ASEAN attracts record FDI inflow in 2018

Jakarta (VNA) – The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has gone up for the third consecutive year, breaking a record 155 billion USD set in 2018 following 147 billion USD in 2017.

According to the ASEAN Investment Report released on November 3, the services industry was the largest recipient of FDI in ASEAN. In line with the global average, the sector’s share of the bloc’s total FDI grew from 50 percent in 1999 –2003 to 66 percent in 2014 – 2018. A significant part of FDI in the sector was channeled into financial services, wholesale and retail, and real estate.

The report focused on the health care industry by analysing related FDI, corporate players and start-up data.

ASEAN is strengthening regional cooperation in health care through the implementation of various sectoral agreements and strategic action plans. Efforts to further open up the market to private players and to improve the investment environment the sector are also progressing.

The report also showed that the region’s share of global FDI inflows increased to 11.5 percent last year from 9.6 percent of 2017. The trend is expected to continue given dynamic industrial developments and improvements to the investment and business environment in the region.

The ASEAN Investment Report was prepared under a technical cooperation arrangement between the ASEAN Secretariat and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), with input from members of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Investment (CCI) and support from the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II)./.