Page 12 - Policy & Economic Report - June 2025

POLICY AND ECONOMIC REPORT
OIL & GAS MARKET

Asia remained the top recipient region, despite a 3% overall decline and a 29% drop in flows to China.
South-East Asia stood out, with ASEAN countries up 10%, reaching a record $225 billion in FDI. India
saw strong momentum in greenfield investment, even as total inflows dipped slightly.

Figure 4: FDI inflows to developing countries in Asia by region, billions of dollars and %

June 2025 Source- UNCTAD

By contrast, several regions recorded growth. North America saw a 23 per cent increase in FDI, with
inflows in the United States of America up 20 per cent, mostly driven by a doubling of M&A sales
values and by large-scale investment in high-tech and clean energy sectors. Among developing
regions, ASEAN recorded a 10 per cent growth in inflows, Central America a 4 per cent growth and
Africa 75 per cent. The increase in Africa led to a new record for FDI inflows to the region.

FDI to developing countries as a group remained stable at $867 billion, or 57 per cent of global FDI,
despite tight financing conditions and growing geopolitical uncertainty. Developing Asia, the largest
recipient region, saw only a slight decline of 3 per cent, with several major economies maintaining
strong inflows, compensating the decline in China. Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a 12
per cent decline. The relative resilience of developing regions reflects ongoing investor interest in
market-seeking and resource-based investment, and the growing role of South–South capital flows.

In terms of announced greenfield projects – a forward-looking indicator of investor sentiment – the
global number of projects rose by 3 per cent in 2024, reaching more than 19,000. The increase in
project numbers was driven by investment in manufacturing industries, especially in strategic sectors

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