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FDI Skyrocketing in Hong Kong
Hong Kong has enjoyed an unprecedented foreign direct investment (FDI) boom over the past two years, according to the World Investment Report 2001 published here recently by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Inflows to Hong Kong in 2000 skyrocketed to 64 billion U.S. dollars, four times the inflows to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and well above those into China's mainland, which is traditionally the single largest FDI recipient in the developing world, the report says.
The upsurge in inflows was underpinned in part by a general improvement in the local business environment following strong economic recovery over the past two years, the report says.
China's imminent accession to the World Trade Organization has been another driving force in attracting FDI to Hong Kong, the report says, adding that a prominent cross-border merger and acquisition deal in the telecommunications sector also boosted the dramatic increase.
FDI to Asia Booms Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to and from developing Asia hit record levels in 2000, according to the World Investment Report 2001 published here recently by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Although trends are mixed, the region's longer-term investment prospects remain "bright," the report says, terming North-east Asia including Hong Kong, Taiwan, China's mainland and the Republic of Korea as the "brightest spot for FDI in the developing world."
The record 143 billion U.S. dollars in inflows, a 44 percent increase over 1999, was primarily due to an unprecedented FDI boom in Hong Kong, the report says.
With 64 billion U.S. dollars in inflows, Hong Kong overtook China's mainland as the single largest FDI recipient in Asia, and was also the top source of outward FDI with 63 billion U.S. dollars, although FDI from China's mainland and India is also rising, the report says.
Inflows into South-east Asia remained below the pre-crisis level, the report says, as the wave of mergers and acquisitions in the countries hit by the recent financial crisis has now tapered off, reflecting both a slowdown in the rate of asset disposals and reduced pressure for further corporate restructuring.
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