INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
FDI to India decreased from $44 billion in 2016 to $40 billion in 2017.United Nations: Foreign Direct Investment to India decreased to $40
billion last year from $44 billion in 2016 while outflows from India, the main source of investment in South Asia, more than doubled,
according to a new trade report by the UN
According to the World Investment Report 2018 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) global foreign direct investment flows
fell by 23 per cent in 2017, to $1.43 trillion from $1.87 trillion in 2016
"Downward pressure on FDI and the slowdown in global value chains are a major concern for policymakers worldwide, and especially in
But outflows from India, the main source of FDI in South Asia, more than doubled to $11 billion, the report said
The report cited India's state-owned oil and gas company ONGC's active investment in foreign assets in recent years
After acquiring a 26 per cent stake in Vankorneft, an affiliate of Russia's national oil company Rosneft PJSC, in 2016, ONGC bought a 15
per cent stake in an offshore field in Namibia from Tullow Oil in 2017
By the end of 2017, ONGC had 39 projects in 18 countries, producing 285,000 barrels of oil and oil-equivalent gas per day, the report
said.The report said that cross-border merger and acquisitions sales for India rose from $8 billion to $23 billion driven by a few large
deals in extractive and technology related industries
Singapore's Petrol Complex, owned by Russia's Rosneftegaz acquired a 49 per cent stake of Essar Oil Ltd, the second largest privately
Corporation and China's multinational investment holding conglomerate Tencent Holdings acquired a stake in Flipkart Internet for $1.4
billion, and Soft Bank acquired a 20 per cent stake in One97 Communications, the parent of digital payments leader Paytm, for $1.4
almost $14 billion in 2017, due to two large transactions, incliding Rosneft acquiring a 49 per cent share in Essar Oil in India for close
to $13 billion (through its Singapore affiliate, Petrol Complex)
Developing-economy investors from China and South Africa, followed by Singapore, India and Hong Kong (China), are among the top 10 investors
international investment flows which could hurt developing countries the most
"marginal" 10 per cent increase by the end of this year, the report said
It notes that this is "below the average", looking back at the past decade and is linked to "significant" risks and "policy uncertainty",
future global investment decisions, the report adds
On another key indicator - greenfield investment - which signals how confident parent companies are about building operations in a new
diverse and complex, addressing new imperatives, such as GVC integration and upgrading, the knowledge economy, build-up of sectors linked to
the Sustainable Development Goals and competitive positioning for the new industrial revolution
"The new industrial revolution is already affecting cross-border investment patterns
Investment policies must adapt as part of new industrial development strategies," Kituyi said.
