WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong's status as one of the world's leading destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) and sources of outward FDI has been reaffirmed by the World Investment Report 2008, released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Hong Kong was the world's seventh, and Asia's second largest, FDI recipient, attracting US$59.9 billion inward investment in 2007. The Mainland of China ranked first in Asia Pacific in FDI inflows, reaching US$83.5 billion.
The United States remained the largest recipient country of FDI inflows, followed by the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Hong Kong was ranked number one globally in the report's "Inward FDI Performance Index," which measures the amount of FDI relative to the size of the economy.
The report also found that outflows from Hong Kong, the largest source of FDI from the developing world, rose to US$53 billion in 2007 - more than twice the outflows from the Mainland of China.
The report attributes the results to general improvements in the investment environment in the region, including further liberalization of FDI, strengthened regional economic integration, resilient economic growth and strong industrial development.
Globally, FDI inflows rose by 30 percent last year to reach an all-time high of US$1.83 trillion.
Mike Rowse, Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong, welcomed the report's findings, saying: "We are delighted that Hong Kong's status as one of the world's, and Asia's, most attractive destinations for FDI has again been reaffirmed by UNCTAD. Being recognized as the world's best performing economy in inward FDI is especially gratifying," Mr. Rowse said.
Looking ahead, Mr. Rowse said: "We believe Hong Kong will continue to be highly attractive to overseas and Mainland companies. The fundamentals of our investment environment are sound: rule of law, free flow of information, world-class infrastructure and clean government are all in place."
The World Investment Report 2008 is the 18th in a series published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
World Investment Report 2008: www.unctad.org
Invest Hong Kong is the investment promotion department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. It is responsible for attracting and facilitating inward investment into the city by providing free services and support to help overseas and Mainland of China companies establish or expand their business presence.
Invest Hong Kong: www.InvestHK.gov.hk.
SOURCE Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office
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