FDI projects into the Asia region in 2011 have been higher month on month than those in 2010, according to data from greenfield investment monitor fDiMarkets.

Between January 2011 and May 2011, fDiMarketsrecorded 1831 projects going into Asia, compared with 1676 in the same period in 2010. The height of this FDI was in March 2011, with 424 projects recorded in the region, compared with 345 in March 2010. This was in line with an overall global peak in FDI during this same month in 2011.

The countries that have seen the most FDI in Asia are China and India, with the majority of these projects in the business services, financial services, and software and IT sectors, respectively. Western Europe as a whole has provided the most FDI projects into Asia so far in 2011, with the UK contributing 213.

However, with 517 projects, the US was the most significant contributor overall to FDI in the region between January and May 2011, with companies such as World Courier, IBM and Omnicom making investments.

The number of jobs created in the Asia region in 2011 increased massively in February 2011, with 102,120 jobs, in comparison with the same month in 2010 when 75,303 jobs were created.

Recent FDI projects into Asia include US-based IT outsourcing and consultancy company Mindlance, which opened its sixth office in India in May 2011, providing sales and delivery services. Also, Netherlands-based financial services group Citco opened an office in Shanghai, China, in March 2011, creating 80 new jobs.