Brussels, 14/05/2009 (Agence Europe) - In 2008, EU27 FDI (foreign direct investment) in extra-EU27 countries (outflows) fell by 28%, from €496 billion in 2007 to €354bn in 2008, while FDI into the EU27 from the rest of the world (inflows) decreased by 57%, from €400bn to €173bn. In 2008, intra-EU27 FDI flows dropped by 42% compared with 2007, according to Eurostat first FDI results.
In 2008, the EU27 invested €149 bn in the USA, compared with €171 bn in 2007. EU27 investments also fell in offshore financial centres (from €130 bn to €43bn) and Canada (from €42bn to €9 bn). Investments grew with Switzerland (from 24bn to 33bn) and Russia (from 16bn to 22bn), and remained nearly stable with Hong Kong (from 8bn to 7bn). Inversely, the USA invested €45bn in the EU27 in 2008, compared with €194bn in 2007. Investments in the EU27 also fell from offshore financial centres (from 124 bn to 45bn), Switzerland (from 20bn to 5bn), Japan (from 19bn to 4bn) and India (from 10bn to 2bn), while investments from Canada (from 14bn to 18bn) and Brazil (from 2bn to 7bn) rose. EU27 FDI flows with China (excluding Hong Kong) remained modest in 2008, with EU27 investment of 5bn euro in China and Chinese investment of only 0.1bn in the EU27.
Luxembourg, with outflows of €83bn, a 23% share of the EU27 total, was the largest investor in extra-EU27 in 2008, followed by France (58bn or 16%) and the United Kingdom (52bn or 15%). These three countries were also the main recipients of FDI from the rest of the world. In 2008, the EU27 was a net investor in the rest of the world, with outflows higher than inflows by €182bn (1.5% of GDP compared with 96bn or 0.8% of GDP in 2007). France (€92bn), Germany (€71bn) and the Netherlands (€37 billion) were the main investors within the EU27 in 2008. France (€55bn) was also the main recipient of investment from the other member states, followed by Spain (€40bn) and Belgium (34bn). A.B./transl.jl)