1 FDI IN FIGURES April 2020 Global FDI increased in 2019 but was still struggling when COVID-19 hit Despite an increase of 12% in 2019 to USD 1 426 billion, global FDI flows remained below levels recorded between 2010 and 2017. Compared to 2017, FDI flows decreased by 15%, continuing the downward trend observed since 2015. Inflows to the OECD area increased by 6% even though equity inflows reached their lowest level since 2005. Outflows from the OECD area increased by 62% in 2019 as US outflows returned to positive levels. However, OECD area inflows and outflows in 2019 were lower than in 2017. FDI inflows to non-OECD G20 economies decreased by 9% and FDI outflows decreased by 19% as flows to and from China dropped. Japan, the United States and the Netherlands were the largest sources of FDI outflows worldwide. The United States and China, the Netherlands, Ireland and Brazil were major FDI recipients. FDI income paid by affiliates in OECD countries to foreign parents decreased by 5% and FDI income received by OECD parents decreased by 1% in 2019, possibly reflecting slower economic growth. While the share of earnings distributed to US parents was much less than in 2018, US parents still repatriated more than they did prior to the 2017 US tax reform. FDI flows were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic. FDI flows are expected to drop by more than 30% in 2020, even under the most optimistic scenario (see the OECD note on FDI flows in the time of COVID-19). In this issue Recent developments FDI flows by instruments FDI income by components Impact of COVID19 on FDI flows Tables of FDI statistics Recent developments In 2019, global FDI flows 1 increased by 12% compared to 2018, to USD 1 426 billion. However, the flows in 2019 remained at very low levels, representing only 1.6% of GDP compared to more than 2% from 2015 to 2017, since FDI flows in 2018 were very low due to the 2017 US tax reform (see FDI in Figures – April 2019). In fact, FDI flows in 2018 and 2019 were lower than at any time since 2010, when flows dropped in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. This newsletter primarily focuses on the state of FDI in 2019 before the COVID-19 virus began to disrupt many economies. Section 4 and a separate note on the impact of COVID-19 on FDI flows provide more information on the current situation and projections for FDI flows through end-2021. The 2019 increase was partly due to a return to positive outward FDI flows from the United States and from the Netherlands. However, US outflows still remained lower than at any time since 2005. Record levels of outward FDI flows from Japan also 1 By definition, inward and outward FDI worldwide should be equal, but in practice, there are statistical discrepancies between inward and outward FDI. Unless otherwise specified, references to ‘global FDI flows’ refer to the average of these two figures. 1 Find latest FDI data online Detailed FDI statistics by partner country and by industry are available from OECD’s online FDI database (see pre-defined queries). Find detailed information on inward and outward FDI flows, income and positions by main destination or source country, by industry sector, and for resident SPEs as well as information on inward FDI positions by ultimate investing country. Detailed data for 2018 are now available.
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1
FDI IN FIGURES April 2020
Global FDI increased in 2019 but was still struggling when COVID-19 hit Despite an increase of 12% in 2019 to USD 1 426 billion, global FDI flows remained below levels
recorded between 2010 and 2017. Compared to 2017, FDI flows decreased by 15%, continuing thedownward trend observed since 2015.
Inflows to the OECD area increased by 6% even though equity inflows reached their lowest level since2005. Outflows from the OECD area increased by 62% in 2019 as US outflows returned to positivelevels. However, OECD area inflows and outflows in 2019 were lower than in 2017.
FDI inflows to non-OECD G20 economies decreased by 9% and FDI outflows decreased by 19%as flows to and from China dropped.
Japan, the United States and the Netherlands were the largest sources of FDI outflows worldwide. TheUnited States and China, the Netherlands, Ireland and Brazil were major FDI recipients.
FDI income paid by affiliates in OECD countries to foreign parents decreased by 5% and FDIincome received by OECD parents decreased by 1% in 2019, possibly reflecting slower economicgrowth. While the share of earnings distributed to US parents was much less than in 2018, US parentsstill repatriated more than they did prior to the 2017 US tax reform.
FDI flows were already struggling before the COVID-19 pandemic. FDI flows are expected to dropby more than 30% in 2020, even under the most optimistic scenario (see the OECD note on FDI flowsin the time of COVID-19).
