Foreign investment in Arab states hit by crisis

 
Foreign direct investment expected to further decline in 2009 due to global economic slowdown.

 
BEIRUT - The global economic crisis has hit foreign investment into the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) region, the organisation said in a report on Monday.

It said in a statement that foreign direct investment (FDI) to the area, covering 14 Arab countries, fell from 64 billion dollars (44 billion euros) in 2007 to around 60 billion dollars (41 billion euros) in 2008.

"ESCWA experts expect the FDI inflows to the region to further decline in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown and its severe impact on transnational corporations, which has in turn led to delays in the implementation of a number of investment projects in several ESCWA member countries," a statement issued in Lebanon by the organisation said.

However five regional states -- Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan and Syria -- saw an increase in FDI flows in 2008, it said.

The statement said the report recommended that ESCWA members "reconsider their investment policies in order to re-orient FDI toward more strategic sectors such as agriculture and the agro business industry."

ESCWA also covers Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Palestinian territories.

---

Print

Printer Friendly Version