FDI to Asia BoomsForeign direct investment (FDI) flows to and from developing Asia hit record levels in 2000, according to the World Investment Report 2001 published in Beijing 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 US$143 billion in inflows, a 44 percent increase over 1999, was primarily due to an unprecedented FDI boom in Hong Kong, the report says. With US$64 billion 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 US$63 billion, 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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