In this issue
Recent developments
FDI flows by instruments
FDI income by components
Impact of COVID19 on FDI flows
Tables of FDI statistics
Recent developments
In 2019, global FDI flows1 increased by 12% compared to 2018, to USD 1 426 billion. However, the flows in 2019 remained at very low levels, representing only 1.6% of GDP compared to more than 2% from 2015 to 2017, since FDI flows in 2018 were very low due to the 2017 US tax reform (see FDI in Figures – April 2019). In fact, FDI flows in 2018 and 2019 were lower than at any time since 2010, when flows dropped in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. This newsletter primarily focuses on the state of FDI in 2019 before the COVID-19 virus began to disrupt many economies. Section 4 and a separate note on the impact of COVID-19 on FDI flows provide more information on the current situation and projections for FDI flows through end-2021. The 2019 increase was partly due to a return to positive outward FDI flows from the United States and from the Netherlands. However, US outflows still remained lower than at any time since 2005. Record levels of outward FDI flows from Japan also
1 By definition, inward and outward FDI worldwide should be equal, but in practice, there are statistical discrepancies between inward and outward FDI. Unless otherwise specified, references to ‘global FDI flows’ refer to the average of these two figures.
1
Find latest FDI data online Detailed FDI statistics by partner country and by industry are available from OECD’s online FDI database (see pre-defined queries). Find detailed information on inward and outward FDI flows, income and positions by main destination or source country, by industry sector, and for resident SPEs as well as information on inward FDI positions by ultimate investing country. Detailed data for 2018 are now available.
contributed to the increase, partly as a result of Takeda Pharmaceutical acquiring Shire PLC, a Dublin-based manufacturer and wholesaler of pharmaceutical products.2
Figure 1 shows global FDI flows from 1999 to 2019 and quarterly and half-year data for 2015 to 2019.3 Quarterly analysis of FDI flows is complicated by their high volatility, often the result of a few very large deals during a specific quarter. Looking at half-year values, FDI flows dropped by 15% in the first half of 2019 before increasing by 18% in the second half of the year. Overall, flows in 2019 continued their general decline since 2015 and were lower than any levels in 2010-2017.
Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
Inflows
By region, FDI flows to the OECD area increased by 6% in 2019, to USD 867 billion (Figure 2). FDI inflows to the OECD area accounted for 56% of global FDI inflows, compared to 52% in 2018 and 57% in 2017. The increase was largely driven by Ireland and to a lesser extent Switzerland, which both recorded negative inflows in 2018 (Figure 3). The switch to positive FDI flows in Ireland was largely due to increased levels of intracompany debt. FDI flows in Switzerland remained negative in the first half of 2019 but switched to positive levels in the second half of the year. The Nordic countries also recorded increases. These were partly offset by decreases in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Australia. FDI flows to the United States, the major recipient of FDI worldwide, remained stable (Figure 3).
FDI flows into EU countries increased by 14%, accounting for 31% of global inflows compared to 27% in 2017 and 2018.
2 Refinitiv; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-07/how-takeda-s-62-billion-shire-deal-reshapes-the-pharma-world. 3 The measure was constructed using FDI statistics on a directional basis whenever available, supplemented by measures on an asset/liability basis when needed. See Notes for tables 1 to 3 on page 12 for details. Data are as of 10 April 2020.
Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
FDI inflows to the G20 decreased by 10%. FDI flows in non-OECD G20 economies decreased by 9%, largely due to the lowest levels of inflows to China since 2010. The decrease was partly offset by increases in Brazil, India and Russia.
Despite lower levels of inflows recorded in 2019, the United States and China remain the major FDI recipients worldwide, followed by Ireland, the Netherlands (excluding resident SPEs), Brazil, India and the United Kingdom.4
Figure 3: FDI inflows of selected countries, 2018-2019 (USD billion)
Top 10 major FDI recipients in 20195 Other selected countries (see notes)
Notes: ‘Other selected countries’ recorded increases or decreases of more than USD 10 billion in their FDI inflows between 2018 and 2019. * Data exclude resident SPEs. **Asset/liability basis (2019 only for Australia). Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
Outflows
By region, FDI outflows from the OECD area increased by 62% in 2019 to USD 996 billion (Figure 4), but were still 15% lower than in 2017. The OECD area accounted for 77% of global FDI outflows in 2019 compared to 63% in 2018 and 72% in 2017. The increase in 2018 was largely driven by the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, and, to a lesser extent, Denmark and Canada. These increases were partly offset by widespread decreases in 21 other OECD countries and, in particular, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom (Figure 5).
EU outflows increased by 34% and accounted for 36% of global FDI outflows, compared to 35% in 2018 and 32% in 2017. The increase was largely due to the return to positive outward FDI flows from the Netherlands, mostly in equity capital.
