Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean 2017

26 Chapter I Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
The percentage share of the different groups of economies varied considerably
between 2014 and 2016. Developed economies regained their position as the largest
FDI recipients, accounting for 59% of the global total (higher than the levels seen in
2008 and 2009), while FDI flows into developing countries fell from 53% in 2014 to 37%
in 2016 (see table I.1).
Table I.1
Global FDI inflows, variation rate and distribution by region, 2007-2016
Investment flows
(billions of dollars)
Variation rate
(percentages)
Distribution by region
(percentages of global total)
Region
2007-
2011 a 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
2007-
2011 a 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Global total 1 515 1 593 1 443 1 324 1 774 1 746 0 -9 -8 34 -2 100 100 100 100 100 100
Developed economies 846 857 684 563 984 1032 4 -20 -18 75 5 56 54 47 43 55 59
European Union 464 492 337 257 484 566 13 -31 -24 89 17 31 31 23 19 27 32
United States 219 199 201 172 348 391 -13 1 -15 103 12 14 12 14 13 20 22
Transition economies 82 65 84 57 38 68 -19 30 -33 -34 81 5 4 6 4 2 4
Developing economies b 587 671 675 704 752 646 -2 1 4 7 -14 39 42 47 53 42 37
Latin America and
the Caribbean c 151 201 196 199 183 167 -3 -3 2 -8 -8 10 13 14 15 10 10
Africa 65 78 75 71 61 59 17 -4 -4 -14 -3 4 5 5 5 3 3
Developing Asia 379 401 421 460 524 443 -6 5 9 14 -15 25 25 29 35 30 25
Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of official figures for Latin America and the Caribbean and United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Investment Report, 2017: Investment and the Digital Economy (UNCTAD/WIR/2017), Geneva.
a
Simple average.
b
Not equal to the total for the subregions as the figure for Latin America and the Caribbean is not taken from UNCTAD (2017).
c
Calculation of the variation in 2016 excludes the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago because data for those countries are unavailable for 2016.
The percentage
share of the different
groups of economies
varied considerably
between 2014 and 2016.
Developed economies
regained their position
as the largest FDI
recipients, accounting
for 59% of the
global total.
FDI flows into North America climbed by 9%, including a record-high increase of
12% in the United States, while flows into European Union countries jumped by 17%,
thanks to the United Kingdom, which saw investment surge from US$ 33 billion in
2015 to US$ 254 billion in 2016. 1 Although there are currently no signs of Brexit having
a negative impact on FDI flows, just two acquisitions accounted for 67% of inflows,
reflecting sectoral growth and transnational companies’ consolidation strategies: the
Belgian-based Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA/NV acquired the brewer SABMiller PLC for
US$ 101.5 billion and Royal Dutch Shell bought the oil and gas company, BG Group
PLC, for US$ 69.4 billion.
Among developing countries, FDI declined in Africa (3%) owing to weak mineral
prices, and in Asia (15%) where flows towards China were relatively stable (down 1%) and
investment in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China fell sharply (18%).
Average inflows dropped by 7.8% in Latin America, albeit with stark differences among
countries and subregions, as will be seen below. With respect to transition economies,
flows to the Russian Federation increased considerably, to almost US$ 38 billion. While
this figure was much lower than the peak reached in 2008 (US$ 118 billion), it was also
much higher than the level seen in 2015, reflecting an increase 217.7% following the
privatization of State-owned oil and gas companies. These sectors also played a key
role in the increase in FDI towards Kazakhstan.
1
FDI flows into Europe were down by 6% in 2016, despite large mergers and acquisitions totalling US$ 337 billion, the highest
level seen since 2007 in the European Union. If the United Kingdom is excluded, FDI inflows plunged 31% in 2016.