The United States and Holland were the main investors in the Republic in 2002, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the €25.85 billion foreign direct (FDI) investment last year.
According to data published by the Central Statistics Office today, FDI in the State was up 140 per cent in 2002 compared with the previous year. Foreign investment stocks stood at €176.12 billion at the end of 2002, an increase of nearly 8 per cent on the year.
US investment in 2002 was €7.86 billion, while €10.73 billion was invested from The Netherlands. This accounted for 72 per cent of the investment into the State last year.
By the end of 2002 inward investment stock in the State stood at €176,124 million with the United States and The Netherlands accounting for nearly half that.
This contrasts with the different scenario in 2001 when there was "a sizeable disinvestment" by US companies in Ireland. During this period nearly €8.08 billion worth of American investment was either removed or disposed of.
However, in 2001 this outflow of investment was offset partly by an inflow of capital from European and Japanese investors.
Irish investors' placed €3.27 billion in foreign direct investment enterprises in 2002, down from €4.54 billion in 2001.