Inbound foreign direct investment to China hits record high, outbound FDI slumps 16%

BEIJING - China hauled in US$144 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year — the most yet — and ranked second globally after the U.S., despite an overall slide in global FDI, according to a U.N. report.

In contrast with rebounding global trade and a strengthening global economy, the total amount of outbound investment sent to foreign countries and regions fell 16% to USD 1.52 trillion in 2017, its second straight year of contraction, according to the report, published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and reported by Caixin Media.

“Higher economic growth projections, trade volumes and commodity prices would normally point to a potential increase in global FDI in 2018,” the UNCTAD report said.

However, geopolitical risks and policy uncertainty could have a negative impact on the scale and contours of any FDI recovery in 2018, it added, predicting that global FDI will bounce back to USS1.8 trillion — a level last seen in 2016.  www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).