about USD 16.2 million.Constitución Política, art. 27, seventh paragraph, reformed DOF 31 October 2024; Ley del Sector Hidrocarburos (LSH), new law DOF 18 March 2025, LSH arts. 6, 24, 30, 31, 37, 39, 40 and 76, 2025-03-18 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: The LSH of 18 March 2025 repealed the Ley de Hidrocarburos of 11 August 2014 and the administrative rules on tenders for exploration and extraction contracts. Pemex mixed assignments with a 40 percent Pemex floor became the main route for private capital and State contracts became exceptional.

4. Mining: concessions only by public tender, 30 years plus one 25 year extension, and no lithium. Only companies incorporated under Mexican law, domiciled in Mexico, with a mining corporate purpose and foreign participation within the Foreign Investment Law may hold mining concessions; mining is not capped, so 100 percent foreign owned Mexican companies qualify. Since the 2023 reform the Ministry of Economy grants concessions only through public tenders that give the State the best economic and social terms; where the land is occupied by an indigenous or Afro Mexican community or any settlement, the winner must sign an agreement with that community. A concession lasts 30 years from its registration in the Public Mining Registry, the first 5 for pre operational work, and may be extended once for 25 years if the holder applies between two years and one year before expiry, has no cause for cancellation, and holds its operating permits and an industrial water concession; afterwards the holder may bid again for the same lot with a right to match the best offer, for a final 25 years. The holder must obtain all other federal, state and local permits before starting work and notify the Ministry within 15 business days of each. Lithium is declared of public utility, belongs to the Nation, and no concessions are granted for it; its value chain is run by the State. The Constitution also bars concessions for radioactive minerals and lithium.
Cost to do it: Per hectare mining fee and mining duties are set out in the next rule. Tender terms, including any economic consideration offered, are set in each tender's bases (art. 13 Bis).
Example: A Canadian group wants to mine copper in Sonora. It sets up a Mexican S.A. de C.V. with a mining corporate purpose, wins the Ministry of Economy tender for the lot, registers the title and has until year 5 for pre operational work. If it wants to operate past year 30, it applies for the single 25 year extension between years 28 and 29. / Term limits are in years, so they apply whatever the investment, for example a USD 500 million (about MXN 9,251 million) copper project.Ley de Minería (formerly Ley Minera), DOF 26 June 1992, reformed DOF 8 May 2023 (Chamber of Deputies consolidated text); Constitución Política, art. 27, sixth paragraph, Ley de Minería arts. 5 Bis, 10, 11, 13 and 15, 2023-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: The reform of DOF 8 May 2023 set the concession term at 30 years plus one 25 year extension, made public tenders the only way to obtain a concession, tied extensions to having an industrial water concession, required community agreements and renamed the law Ley de Minería; the lithium reservation (art. 5 Bis) was added by DOF 20 April 2022.

5. Mining duties: 8.5 percent on mining profit, 1 percent on gold, silver and platinum sales, and a fee per hectare. Concession holders, and buyers of rights over concessions, pay yearly a special mining duty of 8.5 percent on taxable income from the sale of extracted production less allowed income tax deductions, excluding interest, inflation adjustment and investment deductions other than prospecting and exploration, the concession titles themselves, and taxes and charges paid on the activity; it covers all concessions held. They also pay a yearly extraordinary mining duty of 1 percent on income from selling gold, silver and platinum, with separate accounts for those sales. Both are filed with the SAT by the last business day of March of the following year. On top, every concession pays a mining fee each half year, in January and July, per hectare, rising with the age of the concession; holders who do no exploration or exploitation work for two continuous years within the first 11 years pay an additional 50 percent of the top per hectare fee, rising to 100 percent from year 12.
Cost to do it: 2026 per hectare fee each half year (LFD art. 263, RMF 2026 Annex 4): MXN 10.52 in years 1 and 2, MXN 15.76 in years 3 and 4, MXN 32.55 in years 5 and 6, MXN 65.47 in years 7 and 8, MXN 130.94 in years 9 and 10 and MXN 230.41 from year 11 (about USD 0.57 to USD 12.45 per hectare).
Example: A miner in its 12th concession year holds 5,000 hectares and has taxable income from sales of MXN 1,000 million, of which MXN 800 million is gold and silver, and allowed deductions of MXN 600 million. Special duty: 8.5 percent of MXN 400 million, MXN 34,000,000. Extraordinary duty: 1 percent of MXN 800 million, MXN 8,000,000. Per hectare fee: MXN 230.41 times 5,000, MXN 1,152,050 each half year, MXN 2,304,100 a year. Total mining duties: MXN 44,304,100, on top of 30 percent corporate income tax. / Special duty about USD 1,837,580; extraordinary duty about USD 432,372; per hectare fees about USD 124,528 a year; total about USD 2,394,480.Ley Federal de Derechos (LFD), arts. 268 and 270 reformed DOF 19 December 2024 (rate of 8.5 percent and March deadline), last reform of the law DOF 7 November 2025; 2026 amounts updated by Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal 2026, Annex 4, DOF 28 December 2025, LFD arts. 263, 264, 268, 269 and 270, 2024-12-19 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: The reform of DOF 19 December 2024 set the special mining duty rate at 8.5 percent and the filing deadline at the last business day of March, for both the special and the extraordinary duty.

6. Telecom and broadcasting: one concession for up to 30 years, no foreign cap in telecom, 49 percent in broadcasting. The 2025 telecom law replaced the Federal Telecommunications Institute with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and created the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency. Networks and services run under a single concession (concesión única) for commercial, public, social or private use, granted by the Commission for up to 30 years and renewable for equal terms. Concessions go only to Mexican individuals or companies, with foreign participation allowed as the Constitution and the Foreign Investment Law provide: telecom services carry no foreign cap, while broadcasting is capped at 49 percent with reciprocity (LIE art. 7) and a broadcasting concession with foreign investment needs a prior favorable opinion of the Foreign Investment Commission. Commercial spectrum is awarded only through public tender with payment of a consideration.
Cost to do it: Spectrum considerations are set in each tender; concession and spectrum fees are in the Ley Federal de Derechos and are not detailed on this page.
Example: A US fiber operator can own 100 percent of a Mexican S.A. de C.V. that obtains a commercial concesión única for up to 30 years. A US media group can hold at most 49 percent of a Mexican radio concessionaire, and only with a prior CNIE opinion. / The caps are percentages and apply whatever the investment size.Ley en Materia de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión (LMTR), new law DOF 16 July 2025, repealing the Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión of 2014, LMTR arts. 50, 51, 56 and 57; LIE art. 7, section III, item x), 2025-07-16 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: The LMTR of 16 July 2025 replaced the 2014 law and moved regulation from the autonomous Federal Telecommunications Institute to the new Commission and Agency.

Sector	Foreign ownership	Main route for private capital	Licensing authority	Rule
Manufacturing, services, retail, technology	Up to 100 percent	Ordinary company; CNIE review only above the general asset threshold	None sector specific	LIE arts. 4 and 9
Electricity generation	Up to 100 percent in the private company	Self supply, distributed generation, wholesale market plants, or mixed schemes with CFE (CFE at least 54 percent in mixed investment)	National Energy Commission (permit from 0.7 MW); Ministry of Energy for planning and imports or exports	LSE arts. 12, 17 to 20 and 38 to 40
Electricity transmission and distribution	Reserved to the State	No concessions	Not applicable	Constitution art. 27; LIE art. 5, section III
Oil and gas exploration and production	Through contracts only; subsoil owned by the Nation	Pemex mixed contracts (Pemex at least 40 percent); exceptional State contracts	Ministry of Energy	LSH arts. 6, 24, 31 and 37
Fuel and gas transport, storage, distribution and retail	Up to 100 percent	Permits	Ministry of Energy or National Energy Commission	LSH art. 76
Mining (except lithium and radioactive minerals)	Up to 100 percent in a Mexican company	Concession won by public tender, 30 plus 25 years	Ministry of Economy	Ley de Minería arts. 11, 13 and 15
Lithium and radioactive minerals	Reserved to the State	No concessions	Not applicable	Constitution art. 27; Ley de Minería art. 5 Bis
Telecommunications	Up to 100 percent	Single concession up to 30 years; spectrum by tender	Telecommunications Regulatory Commission	LMTR arts. 50, 51 and 57
Broadcasting	Up to 49 percent, with reciprocity	Single concession; prior CNIE opinion if foreign capital	Telecommunications Regulatory Commission	LIE art. 7; LMTR art. 56
Domestic air transport	Up to 49 percent	Ordinary company within the cap	Not covered on this page	LIE art. 7, section III, item y)
Railways, private education, legal services, public aerodromes	Above 49 percent with CNIE approval	Ordinary company	Foreign Investment Commission	LIE art. 8
Domestic land passenger and freight transport	Mexicans only	Mexican company with foreigners exclusion clause	Not applicable	LIE art. 6

