Ireland

Europe leads foreign investment table - study

Europe has vaulted over Asia to become the most popular target for foreign direct investment (FDI), an annual survey showed today…

Mon Sept 18 2006 - 01:00

Europe has vaulted over Asia to become the most popular target for foreign direct investment (FDI), an annual survey showed today.

The survey, conducted by IBM, found that European nations attracted some 39 per cent of global FDI projects last year compared with 31 per cent that went to countries in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2004 the two tied at 35 per cent.

North America attracted 18 per cent in the new survey, up from 16 per cent. Latin America accounted for 6 per cent, down from 8 per cent and Africa had an unchanged 2 per cent.

The findings support a separate recent study that suggested developed economies have regained pre-eminence as FDI targets after a number of years in which emerging markets were unusually popular.

The Economist Intelligence Unit and the Columbia Program on International Investment said earlier in September that that around 58 per cent of FDI went to developed nations last year and 42 per cent to emerging markets.

The IBM survey, which looks at investment from multinationals in manufacturing, services and research and development, showed a similar emerging-to-developed trend within Europe where western countries' global share rose to 26 per cent from 22 per cent.