GLOBAL foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 11 per cent to US$1.5 trillion in 2024, marking the second consecutive year of decline, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday.
Geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, and intensifying industrial policy competition, combined with elevated financial risk and uncertainty, are reshaping global investment, the UNCTAD said in its World Investment Report 2025.
The decline was driven largely by a 22 per cent drop in FDI to developed economies, including a 58 per cent plunge in Europe, the report said.
In developing countries, capital inflows appeared broadly stable with regional divergence. However, in many economies, capital is “stagnating or bypassing” key sectors like infrastructure, energy, technology, and job-creating industries, it highlighted.
“Too many economies are being left behind not for lack of potential — but because the system still sends capital where it’s easiest, not where it’s needed,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan.
Digital economy investment is the only growth sector, which saw a 14 per cent rise in FDI led by Information and Communication technology (ICT) manufacturing, digital services, and semiconductors, the report said.
Xinhua
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