4 Hong-Kong, China and Singapore are not listed as major FDI sources and recipients respectively because it is thought that these economies are not the ultimate destinations or sources of a significant amount of their flows; instead these flows pass through on their way to and from other economies.
0
500
1 000
1 500
2 000
2 500World OECD G20 EU
1553
867
473
939
582
358
1571
816
417
1045
652
393
Total World
OECD
EU
G20
G20-OECD
G20- non OECD
2019 2018261
156
84 78 72 60 59 50 44 38
268235
114
-28
60 42 6543 37 60
-22
32 21 1016 12
-53
13 4
-4
245
Figure 2: FDI inflows for selected areas, 2005-2018 (USD billion)
2005-2019 2019 2018
4
Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
FDI outflows from the G20 increased by 33% but the trend differs across the G20 sub-groups. While FDI outflows increased by 57% from G20 OECD economies, they decreased by 19% from non-OECD G20 economies largely driven by China, which recorded its lowest level of outflows since 2014. In contrast, FDI outflows from Brazil switched from negative to positive levels.
In 2019, major sources of FDI worldwide were Japan, the United States, the Netherlands (excluding resident SPEs), Germany, China and Canada.4
Figure 5: FDI outflows of selected countries, 2018-2019 (USD billion)
Top 10 major FDI investors in 2019 Other selected countries (see notes)
Notes: ‘Other selected countries’ displayed in this chart recorded more than USD 10 billion increases or decreases in their FDI outflows between 2018 and 2019. * Data exclude resident SPEs. **Asset/liability basis (2019 only for Korea). Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
OECD Equity Capital FDI flows Financial flows consist of three components: equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and intracompany debt.5 Equity capital is of interest because it drives much of the volatility in FDI flows (figure 6) and because it is often associated with new investments, such as greenfield and/or M&As.6
In 2019, FDI equity inflows dropped by 37% and represented 0.5% of OECD GDP, their lowest level since 2005, and continuing the downward trend that started in 2016. The drop in 2019 was largely due to the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy (Figure 7). FDI equity flows to the United States and to the United Kingdom have declined steadily since 2016 and 2017, respectively. Equity capital notably reached its lowest level in Germany since 2005 and in Italy since 2013. Despite a steady decline, the United States and the United Kingdom remained the two
5 See notes on page 12 for a description of each component of FDI flows. OECD FDI equity, reinvestment of earnings and debt flows are estimated using FDI instruments reported by OECD countries. See notes to Figure 6 for more detail. 6 Reinvested earnings, which correspond to undistributed branch earnings, will be analysed in more detail in Section 4 ‘Recent trends in FDI income.’ Intra-company debt flows, which are very volatile and difficult to interpret, will not be analysed.
0
500
1 000
1 500
2 000
2 500World OECD G20 EU
1299
996
463
863
692
170
978
616
345
651
440
211
Total World
OECD
EU
G20
G20-OECD
G20- non OECD
227
148 125 99 98 7736 31 31 30
143
-68-19
79
143
50 45 411
102
16 18 1 23 11
-16
1 12 36 61
2
2005-2019 2019 2018
Figure 4: FDI outflows of selected areas, 2005-2019 (USD billion)
2019 2018
2019 2018
5
major OECD recipients of FDI equity flows in 2019, ahead of France, the Netherlands, Canada and Australia. Ireland and Switzerland recorded equity disinvestments for the second consecutive year.
FDI equity outflows from the OECD increased by 26%, partly driven by an increase from Japan due to Takeda Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Shire PLC, a Dublin-based manufacturer and wholesaler of pharmaceutical products. There were also large increases from the divestments recorded in Ireland and the Netherlands in 2018, and, to a lesser extent, from Canada and Denmark. In contrast, FDI equity outflows from France and Germany dropped after reaching a peak in 2018. They also declined from the United States, reaching their second lowest level since 2005. Spain, Begium, Korea and Luxembourg recorded lesser declines.
Figure 6: OECD FDI flows by instruments, 2005-2019 FDI inflows, as a share of GDP FDI outflows, as a share of GDP
Total FDI
-0.2%
0.8%
1.8%
2.8%
3.8%
4.8%
-0.2%
0.8%
1.8%
2.8%
3.8%
4.8%
Notes: p: preliminary estimates. OECD FDI equity, reinvestment of earnings and debt flows are estimated using FDI instruments reported by OECD countries in accordance with FDI flows shown in Table 1. Components for countries that did not report FDI aggregates by instrument on directional basis were estimated using equity and reinvestment of earnings reported on asset/liability. Components for countries that did not report FDI instruments for historical years were estimated by using instrument shares observed in non-revised data. Source: OECD International Direct Investment statistics database.
