Malaysia saw a 54.4 per cent jump in foreign direct investment flow in 2007 as global FDI grew last year to an estimated $1.5 trillion, surpassing the previous record set in 2000, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported.
After a slow USD 6.1 billion total investment in 2006, Malaysia chalked up USD 9.4 billion in FDI last year, says Unctad in its year-end review.
China and Hong Kong remained the two largest recipients in the region with USD 67.3 billion and USD 54.4 billion respectively, although the former's share dropped 3.1 percent from the previous year while India lies third with USD 15.3 billion.
Singapore continued to be the biggest FDI receiver in Southeast Asia with a 52.6 percent growth, increasing its share from USD 24.2 billion in 2006 to USD 36.9 billion last year, followed by Thailand with USD 10 billion while Indonesia received USD 5.9 billion.
Unctad said FDI continued to rise in all of three groups of economies -- in developed countries, developing economies and in South-East Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States -- largely reflecting the high-growth propensities of transnational corporations and strong economic performance in many parts of the world.
Increased corporate profits and an abundance of cash boosted the value of the cross-border mergers and acquisitions that constitute a large portion of FDI flows, although the value of M&As in the latter half of 2007 declined.
{{/usCountry}}Increased corporate profits and an abundance of cash boosted the value of the cross-border mergers and acquisitions that constitute a large portion of FDI flows, although the value of M&As in the latter half of 2007 declined.
{{/usCountry}}The financial and credit crisis that began in the latter half of 2007 has not affected the overall volume of FDI inflow, according to Unctad economists.