United Nations: Global foreign direct investment has halved in the first half of this year

Geneva - Sana

The United Nations announced today that global foreign direct investment is 49 percent in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period a year ago.

Reuters quoted James Zhan, director of the investment and projects sector at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as saying in a press conference that global foreign direct investment flows decreased in the first half of this year by nearly half, which is more severe than what we expected for the year as a whole, adding that Flows are expected to decline by between 30 and 40 percent this year, and moderately in 2021, between five and ten percent.

A report issued by UNCTAD indicated that foreign direct investment flows to European economies turned into looting for the first time ever, dropping to minus $ 7 billion from $ 202 billion, while flows to the United States fell 61 percent to $ 51 billion.

The report added that foreign direct investment globally fell as multinational companies postponed investments to maintain liquidity.

The report said industrialized countries, which usually account for about 80 percent of global transactions, were hit hard, with flows falling to $ 98 billion, a level not recorded since 1994.

Among the major recipients of foreign direct investment in 2019, inflows fell sharply in Italy, the United States, Brazil and Australia, with figures covering cross-border mergers and acquisitions, all-new investment projects and project financing deals.