NationStates Jolt Archive

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1808084,00.html

The article says that not only is Britain the top recipient of Foreign Direct Investment of 30 OECD countries, but that it got the lions share (~25%) of the $622 bn last year.


That can't be right, can it?

And France was the biggest investor, investing $116 abroad.
Where's the USA in all this?

Or am I misunderstanding the OECD or FDI or both?

*tags thread to read/research tomorrow evening*

No, it's correct. There has been a lot of consolidation of companies in the EU this year, and when it's combined with the weaker dollar it is obvious why European nations would take the top spots in FDI; also, many of the major international energy companies are European and they invest very heavily. A combination of high oil prices, a weak dollar, and strong European stock markets is motivating the rise in FDI.

Hopefully, this will produce stronger economic growth in the Eurozone; the EU desparately needs stronger growth to balance the budgets of its member states and to keep inflation under control. There are signs of European acceleration, but it is still somewhat subdued.

Its investment. You're not thinking of aid are you?

Lots of foreign companies opening operations, building factories etc etc etc.

USA - probably very low down. I dunno about their regulations on incoming investment but if its like their immigration regulations, I would expect foreign investment to be closer to zero. However as the former poster pointed out, it has a lot to do with exchange rates between the pound, euro and dollar.

You could go into a long ramble about protectionist policies to prevent outside investment undercutting national firms, but of course that is irrelevant inside the EU, so any EU-based company would face very little in the way of protectionist opposition.

It all changes year by year. Go back a few years and I'm sure that Ireland was topping that list. Governments are always changing policy to attract more foreign investment. When combined with favourable exchange rates then it has a great effect as Ireland has proved over the last decade.

The US is not an OECD country so is not included in the list. Worldwide the UK, USA and China make up the top three.

Yeah, we DID out-attract the USA.

UK-Ok! :D

The US is not an OECD country so is not included in the list. Worldwide the UK, USA and China make up the top three.the OECD states otherwise. http://www.oecd.org/countrieslist/0,3025,en_33873108_33844430_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

Its investment. You're not thinking of aid are you?

Lots of foreign companies opening operations, building factories etc etc etc.I was thinking of investment. I just thought investment would be generally proportional to the size of the economy. Like the US would get about 5 times more investment than the UK.

I think I don't really understand the term FDI. It appears ton include hostile takeovers, which I don't see how that would be beneficial to an economy, seeing as the company is just changinf hands and not necessarily recieving any additional investment.

The US is not an OECD country so is not included in the list.
Well, that's certainly a novel way of looking at it. :D

[QUOTE=The Infinite Dunes]the OECD states otherwise. http://www.oecd.org/countrieslist/0,3025,en_33873108_33844430_1_1_1_1_1,00.htmlQUOTE]

Oops my mistake. Embarrasing as I use OECD statistics all the time.

I think I don't really understand the term FDI. It appears ton include hostile takeovers, which I don't see how that would be beneficial to an economy, seeing as the company is just changinf hands and not necessarily recieving any additional investment.
"Hostile" takeovers are basically just a firm buying up shares from third parties to gain a majority. It's not really a hostile sort of act. It's just buying them out, it's no worse than a "voluntary" takeover.

FDI is Foreign Direct Investment, in other words it's a firm getting involved directly in another country. That can be either greenfield projects, where you just start building on a green field, joint ventures or acquisitions.

In either way, it's a foreign firm investing directly in the country. It doesn't have to be beneficial, that's not in the definition. It usually is though, on balance.

[QUOTE=The Infinite Dunes]the OECD states otherwise. http://www.oecd.org/countrieslist/0,3025,en_33873108_33844430_1_1_1_1_1,00.htmlQUOTE]

Oops my mistake. Embarrasing as I use OECD statistics all the time.Heh. Why did you think the US wasn't part of the OECD? I seem to remember something about the OECD being set up to help encourage participation in the Marshall plan. Though even I wouldn't trust me to be right on that.