Data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets shows a significant decrease in capital expenditure by foreign companies investing in Belgium since a 2008 peak.
Between January 2003 and July 2012, a total of 1294 FDI projects were recorded in the country, accounting for nearly 1% of global FDI. Capital expenditure amounted to $52.2bn in the period, with an average investment of $40.4m per project and a total of 106,666 jobs created as a result of FDI.
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Inflows into Belgium reached a peak in 2008, when $10.8bn was invested in the country. But this figure decreased by 65% the following year, when Belgium received $3.8bn of capital expenditure. In 2010, the figure was slightly higher at $6.07bn, but it declined again in 2011 to $3.1bn, a decrease of more than 70% from its 2008 peak.
The US provides the highest level of investment into Belgium, with $1.4bn invested into the country between January 2003 and July 2012. It is also responsible for creating the most jobs in the region, with 31,937 jobs created as a result of US FDI in the same period.