The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the “World Investment Report 2024”.
Key highlights
- Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to India plummeted by 43 per cent in 2023 to $28 billion amid a global decline of 2 per cent.
- While India dropped to 15th spot in 2023 from 8th position in 2022 in terms of FDI inflows, it remained in the Top-5 for both kinds of FDI — greenfield projects and international project finance deals.
- In 2022, India’s FDI inflows had risen by 10 per cent to $49 billion.
- Global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by 2% to $1.3 trillion in 2023 amid an economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions.
- Compared to the previous year, India slipped one spot to become the fourth-largest host country for greenfield project announcements in 2023. It continued to be second in international project deals.
- In terms of FDI outflows, India’s rank grew from 23rd in 2022 to 20th in 2023.
- Among the Top-20 host economies, the largest absolute drops in FDI inflows were registered in France, Australia, China, the US and India.
- The report emphasizes that business facilitation and digital government solutions can address low investment by creating a transparent and streamlined environment.