São Paulo – The global flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) rose 3% in 2023 over 2022, reaching USD 1.37 trillion. The estimate is from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and showed that, on average, investments were lower in developing nations. In Brazil, there was a 22% drop from 2022. Pictured above, a construction site in Dubai.
The document “Global Investment Trends Monitor” released this Wednesday (17) by UNCTAD pointed out that last year, the flow of FDI to developed countries totaled USD 841 billion, a 9% decrease compared to 2022. The European Union saw an increase, with an inflow of USD 141 billion in 2023, after a USD 150 billion drop in the previous year.
Most of this amount that entered the EU was bound to nations with lower taxes, particularly Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The monitor highlighted a drop in investment flows to the world’s leading economies, such as the United States and China, the EU (except for Luxembourg and the Netherlands), and India.
Regarding the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, there was an increase in foreign investments, which the UNCTAD mainly attributed to greenfield project announcements. For the UAE, the expansion was 28%, and Saudi Arabia saw a 63% boost in the segment. In Africa, the investment flow fell 1%, to an estimated USD 48 billion, but with increased greenfield projects in Morocco, Kenya, and Nigeria. If the survey projections come true, the flow of FDI to Brazil will have declined 22% from 2022 to 2023 to an estimated USD 67 billion.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