6
Notes: Countries displayed in this chart either recorded more than USD 20 billion equity inflows and outflows in 2019; or they recorded more than USD 10 billion increase or decrease in FDI equity inflows and outflows between 2018 and 2019. Countries for which equity flows for 2019 were not available could not be displayed. * Data exclude resident SPEs. **Asset/liability basis (2019 only for Australia and Korea) Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
Recent trends in FDI income of OECD countries
FDI income data consists of the foreign investor’s share in the earnings of its affiliates and net interest from intercompany debt. Changes in earnings reflect changes in profitability of the investment. Earnings are further broken down into dividends and reinvested earnings. This section examines trends in income for OECD countries and provides detail on dividends and reinvested earnings for selected countries.7
After reaching a peak in 2018, FDI income for OECD countries started to decline in 2019, possibly reflecting the slowdown in global economic growth in 2019. OECD FDI income payments decreased by 5%, after rising steadily since 2013 (figure 8). They represented 1.9% of OECD GDP, a level comparable to 2017. OECD FDI income receipts decreased more modestly, by 1%, and represented 2.9% of OECD GDP, a level comparable to the peak in 2018.
In 2019, OECD earnings on inward FDI decreased by 6%, partly due to Switzerland (Figure 9). Overall, 51% of those earnings were reinvested, and this share has risen over the past seven years, from 38% in 2013 to 48% in 2017 and 2018.
Earnings on outward FDI decreased by 1%, and much less of these earnings were distributed than in 2018 (Figure 8). In 2019, earnings distributed to US parents were half the level in 2018, leading reinvested earnings to switch to positive levels (Figure 9). However, reinvested earnings remain below any levels recorded in 2006-2017, indicating that US parents still repatriate more of their earnings than they did prior to the 2017 US tax reform.
7 OECD FDI income and its components are estimated using FDI income and its components reported by OECD countries. See notes to Figure 8 for more detail. Interest is not discussed separately since it tends to be a small share of total income.
21
2915
33
4
-45
2
31
11
-49
47
142
30
23
5
36
53
-5718
81
36-94
69
210
Australia**
Canada
Denmark*
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands*
Spain
Switzerland
United Kingdom**
United States
9
39
21
36
51
73
177
25
2
78
-714
25
13
-0.1
101
133
-2664
36
12
-56
14
78
Belgium
Canada
Denmark*
France
Germany
Ireland
Japan**
Korea**
Luxembourg*
Netherlands*
Spain
United States
3
Figure 7: FDI equity flows of selected OECD countries, 2018-2019
Notes: Countries displayed in this chart recorded more than USD 20 billion of income on inward and outward equity in 2019. Countries who do not report 2019 FDI income on equity to the OECD could not be displayed. *Asset/liability basis (2019 only for Australia, France and Switzerland). Source: OECD International Direct Investment Statistics database.
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
0.0%
1.0%
2.0%
3.0%
4.0%
2019 2018Dividends Reinvested earnings
0 50 100 150 200United States
-400 -200 0 200 400 600 800
United States
0
35
70
105
140
0
35
70
105
140
Notes: p: preliminary estimates. OECD FDI dividends, reinvested earnings and interest are estimated using FDI income components reported by OECD countries in accordance to FDI income shown in Table 3. Components for countries that did not report FDI aggregates by instrument on directional basis were estimated using dividends and reinvested earnings reported on asset/liability; or by using reinvested earnings reported for FDI flows and distributing dividends and interest equally. Components for countries that did not report FDI instruments for historical years were estimated by using instrument shares observed in non-revised data Source: OECD International Direct Investment statistics database.
Figure 8: OECD FDI income by components, 2005-2019 FDI income payments (inward), as a share of GDP FDI income receipts (outward), as a share of GDP
Dividends Reinvested earnings Interests
8
Impact of the COVID 19 on FDI flows FDI flows are expected to decline sharply as a consequence of the pandemic and the resulting supply disruptions, demand contractions, and pessimistic outlook of economic actors. A drop of more than 30% is expected in 2020 even under the most optimistic scenario in which the economy begins to recover quickly in the 2nd half of 2020. A separate note scheduled for publication on 4 May 2020 on FDI flows in the time of COVID-19 will provide more details on the projections of FDI flows under different scenarios.
