Asia receives the largest share (39%) of global investment flows; USD 42 billion to India
A United Nations report has found that India received foreign direct investments (FDI) worth USD42 billion in 2018, helped by inflows in manufacturing, communication, financial services and cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activities.
The United Nations Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2019 stated that FDI inflows to developing countries in Asia rose by 3.9% to USD512 billion last year. In South Asia, FDI inflows increased by 3.5% to USD54 billion, which means India attracted over 77% of the total foreign direct investments that came to this region.
Investment in India rose by 6% to USD42 billion after a 9% decline in 2017. South-east Asia received a record level of investment, up 3% to USD149 billion. The growth was driven by strong investments mainly in Singapore with USD72 million in FDI.
Inflows to China – the largest developing economy recipient – increased by 4% to an all-time high of USD139 billion, accounting for more than 10% of the world’s total. However, outflows from Asia declined by 2.5% to USD401 billion, representing 40% of global FDI outflows in 2018. The decline was mainly due to reduced investment from China, for the second consecutive year, and from Singapore, stated the report. The region remained the world’s largest FDI recipient, absorbing 39% of global inflows in 2018, up from 33% in 2017.
“The prospects for FDI flows to the region in 2019 are moderately optimistic, thanks to a favourable economic outlook and ongoing efforts to improve the investment climate in several major economies,” said James Zhan, director of UNCTAD’s division on investment and enterprise.