Foreign Investment Momentum Back In 2011: UNCTAD.

"Foreign direct investment flows should take two years to regain momentum after a sharp drop in 2009, a UN think tank said Wednesday as it warned of the risk of economic nationalism during the recovery.

Transnational companies expect a slow recovery in their investment expenditure abroad to begin next year and accelerate in 2011, the UN Conference on Trade and Development said in its annual survey of 241 multinationals. The World Investment Survey 2009 found that about half of them even expected their foreign direct investment (FDI) expenditure in 2011 to rise above 2008 levels, when inflows worldwide reached an estimated $1.4 trillion - about a fifth less than the 2007 peak...." [Agence France Presse/Factiva]

Reuters adds that "... 'The crisis has triggered new efforts to promote and facilitate FDI and to enhance the clarity and stability of their investment frameworks,' UNCTAD Investment and Enterprise Division Director James Zhan told a news conference...." [Reuters/Factiva]

Xinhua writes that "...according to the survey, transnational corporations from the developing world, especially Asia, were the most optimistic regarding FDI in 2011, because they have suffered relatively less from the economic crisis. In the developed world, sentiment was mixed, with companies in Japan and Europe less optimistic than those in the US. Responses to the survey also suggest that while transnational corporations are highly invested in areas that could be considered their traditional home regions, the trend is toward more globalization, with investments spread over many regions...." [Xinhua/Factiva]