Reinvested earnings – which play an increasingly important role in FDI flows (see Figure 10) – will drop substantially in the short term as the crisis will depress earnings and investors are expected to reinvest a smaller share of their earnings than they have done in the recent past. Equity capital flows will also drop as many new investments, both M&As and greenfield investments, are put on hold.
Figure 10. Share of reinvested earnings in total FDI inflows
Note: p: preliminary. ‘Emerging and developing economies’ is defined as per the IMFdefinition. The shares of reinvested earnings are estimated using FDI flows by instruments: reported by OECD countries (see notes to Figure 6); collected from national sources website for non OECD G20 countries; available from the IMF BOP database for other countries.
Source: OECD FDI Statistics Database and IMF.
Intracompany loans and injections of equity capital from parent companies to their struggling foreign affiliates may partly offset these declines. Financial linkages between investors and their foreign affiliates are an advantage of foreign ownership and have contributed the the resilience of foreign affiliates in previous crises, including the 2008 global financial crisis and severe currency depreciations.
The pandemic is having much greater impacts in some sectors than others, and FDI flows will reflect this. For example, the information and communication sector may possibly see an increase in its earnings, while the manufacturing and primary sectors could see large drops in earnings. As worst-hit sectors such as accommodation, food service, transportation, and storage contribute relatively small shares to FDI, their suffering will not show proportionately in FDI statistics overall. There will be large cross-country variation: while the primary sector accounts for only 4% of FDI in the OECD on average, this share is much higher in Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and Norway (Figure 11). The primary sector is also much more important in FDI in many emerging and developing economies, including Brazil, Indonesia, the Russian Federation, and South Africa.
Further drops in FDI flows are possible in the medium to long term depending on how well the public health and economic policy measures work. In addition to lower earnings and a drop in new investments, divestments could contribute to the drop if financially struggling firms are forced to sell or liquidate some of their foreign operations.
World OECD countries Emerging markets and developing economies
Note: Inward FDI positions by industry sectors are not available for Mexico. Data is at-end 2018 or latest available year. Data is not available due to confidentiality restrictions for: Canada (Information and communication); Ireland (Transport and storage; Financial services); Japan (Accomodation and food services; Professional, scientific and technical). FDI positions in financial services for Greece are negative and are included under ‘Other’. (*): Resident Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) are excluded. Source: OECD FDI Statistics Database.
Primary sectorManufacturingWholesale and retail tradeTransportation and storageAccomodation and food service
Information & communicationFinancial servicesProfessional, scientific and technical activitiesOther incl. unallocated and confidential
0% 50% 100%
AUS
AUT*
BEL*
CAN
CHL
CZE
DNK*
EST*
FIN
FRA
DEU
GRC
HUN*
ISL*
IRL
ISR
ITA
JPN
0%50%100%
KOR*
LVA
LTU*
LUX*
NLD*
NZL
NOR*
POL*
PRT*
SVK
SVN
ESP*
SWE*
CHE*
TUR
GBR*
USA
OECD
Figure 11. Inward FDI stocks of OECD countries, by major industry sectors At end 2018
Portugal 2 889 2 084 2 119 2 717 3 839 4 592 3 278 3 458 4 621 5 343 5 753 6 392 8 381 7 621For notes to this table refer to page 12Source: OECD and IMFOECD Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs - Investment Division
Income on outward FDI (receipts) Income on inward FDI (payments)
13
Notes for tables 1 to 3 Data are updated as of 10 April 2020. p: preliminary data |: break in series
(A): asset/liability figure used for 2019 only Tables 1, 2 and 3 show FDI statistics at the aggregate level on a directional basis except for selected countries for which the asset/liability series is used (see note 2). For more information on the two presentations for FDI, see Asset/liability versus directional presentation. FDI terms are defined in the FDI Glossary.
Financial flows consist of three components: equity capital, reinvestment of earnings, and intracompany debt. Equity capital is often associated with new investments, such as greenfield or M&As, even though it can also reflect extensions of capital or financial restructuring. Nevertheless, equity capital flows are often taken as a sign of the amount of new investments related to FDI. Reinvestment of earnings is the portion of earnings that the parent decides to reinvest in the affiliate rather than receive as a dividend and can be an important source of financing for affiliates. This component of financial flows tends to be the least volatile. Changes in the reinvestment of earnings reflect both changes in the earnings of affiliates and in the amount of earnings that parents choose to distribute. The reinvestment ratio is the share of earnings that the parent reinvests. It can be an indication of the parent’s perception of investment opportunities available to the affiliate: if the parent sees the opportunity to make profitable investments in its affiliates, the parent might choose to reinvest more money in them. However, many other factors can influence the share of earnings reinvested. For example, if the parent is in need of cash, they might pay higher dividends. The third component of financial flows—intracompany debt–is the most volatile component of financial flows and is often driven by the short term financing needs within a company rather than larger overall macroeconomic phenomena. As such, intracompany debt is often the most difficult aspect of financial flows to explain.
