The UN’s trade and development arm UNCTAD this week released its annual foreign direct investment (FDI)-focused World Investment Report. Not surprisingly, Covid-19 “caused a dramatic fall” in global FDI for 2020, with total flows falling from $1.5 to $1.0 trillion, with the 2020 level “almost 20% below the 2009 trough after the global financial crisis.”
All components of FDI were down. “The overall contraction in new project activity, combined with a slowdown in cross-border mergers and acquisitions led to a decline in equity investment flows by more than 50%.” Cross-border M&A “largely recovered” in 2H 2020 but greenfield investment “continued its negative trend throughout 2020 and into the first quarter of 2021.” (CONTINUED - 818 WORDS)
