Introduction

Abstract

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows amounted to 1,697 billion USD in 2008, while global FDI stocks reached a level of more than 16,205 billion USD. These figures underline the fact that FDI has gained an importance that is comparable to trade in providing foreign markets with goods and services. In addition, FDI constitutes the largest source of external finance for developing countries. Nevertheless, the global financial crisis had a significant impact on FDI at the end of 2008, reducing flows by approximately 14.2% compared to the all-time high of 1,978 billion USD in 2007. The downward trend continued in 2009. Flows declined to 1,114 billion USD, but are expected to rise in the next 3 years to about 1,600 - 2,000 billion USD in 2012. In any case, the relative importance of FDI flows in the global economy remains unchanged.