The US is by far the largest source of greenfield foreign direct investment (FDI) by capital expenditure and has accounted for almost a fifth of global FDI announcements over the past two decades.
Since 2003, US multinationals have invested more than $3tn in overseas markets, according to fDi Markets data up to the end of May 2023. The combined total of the next three largest FDI source countries — Germany, Japan and the UK — was only marginally higher ($3.35tn) over the same period.
China has been the fifth-largest source country for greenfield FDI announcements. Companies headquartered in Asia’s largest economy have made investment pledges worth $843bn worldwide since 2003. Despite the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s global infrastructure development strategy launched in 2013, total accumulated Chinese outbound greenfield FDI stands at about a quarter the level of the US.
Only four other countries have been the source of more than $500bn worth of greenfield foreign investment. They were France ($833bn), South Korea ($598bn), the UAE ($511bn) and Canada ($508bn), according to fDi Markets data.
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