New Delhi (NVI): Foreign Direct Investment in India rose by 13 per cent in 2020 while global FDI collapsed, falling 42% from $1.5 trillion in 2019 to an estimated $859 billion, according to a UNCTAD Investment Trends Monitor report.
India recorded positive growth of 13%, boosted by investments in the digital sector, as per the report.
Global FDI collapsed in 2020 by 42 percent to an estimated $859 billion from $1.5 trillion in 2019, as per ‘investment trends monitor’ issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) yesterday.
According to reports, such a low level was last seen in the 1990s and is more than 30 per cent below the investment trough that followed the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
“China was the world’s largest FDI recipient, with flows to the Asian giant rising by 4 percent to $163 billion. India, another major emerging economy, also recorded positive growth (13 percent), boosted by investments in the digital sector,” the report said.
According to the report, the decline in FDI was concentrated in developed countries, where flows plummeted by 69% to an estimated $229 billion.
The report added that “in relative terms, FDI flows declined most strongly in the UK, Italy, Russia, Germany, Brazil and the US due to the dramatic impact of COVID-19. India and China bucked the trend”.
While FDI in South Asia rose by 10 per cent to $65 billion, India’s 13 percent rise in FDI saw the total foreign investments for 2020 touching $57 billion.
As developing countries in Asia weathered the storm well as a group, attracting an estimated $476 billion in FDI in 2020, flows to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) contracted by 31% to $107 billion, due to a decline in investment to the largest recipients in the subregion, as per the report.
-ARK
