UNCTAD News | Global foreign direct investment projected to plunge 40% in 2020

Foreign direct investment could plunge by up to 40% this year and fall below $1 trillion for the first time since 2005.
These and other investment trends are mapped in UNCTAD’s new World Investment Report 2020, which forecasts a further 5% to 10% drop in 2021 with an expected initial recovery beginning in 2022. More

COVID-19 will likely transform global production, says UN report

UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2020 predicts there will be a major transformation in the decade ahead as the coronavirus pandemic amplifies existing flaws and challenges in global production.
The report emphasizes reshoring, diversification, and regionalization as drivers of restructured global value chains. More

Investment flows in Africa set to drop 25% to 40% in 2020

Africa will feel the pinch as foreign investment commitments fade amid the dual shock of the COVID-19 pandemic and low commodity prices.
UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2020 projects that FDI flows to the continent will contract between 25% and 40% this year. More

Investment flows to developing countries in Asia could fall up to 45% in 2020

Foreign direct investment to Asian developing countries hit hard by the coronavirus crisis is projected to decline by up to 45% this year.
Lockdown measures and factory stoppages in the wake of COVID-19 have severely impacted supply chain and factories’ production in the region, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2020. More

Foreign investment in Latin America expected to halve in 2020

COVID-19 could cut investment flows to Latin America in half this year, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2020.
The pandemic has compounded both political and social unrest, and structural weakness, pushing Latin America into a deep recession. Low prices for oil and other commodities will hurt FDI in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. More

Decade of digitalization needed to drive development for all

This week, UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi, as chair of the United Nations Group on the Information Society (UNGIS), kicked off a new online dialogue series, which calls on 30 international agencies to map out their vision for digitalization that truly supports sustainable development. More

Cambodia’s digital startups help blunt economic impact of COVID-19

An uptick in business, especially in the delivery of food and essential items, is enhancing resilience in the wake of the crisis. Cambodian eCommerce start-ups, such as Grocerdel, are benefitting. More

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