fDi Report 2012 Cover

China, India and Singapore attracted 57% of FDI projects in Asia-Pacific in 2011, but both Japan and Thailand suffered on the back of natural disasters.

China, India and Singapore attracted 2,485 of the 4,330 FDI projects into Asia-Pacific, according to a report released by fDi Intelligence. India was the strongest performing country with a 21% growth in FDI projects in 2011, following just 1% growth in 2010.  India and China achieved an increase in capital investment of 15% and 3% respectively. The top-performing country for attracting new jobs was China, which saw just over 340,000 jobs created as a result of inward FDI.

In terms of the size of projects, Indonesia, Pakistan and South Korea each recorded growth in capital investment in 2011 of more than 70% after securing large-scale investment projects. Examples include Cyprus-based Solway Group announcing a $3bn nickel smelting plant in Indonesia, and United Arab Emirates-based Al Ghurair Group announcing plans to develop a $700m oil refinery in Pakistan.

fDi ’s figures relate solely to greenfield investment and exclude mergers and acquisitions.

 

Natural Disasters take their toll

The impact of the natural disasters in Japan and Thailand is clearly evident in the sharp decline in FDI in both countries. fDi Intelligence recorded a 25% decline in the number of FDI projects investing in Japan and a 35% decline in Thailand.  With production and supply chains severely damaged domestically, Japan and Thailand-based companies accelerated their outward FDI overseas with growth in outward FDI projects in 2011 of 6% and 45%, respectively.

 

2011 saw the announcement of $6.93 bn into Asia-Pacific’s Renewable Energy sector

FDI in renewable energy grew rapidly, with a 59% increase in project numbers and 77% increase in jobs creation in the sector in 2011. Metals and minerals was the largest sector for FDI, with an estimated $45bn of capital investment in Asia-Pacific tracked by fDi Intelligence.

 

Global FDI predictions for 2012

The FDI results for Asia-Pacific countries are set against a mixed global picture – 2011 was a challenging year for the global FDI market. Even though companies continued to be attracted to the investment opportunities in Africa and Latin America, natural disasters in Asia-Pacific and economic and political instability in Europe, north Africa and the Middle East led many companies to put on hold their FDI plans, leading to a sharp decline in FDI in many countries. For example in addition to the reductions in FDI flows in Japan and Thailand above mentioned, fDi Intelligence recorded a 29% decline in the number of FDI projects investing in Egypt and a 22% decline in projects investing in Italy.

Nevertheless, against the backdrop of another tumultuous year for the world economy, foreign investors have remained cautiously optimistic with slow but solid growth in FDI. The global number of FDI projects increased by 5.6% in 2011, faster than the 3% increase in 2010. 

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For further information please contact Dino Ribeiro, dino.ribeiro@ft.com or +44 (0)20 7873 3964. 

Download the full fDi Report 2012 at http://www.fdiintelligence.com/fDiReport

Registration will be required to download a free copy of the report.

 

Notes to editors

Referencing – please state the source as fDi Intelligence from The Financial Times Ltd.

 

About the fDi Report 2012

The fDi Report 2012 is published by fDi Intelligence, part of The Financial Times Limited.  It draws on data from the fDi Markets database which tracks greenfield investment projects. It does not include Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) or other equity-based or non-equity investments. Only new investment projects and significant expansions of existing projects are included. fDi Markets is the most authoritative source of intelligence on real investment in the global economy and the only source of greenfield investment data that covers all countries and industries worldwide. Retail projects have been excluded from this analysis but are tracked by fDi Markets.

The data presented includes FDI projects that have either been announced or opened by a company. The data on capital investment and job creation is based on the total investment the company is making at the time of the project announcement or opening. As companies can raise capital locally, phase their investment over a period of time, and can channel their investment through different countries for tax efficiency the data used in this report is different to the official data on FDI flows. The data from fDi Markets is more accurate and a real time indicator of the real investment companies are making in their overseas subsidiaries.

The data shown includes estimates for capital investment and job creation derived from algorithms (patent pending) when a company does not release the information. The World Bank, UNCTAD, Economist Intelligence Unit and over 100 governments around the world as well as major corporations use our data as the primarily source of intelligence on greenfield investment trends. 

 

About fDi Intelligence

• fDi Intelligence, a division of The Financial Times Ltd, is the largest FDI centre of excellence globally. Specialising in all areas relating to foreign direct investment and investment promotion, the full suite of services includes: location advertising to generate brand awareness; industry-leading intelligence tools to develop FDI strategies and identify potential investors; and tailored FDI events and investor roundtables to meet target companies and generate business leads.

• Products within the portfolio include fDi Markets, a database tracking crossborder greenfield investment on a real-time basis; fDi Benchmark, a database which benchmarks global locations on their attractiveness to foreign investors; and fDi Magazine and its website fDiIntelligence.com.

 

About The Financial Times

The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of 604,856 (Deloitte assured, 3 October 2011 to 1 January 2012) and a combined print and online average daily readership of 2.2 million people worldwide (PwC assured, November 2011). FT.com has more than 4.5 million registered users and 285,475 paying digital subscribers. The newspaper, printed at 22 print sites across the globe, has a global print circulation of 316,493 (ABC, March 2012).

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