UN: Global FDI rose 5% In 2010

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) rose five percent to US$1.24 trillion in 2010, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)'s annual report said on Tuesday. The World Investment Report 2011, subtitled "Non-equity modes of international production and development" was released in Johannesburg, the economic centre of South Africa, reports Xinhua news agency. According to the report, the FDI flows at the end of 2010 were still some 15 percent below their pre-crisis average of US$1.472 trillion and nearly 37 percent below their peak in 2007 of US$1.971 trillion. "Investment lagged behind recoveries in global industrial output and world trade." Said Stephen Gelb, who was leading the discussion of the report and also the professor of Johannesburg University. UNCTAD predicts the recovery of FDI flows will continue in 2011 and will reach a total of some US$1.4 to US$1.6 trillion. Thereafter flows are forecast to rise to US$1.7 trillion. "However, the post-crisis business environment is still beset by uncertainties. Risk factors such as the unpredictability of global economic governance, a possible widespread sovereign debt crisis, and fiscal and financial sector imbalances in some developed countries, as well as rising inflation and signs of overheating in major emerging economies, may yet derail the FDI recovery," the report said.