Data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets shows that there has been a steady decrease in the number of FDI projects in Asia-Pacific's alternative and renewable energy sector since a peak in 2008. Capital investment and job creation have also suffered a similar decline since their peaks in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

Between January 2003 and August 2013, a total of 361 FDI projects were recorded in the alternative and renewable energy sector in Asia-Pacific. These projects represent total capital investment of $45.8bn, which is an average investment of $318.2m per project, with a total of 3833 jobs created.

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The number of projects in Asia-Pacific's alternative and renewable energy sector peaked in 2004, when 74 investments were made. Project numbers have fallen steadily since, with a total of 30 projects recorded in 2012, representing a decrease of 59.5%. Job creation reached its peak in 2009, when 2029 jobs were created; it has suffered the largest decline of the three categories, with only 16 jobs created in the industry in Asia in 2012, a drop of 99.2%.

Capital expenditure in the sector reached its peak in 2007, when $1.18bn was invested in Asia-Pacific. Levels have fluctuated since, with a rise in 2009 and again in 2012. However, in the main, the trend has been downward, and since its peak in 2007, capital expenditure has fallen by 66.2%, with $4bn having been recorded in 2012. In the first three quarters of 2013, investments in the sector in Asia-Pacific have amounted to $1.77bn. 

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