Net outflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from Bangladesh declined further in 2020, according to World Investment Report (WIR) 2021.
Released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Monday, the report showed that net outward FDI declined to US$12 million in the last year which was $28 million in 2019.
The outward FDI reached at $142 million in 2017 which was the highest ever.
According to UNCTAD, FDI inflows comprise capital provided by a foreign direct investor to a foreign affiliate, or capital received by a foreign direct investor from a foreign affiliate. FDI outflows represent the same flows from the perspective of the other economy.
WIR 2021 also showed that in 2020, multinational entities (MNEs) from developed economies reduced their investment abroad by 56 per cent, to $347 billion. As a result, their share in global outward FDI dropped to a record low of 47 per cent.
Global outflows of FDI came down to $739.87 billion in the last year from $1220 billion ($1.22 trillion) in 2019, according to the report.
It showed that inflows of global FDI stood at $998.91 billion in the last year from $1530.28 billion (or $1.53 trillion) in 2019.
“Lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic around the world slowed down existing investment projects, and the prospects of a recession led multinational enterprises (MNEs) to reassess new projects,” added the report.
