Global inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) are on track this year to surpass the record USD 1,411 billion reached in 2000, despite the turmoil in financial markets, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. The Geneva-based agency?s annual World Investment Report ((WIR07) showed that inflows of FDI amounted to USD 1,306 billion in 2006 ? the highest since 2000. UNCTAD Secretary-General Supacha Panitchpakdi said, however, that financial instability and high energy prices made the forecasts uncertain. WIR07 is the seventeenth in a series published by UNCTAD. The Report analyses the latest trends in FDI and puts a special focus in 2007 on the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in the extraction of oil, gas, and metal minerals. It shows that the U.S. regained its position as the favorite destination for foreign investors but developing and former communist countries had their fastest growth in investment last year, driven by cross-border mergers and acquisitions. Investment flows into developing countries rose 21 percent from 2005 to USD 379 billion in 2006. At USD 36 billion last year, foreign direct investment in Africa was double its 2004 level because of improved prospects for corporate profits and a more favorable business climate, according to the report. But Africa’s share in global foreign direct investment dropped to 2.7 percent from 3.1 percent in 2005.
To learn more, please go to: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/wir2007_en.pdf
