Foreign investment in France slips to 27-year low
Inward investment to France has plummeted 77pc, while the UK continues to top the EU league table
France has seen the steepest decline of inward investment of any country in the European Union, plummeting 77pc to the lowest level in 27 years, while the UK has retained its place at the top of the European league table.
Foreign investment in France fell to $5.7bn (£3.5bn) in 2013, according to a report by the United Nations, in a further blow to Francois Hollande, the French President, who is already battling high unemployment and the prospect of the eurozone's second largest economy slipping back in to a recession.
The UK was the leading economy out of the 27 member states of the EU, with foreign investors spending $53bn in Britain last year. That kept the UK in the top ten globally for foreign investment, although it slipped from sixth position in 2012 last year.
Overall, the European Union saw the greatest level of inflows of any of the developed regions.
The inflows were largely accounted for by inflows in to four relatively small EU economies - Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development said those countries saw large inflows as they "offer a tax-friendly environment for investment, particularly for special purpose entities".
Inflows in to these countries grew by more than $100bn last year, a significant turn around from 2012, when inflows dropped by $169bn.
Source: UN
There was also welcome news for the larger economies, particularly the largest one in the EU, with investment in Germany climbing by 392pc ti $32.3bn, followed by Spain, where foreign investment rose 37pc last year to $37.1bn and Italy which rose from $0.1bn to $9.9bn.
But overall, 15 out of the 27 EU economies saw a decline in the flow of foreign investment. France took top spot, followed by Hungary, which fell from inflows of $13.8bn in 2012 to investors pulling out $3bn.
Over in the US, the world's largest economy failed to reverse its decline, despite signs that the economic recovery has been picking up pace over the past year.
In fact, despite the growth rate of foreign investment in to developed countries being twice that compared to developing countries, their share of the total inflows was well below half at 39pc.
Developing markets were able to maintain their performance from 2012 and again accounted for more than half of global foreign investment, with inflows high a record high of $759bn.
This was driven by Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa.
Source :http://www.telegraph.co.uk