Who may invest in which Mexican sector, verified 26 October 2026 against the official texts cited on this page.

Worked example

A US investor compares two Mexican projects of MXN 1,000 million each (about USD 54.0 million). A 100 percent owned auto parts plant in Coahuila needs no sector approval and may add a 15 MW self supply solar plant with a CNE permit under the simplified 0.7 to 20 MW procedure (LSE arts. 19 and 30). A gas field interest, by contrast, can only be held through a Pemex mixed contract in which Pemex keeps at least 40 percent and cost recovery is capped at 30 percent of revenue (LSH arts. 30 and 31).
A gold and silver miner in its 12th concession year with 5,000 hectares, MXN 1,000 million of sales (MXN 800 million gold and silver) and MXN 600 million of allowed deductions pays MXN 34,000,000 special duty, MXN 8,000,000 extraordinary duty and MXN 2,304,100 in per hectare fees, MXN 44,304,100 in total (about USD 2,394,480), before 30 percent corporate income tax (LFD arts. 263, 268 and 270).

Step by step

1. Classify the activity against LIE arts. 5 to 8: open, State reserved, Mexicans only, capped, or CNIE approval above 49 percent. This decides the ownership structure before anything else.
2. Set up the Mexican vehicle with the right corporate purpose (a mining corporate purpose is a legal condition for a mining concession) and register foreign investment in the RNIE; see entities/choosing-an-entity and investing/overview.
3. Electricity: confirm the plant fits the Ministry of Energy binding plan, file the energy social impact assessment (decision within 90 calendar days, LSE art. 139), then the CNE generation permit if 0.7 MW or more, and the interconnection request.
4. Oil and gas upstream: engage with Pemex on a mixed assignment or watch for an exceptional Ministry of Energy tender; for midstream or retail, apply for the Ministry or CNE permit under LSH art. 76.
5. Mining: follow Ministry of Economy tender calls, negotiate any community agreement required, register the title in the Public Mining Registry, then obtain environmental, water and local permits and notify each within 15 business days.
6. Calendar recurring charges: mining fees in January and July, special and extraordinary mining duties by the last business day of March, and permit or concession renewal windows (mining extension request between two years and one year before expiry).

Common traps

Using a trust, shareholder agreement or pyramid structure to exceed a cap or enter a Mexicans only activity. LIE arts. 6 and 7 expressly bar any mechanism that gives control or a larger stake.
Assuming an old self supply or 2014 law permit can be renewed. Permits under the former electricity laws stay valid only until they expire and cannot be extended (LSE transitory articles Quinto and Noveno); plan migration to the new routes.
Building a power plant before the social impact assessment is approved. LSE art. 139 requires the definitive MIS authorization before work on related infrastructure starts.
Expecting an oil block in your own name. Mixed assignments stay with Pemex, which cannot transfer them (LSH art. 24); the partner's rights are contractual.
Missing the mining extension window. The request must be filed between two years and one year before expiry and needs an industrial water concession in place (Ley de Minería art. 15).
Treating the special mining duty as income tax. It is a separate 8.5 percent charge with its own base that denies interest and most investment deductions (LFD art. 268).
Holding idle hectares. Two continuous years without work triggers the additional per hectare duty of 50 percent, then 100 percent, of the top fee (LFD art. 269).

Sources

← Real estate and land in Mexico: the restricted zone, bank trusts, the foreigners agreement, Foreign Ministry fees, ejido land, registration and taxes on buying, renting and selling