Breaks in series were introduced in Table 1 and Table 3 to provide users with more complete historical series on FDI financial and income flows. These breaks in series correspond for most countries to the implementation of OECD Benchmark Edition 4th Edition (BMD4). For data going back to 2005 in Tables 1, 2 and 3 (in Excel format), see www.oecd.org/investment/statistics.htm.
1. OECD, European Union (EU28), World, G20 aggregates:
FDI outward and inward flows (Table 1) were compiled using directional figures when available. Missing quarterly directional figures were approximated using the ratio between annual asset liability and directional figures; or by distributing annual directional figures equally among the four quarters; or using unrevised historical data. When directional figures were not available and could not be approximated, asset liability figures were used. FDI outward and inward stocks (Table 2) and Income on inward and outward FDI (Table 3) were compiled using directional figures when available.Missing directional figures were approximated using unrevised historical data. When directional figures were not available and could not be approximated, asset liability figures were used. FDI positions for 2019 include positions at end-2019 or at-end 2018 when 2018 data are not available. Resident SPEs from Austria, Belgium (FDI positions only), Chile, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Korea (FDI positions only), Luxembourg, Mexico, theNetherlands, Norway (FDI positions only), Poland, Portugal, Spain (FDI positions only), Sweden (FDI positions only) and Switzerland (FDI positions only) are excluded. The European Union aggregate corresponds to member country composition of the reporting period: EU15 for data up to and including 2003, EU25 for data between 2004 and 2006, EU27 for data between 2007 and 2012 and EU28 starting from 2013. The present publication presents time series which end before the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union on 1 February 2020. The EU aggregate presented here therefore refers to the EU including the UK. In future publications, as soon as the time series presented extend to periods beyond the UK withdrawal (February 2020 formonthly, Q1 2020 for quarterly, 2020 for annual data), the “European Union” aggregate will change to reflect the new EU country composition. Interestedreaders may refer to the Eurostat website for further information on Eurostat’s plans for disseminating EU aggregates and to the Eurostat database for the actual series. Colombia was not an OECD Member at the time of preparation of this publication. Accordingly, Colombia does not appear in the list of OECD Members and is not included in the zone aggregates.
2. Data series on asset/liability basis: The data series is on an asset/liability basis as opposed to directional basis for Israel and for the following non-OECD countries: Argentina, India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
3. World aggregate: is based on available data at the time of update as reported to the OECD and IMF. Missing data for countries for Q3 and Q4 2019 were estimated using the overall growth rate observed between, respectively, Q2 2019 and Q3 2019 and Q3 2019 and Q4 2019. Growth rates werecalculated from data for OECD countries, for non-OECD G20 countries, and for 50 non-OECD and non-G20 countries in Q3 and 15 non-OECD andnon-G20 countries in Q4. World totals for FDI positions are based on available FDI data at the time of update as reported to OECD and IMF for the year ended or the latest available year. By definition, inward and outward FDI worldwide should be equal. However, in practice, there are statisticaldiscrepancies between inward and outward FDI. Unless otherwise specified, references to “global FDI flows” refer to the average of these two figures.
4. Special purpose entities (SPEs): Information on resident SPEs for Estonia and Sweden (FDI flows only) is confidential. This information is not yetavailable separately for Canada, Ireland, Japan and Mexico. The information is available separately for Austria, Chile, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland,Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. However, the information is not displayed in the tables for all countries, due to limited availability of historical data or to differences in data vintages. Resident SPEs are not present or not significant in Australia, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Poland, the Slovak Republic,Slovenia, Turkey, and the United States.
5. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.
6. Data for 2019 for Saudi Arabia was not available at the time of writing.
7. FDI income flows exluding resident SPEs for the full year 2019 for the Netherlands were not available at the time of writing.
FDI in Figures is published twice yearly. For queries, please contact [email protected]. Find data and more detailed FDI statistics at www.oecd.org/investment/statistics.htm.
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