- Asia: In its annual report on investments worldwide in 1999 (see EI of 9&10 October), UNCTAD states that total foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in developing Asian countries (including Central Asia, West Asia and the Pacific) rose significantly in 1999, to nearly USD 106 billion (as against 97 billion the previous year). More particularly, the study shows that: i) FDI in China slipped nearly 8% in 1999 to USD 40.4 billion (43.7 billion in 1998). This country should nevertheless remain an attractive destination for investors; ii) the Republic of Korea, on the other hand, experienced a boom, with FDI rising from USD 5.2 billion in 1998 to 10.3 billion in 1999. Singapore also showed a slight increase (from USD 5.4 billion to 7 billion) as did the Chinese province of Taiwan (from only 222 million to USD 3 billion); iii) in the five countries hit hardest by the 1997-98 financial crisis (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Republic of Korea and Indonesia), there was a global rise of 4% in FDI, which totalled USD 17 billion in 1999; iv) investment flows to Hong Kong rose from USD 15 billion in 1998 to over 23 billion in 1999; v) cross-border mergers and acquisitions were an important part of FDI in 1999, with a record figure of USD 15 billion, of which 9 billion for the Republic of Korea alone; vi) in terms of regions, in 1999, FDI in South Asia declined 13% to USD 3.2 billion, it held steady in West Asia at USD 9 billion and dropped to 2.8 billion dollars in Central Asia. The Pacific island countries posted a slight increase to USD 248 million; vii) FDI in developing Asian and Pacific countries rose considerably in 1999 to USD 37 billion, as against 22.8 billion in 1998. But these figures are far from the records set in 1997 (USD 47.4 billion) and 1995 (USD 51.9 billion).