Brussels, 12/08/2004 (Agence Europe) - According to an UNCTAD report (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), annual foreign direct investment (fdi) flows from developing countries have grown faster over the past 15 years than those from developed countries. Negligible until the nearly 90s, outward fdi from developing countries accounted for more than a tenth of total world stock (858.7 billion dollars of the world total of 8196.9 billion dollars) and some 6% of total world flows in 2003 (59.6 billion dollars of the global total of 779.3 billion).
Fdi from developing countries to other developing countries seems to be growing faster than fdi from developing countries to developed countries.. IMCTAD explains that firms from some developing countries, like Hong Kong, had a larger outward fdi stock than Sweden. Not all regions are developing at the same speed.
Asia, led by the south, east and south-east, was b far the largest onward investor in the developing world, followed by Latin America. In recent years, fdi from both Africa and Asia has been rising, while outflows from Latin America and the Caribbean have stagnated.
UNCTAD predicts that the share of developing countries in outward fdi can be expected to rise as developing country firms become more competitive and their governments permit or even encourage outward fdi.
UNCTAD will publish a more detailed report in September, "The Shift Towards Services".