Page 168 - Theoretical and Practical Interpretation of Investment Attractiveness

According to studies conducted by the International Monetary Fund, the United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Bank, FDI in the United States
in 2019 was US$246 billion, ranking first in the ranking. In this ranking, the volume of foreign
direct investment in Uzbekistan amounts to 2.3 billion US dollars and occupies the lower
places.
Direct investment flows to developed countries increased 5 percent to $800 billion in
2018 from a revised $761 billion. The rise came despite weaker macroeconomic fundamentals
and policy uncertainty for investors, including trade tensions and Brexit. This trend was
mainly supported by the dynamics of direct investment in Europe, where flows increased by
18% and amounted to $429 billion. A number of European countries experienced strong
volatility. For example, in 2019 the amount of money flowing into Ireland was $78 billion,
and in 2018 it was $28 billion. Foreign direct investment has fallen in some major economies.
In Germany the flow was halved, and in France and the UK it fell slightly. In North America,
flows remained flat at $297 billion. Despite a slight decline in foreign direct investment in the
United States (-3 percent), the country remains the largest recipient of foreign investment
($246 billion). The volume of direct investment in developing economies decreased by 2%
and amounted to $685 billion.
Since 2010, flows to developing countries have been relatively stable and within a
much narrower range than to developed countries, averaging US$674 billion. Foreign direct
investment in Africa fell 10 percent in 2019 to $45 billion due to moderate economic growth
and weaker demand for goods. This has reduced flows to countries with relatively more
diversified foreign investment inflows (eg South Africa, Morocco and Ethiopia) as well as
commodity exporters (eg Nigeria, Sudan).
Few countries received more funding in 2019. Inflows into Egypt, Africa's largest
recipient of foreign investment, rose 11 percent to $9 billion. In 2019, the share of direct
investment in developing Asia decreased by 5% and amounted to $474 billion. Despite its
decline, it remains the largest recipient of foreign investment, accounting for more than 30
percent of global investment flows. The decline was driven primarily by a 34 percent decline
in Hong Kong, China. The five largest recipients were China, Hong Kong, China, Singapore,
India and Indonesia.
China is the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment after the United
States. The flow of foreign investment into Latin America and the Caribbean (excluding
financial centers) increased by 10% to $164 billion. Foreign direct investment increased in
Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, mostly in goods, but investment in utilities also increased.
In 2019, Latin America and the Caribbean also became a huge hotspot for foreign direct
investment in renewable energy. In transition economies, foreign direct investment inflows
increased by 59 percent to $55 billion, driven by a recovery in foreign direct investment in
the Russian Federation, growth from a two-year decline in Ukraine, and new liberalization in
Uzbekistan.
According to Trey McArver, director of the China division of research firm TS
Lombard in London, attitudes towards business in China have "deteriorated
dramatically over the last three to four years": it is no longer as attractive as it once
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