According to the latest annual report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) has increased by 5% globally, reaching 1.240 trillion dollars. It is the first time that emerging and developing countries receive more than half of the direct capital abroad. However, the figure is still well below the record of 37% reached in 2007. According to United Nations estimates, the global flow this year will be between 1,4 and 1,6 trillion dollars, reaching 1,7 trillion in 2012 and 1,9 in 2013.
The Western Asia Commission (ESCWA) has noted that in the Middle East the flow of FDI has decreased by 15%, going from 67 billion dollars in 2009 to 57 billion in 2010. This drop would be a repercussion of the crisis global economy. Only Jordan and Lebanon have kept their values stable, while the other countries show a slowdown in the entry of foreign capital. However, Saudi Arabia maintains its leadership having received 2010 billion dollars from abroad in 28. Qatar follows with 5,5 billion dollars, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) maintains a stable flow of an average of 4 billion, placing itself in fifth position.
The decline had already started last year. At the beginning of 2010, about $12,5 billion of foreign investments had been liquidated, which corresponds to a reduction of 51%.
Source: aljazeera
