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California led the nation as its primary magnet for foreign direct investment, says economic analyst

NEW YORK, NY – 03/18/08 – The volume of international cross-border foreign direct investment (FDI) reached $947 billion last year, up more than 5% from the previous year, creating an estimated 2.9 million new jobs globally, according to OCO Global, the New York-based economic analyst.

China ranked as the world’s largest magnet for foreign direct investment last year with some 1,171 projects attracting more than $91 billion from foreign sources.

The US was a strong performer in 2007, ranking second in the world with 783 projects attracting $46 billion – some 46% over the previous year – creating more than 107,000 jobs.

Rounding out OCO Global’s Top 10 in 2007 were India – which ranked second on the list last year – the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Romania, Russia, and Poland.

In 2007, foreign direct investment in the US created more than 107,000 jobs in the US, with $46 billion in FDI surging 20% over the previous year.

California attracted the most FDI last year, ahead of New York and Texas, with Florida and Pennsylvania also featuring in the Top 10 of preferred state destinations for foreign companies expanding in the US.

The leading investor countries into the US are Japan, UK and Germany and major investors include Toyota, Tesco, Vodafone and BAE Systems, the company said.

"It is encouraging to see the United States performing well against a backdrop of increased FDI flows globally, and increased competition from developing regions," said Aaron Brickman, director of the US Commerce Department’s Invest America Initiative.

"FDI has an important contribution to our long term economic growth. We offer the best risk-adjusted return on investment, a fact which has long made the U.S. attractive to foreign investors."

The US also remained the primary source country for FDI projects globally, while investment from US companies accounted for approximately 25% of all company investment activity on a global level last year.

"The results for 2007 have confirmed trends such as improved US competitiveness, the tightening labor pool in India, and the continued success of emerging countries in particular China, Russia, and Vietnam in attracting investment,” said OCO Global CEO Mark O'Connell.

The US, he said, “is expected to remain the leading global source of FDI projects. It is encouraging that the US has embraced the opportunity created by the global economy and is now seeing more of its fair share of inward as well as outward investment flows."

O'Connell added, "There has never been a better time to invest in the US and we anticipate strong growth in 2008, provided politics don't get in the way."

Asia-Pacific remained the number one region for global FDI in 2007, attracting $395 billion of investment, or 40% market share.

The volume of FDI in Asia-Pacific grew by 20% in 2007, demonstrating its continued attractiveness for multinational corporate investment.

In 2007, China retained its position as the world's top destination for multinational investment, attracting $90 billion in projects, down from a peak of $116 billion in 2006.

Of the estimated 1.2 million jobs created in Asia- Pacific by FDI in 2007, China attracted 366,000, regaining the top position in the job stakes from India.

India attracted 246,361 new jobs in 2007, 45% less than in 2006, which may be attributed to the tightening of
the Indian job market.

"With the current financial instability likely to continue for much of 2008, FDI is almost certainly set to become an even more important component of capital investment and job creation in all regions of the world,” said OCO Global Managing Director, Dr. Henry Loewendahl.

The challenge for 2008, he said, “is to develop a highly competitive and flexible business environment to attract investment while providing a robust regulatory framework to provide security and long term economic benefits."

In addition to its New York City headquarters, OCO Global maintains offices in Belfast, Brussels, London, Shanghai, Paris, and Cork.

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