FDI Flows in 2015 Reached the Highest Level Recorded Since 2007

In 2015, global FDI flows increased by 25% to USD 1.7 trillion, reaching their highest level since the global financial crisis began in 2007.  Part of this increase was the result of financial and corporate restructuring rather than of new, productive investments.

For example, global FDI flows were boosted by record levels of FDI inflows in the United States in the first half of 2015 which were partly driven by cross-border Mergers and Acquisitions designed to reduce companies’ US tax obligations. OECD FDI inflows almost doubled compared to 2014, mostly due to large inflows in Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States.

Investors from those countries were also responsible for the 35% increase in OECD outflows. These countries appear among the top destinations and top sources of FDI worldwide in 2015. (Source OECD Report -April 2016)

http://www.oecd.org/daf/inv/investment-policy/FDI-in-Figures-April-2016.pdf