. South, East and South-East Asia, and Oceania maintained their upward trend in 2007, reaching a new high of $249 billion, an increase of 18% over 2006. They accounted for half of all FDI to developing economies. At the subregional level, there was a further shift towards South and South-East Asia, although China and Hong Kong (China) remained the two largest FDI destinations in the region.
. In West Asia, overall, inward FDI
increased by 12% to $71 billion,
sustaining a period of steady
growth in inflows. Turkey and the
oil rich Gulf States continued to
attract the most FDI, but geopolitical
uncertainty in parts of the region
affected overall FDI. Saudi Arabia
became the largest host economy in
the region, overtaking Turkey.
. Latin America and the Caribbean increased by
36%, to a record level of $126 billion.
Significant increases were recorded
in the region's major economies,
especially Brazil and Chile where
inflows doubled. Contrasting with
the experience of the 1990s, the
strong FDI growth was driven
mainly by greenfield investments
(new investments and expansion
rather than cross-border M&As.
This pattern was the result of strong regional economic growth and
high corporate profits due to rising commodity
prices. Natural resource based manufacturing
accounted for a large proportion of inward FDI to
Brazil, for example.
FDI outflows from the developing world
remained high in 2007 at $253 billion.
. More African TNCs expanded their activities
within and outside the region, driving FDI outflows
from the region to $7 billion on average in the past
two years.