A United Nations trade report issued on Tuesday says that foreign direct investment (FDI) has plunged by 49 per cent around the world in the first half of 2020 from the same period a year ago.
FDI is on course to fall by up to 40 per cent for the year, driven by fears of a deep recession, the UN has warned.
A report by the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed that FDI flows to European economies turned negative for the first time ever, falling to minus $7 billion from $202 billion (€171 billion). Foreign direct investment flows to the United States dropped by 61 percent to $51 billion.
“Global FDI flows for the first half of this year went down by close to half… It was more drastic than we expected for the whole year,” said James Zhan, director of UNCTAD’s investment and enterprise division. He added that the flows are expected to decline by 30 to 40 percent this year and “moderately” in 2021, by five to ten percent.
The figures cover cross-border mergers and acquisitions, new greenfield investment projects and project finance deals. (RT)