foreign direct investment

foreign direct investment, investment in an enterprise that is resident in a country other than that of the foreign direct investor. A long-term relationship is taken to be the crucial feature of FDI. Thus, the investment is made to acquire lasting interest and control of the economic entity, with an implied influence on the management of the enterprise. Some degree of equity ownership is usually considered to be associated with an effective voice. Basic forms of FDI are investment made to develop a production or manufacturing plant from the ground up (“greenfield investments”), mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. Three components of FDI are usually identified: equity capital, reinvested earnings, and intracompany loans. Other than having an equity stake in an enterprise, foreign investors may acquire a substantial influence in many other ways. Those include subcontracting, management contracts, franchising, leasing, licensing, and production sharing.

FDI is considered to be both an important indicator and a driving force of what is called economic globalization. It is not a new phenomenon, though its importance has grown since the second half of the 1980s. The growth of FDI cannot be attributed to technological change only; it has been facilitated by various political actors, including national governments and international organizations. The basic motivations to invest capital abroad are the pursuit of markets, efficiency, or knowledge. Investors are mainly attracted by strong economic fundamentals in the host economies.

The geographical distribution of FDI is highly uneven. The great bulk of it is exchanged between the rich nations. Only a fraction goes to the newly industrializing countries. FDI continues to circulate between the three main blocs of “the Triad” (Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia), leaving most of the world population excluded.

FDI inflow is considered as a crucial presupposition of economic development. For instance, it has been presented as a “Marshall Plan for eastern Europe” in the postcommunist transformation. FDI has potentially both positive and negative effects on host economies. These effects depend on a number of factors, including a host economy’s level of development, the type of investment, and the position of the particular investment site in the investor’s business strategy.

States increasingly enter into competition to attract or keep mobile capital in the locality. The aim of attracting investment (or threat of its departure) thus frames different policies and regulations, including social ones. In this respect, what preferences policy makers attribute to the mobile capital are crucial. Significantly, cost-competitiveness is often considered to attract FDI, which leads to deregulation and liberalization. This assumption may not entirely correspond to the actual locational preferences of the investors.

Bijit Bora (ed.), Foreign Direct Investment: Research Issues (2002); United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report: The Shift Towards Services (2004).