Foreign direct investment inflows increased by 3% in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching $1.37 trillion.
This assessment, conducted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), highlights that investments were lower in developing countries.
In Brazil, the decline was 22% from 2022 to 2023.
According to a document entitled “Investment Trends Observatory” published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on Wednesday, January 17th, the total inflow of foreign direct investment to advanced countries reached $841 billion, experiencing a 9% decrease compared to 2022.
Additionally, the European Union witnessed an increase, recording $141 billion in 2023, as opposed to a decline of $150 billion in the year 2022.
It is worth mentioning that the majority of this total in the European Union was directed towards countries with lower taxes, mainly Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The document also shows a decrease in investments flowing into major economies such as the United States, China, the European Union, and India (excluding Luxembourg and the Netherlands).
On the other hand, both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have witnessed an expansion in foreign investments, which UNCTAD considers as new projects without infrastructure (greenfield in English).
Foreign investment expansion in the UAE reached 28% and in Saudi Arabia 63% for this category of investments.
In Africa, however, investment flows decreased by 1% to an estimated $48 billion, with contributions expanding in greenfield projects in Morocco, Kenya, and Nigeria. If survey predictions were to be met, direct foreign investment flows into Brazil would have decreased by 22% from 2022 to 2023, amounting to an estimated $67 billion.
(anba)
