China overtook U.S. in foreign direct investment - UN Agency

Bloomberg reports that the United Nations trade agency said that China overtook the U.S. as the largest recipient of foreign direct investment in 2020, a year in which overall global flows cratered by 42% as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Flows fell to an estimated $859 billion from $1.5 trillion in 2019, according to the UNCTAD Investment Trends Monitor. It was the lowest level since the 1990s and 30% below the investment trough that followed the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

While the world as a whole struggled, China held on, said UNCTAD, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. It became the world’s largest FDI recipient with flows rising by 4% to $163 billion.

A return to positive GDP growth and a targeted investment facilitation program helped stabilize investment in China after the first coronavirus lockdowns there, the agency said.

Flows to North America slid by 46% to $166 billion, and those to the U.S. alone fell 49% to an estimated $134 billion in 2020.

Globally, the UN agency expects foreign direct investment to remain weak in 2021 due to uncertainty over the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic.