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United Nations: global FDI to reach $1.8 trillion in 2018

2016/10/16

September 8th was the opening day of the 19th CIFIT, and on that day the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development predicted in its World Investment Report 2016 that global foreign direct investment will amount to $1.8 trillion by 2018.

The release of the report was one of the highlights of the international investment event, held at the Xiamen International Conference Center.

Zhan Xiaoning, director of investment and enterprise at UNCTAD, and leader of the compilation of the report, said that it covers the latest trends in global investment movements and investment policies as well as the forecasts and challenges in global investment flow and policy making.

Global FDI grew 38 percent during 2015 to reach $1.76 trillion, the highest level since the global financial crisis of 2008, but still 10 percent lower than the record number before the crisis, Zhan pointed out.

International mergers and acquisitions increased from $432 billion in 2014 to $721 billion in 2015, which was the main driving force of the robust rebound in FDI in 2015, according to Zhan.

FDI inflow in developed countries that year nearly doubled to reach $962 billion, whereas in Asia FDI inflow grew 16 percent to reach a record $541 billion, benefiting from the strong investment performances in East and South Asia, where China and India are located.

Zhan indicated that the report estimates that global FDI will drop 10 to 15 percent in 2016, recover moderately in 2017, and reach $1.8 trillion in 2018.

He said that the reason for the setback in the global FDI in 2016 was that the vulnerability in the global economy, regional geopolitical influences, and the uncertainty in regulatory environment affect global FDI and will be its biggest future challenges.

By pledging to fight against investment protectionism and improving the coordination between investment policies and policies in other fields, the G20 Hangzhou Summit gave a fillip to the global FDI recovery, according to Zhan.

He added that the guideline for the drafting of global investment policies passed by the summit will help transform the international investment system and is consequently of great historical importance.