FDI in the first half of 2023

 October 2023 update:

• Global FDI flows rebounded to USD 727 billion in the first half of 2023 but remained 30% below the levels recorded in the first half of 2022. Much of the increase came in the first quarter of 2023, whereas global FDI flows dropped by 44% in Q2 2023, compared to the previous quarter.

(USD bn)

 Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.

•  FDI inflows to the OECD area increased to USD 275 billion yet they were 42% below their levels recorded in the first half of 2022 and below half year levels in 2021. They switched to positive levels in Q1 2023 but then dropped by 58% in Q2, largely due to lower equity inflows and reinvested earnings, partly reflecting that new investment activities continue to slow down.
• Outflows from the OECD area more than doubled compared to the second half of 2022, to USD 580 billion, although they were below previous half-year levels. Here too, much of the increase took place in Q1, whereas FDI outflows from OECD countries dropped by 56% in Q2.
• FDI flows into non-OECD G20 economies dropped by 15% in the first half of 2023. They decreased by 13% in Q1 and by a further 27% in Q2.
• The United States was the leading FDI recipient worldwide, followed by Brazil; Canada and Mexico, both equally ranked as third largest FDI recipient. The United States was also the major investor worldwide, followed by China and Japan.
• Completed cross-border M&A activity continued on a downward trend in the midst of a weaking economic environment, impacted by high prices, increasing interest rates, and on-going geopolitical uncertainty. The value of completed deals dropped by 23% in advanced economies and by 49% in emerging markets and developing economies.
• Capital expenditures of announced greenfield investment projects remained strong in emerging markets and developing economies, partlydriven by a large project in renewable energy announced in Mauritania but the number of announced projects slowed down.  

Global FDI flows rebounded but still struggled in the first half of 2023

31/10/2023 - In the first half of 2023, global FDI flows rebounded to USD 727 billion from very low levels recorded in the second half of 2022, but remained 30% below the level recorded in the first semester of 2022. There were important surges in Luxembourg and the Netherlands from large disinvestments in H2 2022. FDI flows in the United States, the largest recipient of FDI flows, remained stable. However, decreases were recorded in more than two-third of OECD economies

Trends, investor types and drivers of renewables energy FDI, OECD Working Papers on International Investment, Polina Knutsson and Perla Ibarlucea Flores, 2022

Divestments by MNEs: What do we know about why they happen?, Maria Borga and Monika Sztajerowska, 2018

International trade and FDI are the main defining features and key drivers of global value chains.  For the first time ever, these statistical notes for OECD countries provide evidence on the role played by investment in global value chains.

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The FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index (FDI Index) measures statutory restrictions on foreign direct investment in 58 countries, including all OECD and G20 countries, and covers 22 sectors.

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• FDI financial flows
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The new FDI statistics database covering FDI statistics from 2014 onwards went online in March 2015. 

Content and structure of the FDI statistics database according to BMD4

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The FDI statistics database uses data compiled with "BMD4"- The 4^th edition of the OECD Benchmark definition of FDI (BMD4) provides operational guidelines on how foreign direct investment activity should be measured and sets the world standard for collecting direct investment statistics.

How BMD4 impacts our compilation of FDI statistics

Brochure on the major changes introduced by BMD4

Note on the FDI statistics database according to BMD4

Explanatory notes on OECD FDI statistics

Glossary of FDI terms

Trends, investor types and drivers of renewables energy FDI, OECD Working Papers on International Investment, 2022

Divestments by MNEs: What do we know about why they happen?, 2021

Drivers of divestment decisions in multinational enterprises, 2020

The determinants of Foreign Direct Investment - Do statutory restrictions matter?, 2019

The digital economy, multinational enterprises and international investment policy, 2018

Towards an international framework for investment facilitation, 2018

Examen des statistiques d'investissements directs internationaux au Maroc, 2018