Thailand moves up to 17th in FDI confidence index ranking
Thailand has moved up a rank to become the 17th top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), as per the AT Kearney FDI Confidence Index.
The index also showed the United States surging to the top destination for expected foreign investment for the first time since 2001.
China and Brazil hold the second and third ranks, while Canada catapulted to fourth position from 20. Though the response appears to be the most optimistic since 2007, economic uncertainty continues to delay foreign investment.
A cautiously optimistic outlook based on realigned expectations, as well as the US returning to the top of the list are the themes of the 2013 AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index (FDICI), a regular measure of senior executive sentiment at the world’s largest companies. Conducted regularly over the past 15 years by the global management-consulting firm AT Kearney, the index provides a unique look at the present and future prospects for international direct investment flows.
The 2013 FDICI was released at AT Kearney’s Global Business Policy Council CEO Retreat, an annual gathering of global executives and thought leaders held this year in Morocco.
This year 70 per cent of corporate investors surveyed expect near-term recovery of their companies’ FDI levels. Half see their budgets as already returned to pre-crisis levels and 20 per cent expect a return by 2014. If this were to happen, the FDI swell could provide a knock-on effect to global growth as macroeconomic clouds clear away. However, almost a third are still taking a “wait-and-see” approach to FDI.
“While investors are still in the holding pattern they have been since the recession, they seem more optimistic and less jittery than they have in recent years,” said Paul Laudicina, chairman emeritus of AT Kearney. He is also chairman of its Global Business Policy Council, which helps business leaders identify growth opportunities and manage business risks.
“There’s been a levelling effect this year between developed economies and developing nations in terms of foreign investment. The world seems to be slowly finding its footing,” he said.
Developed countries have made a surprisingly strong showing in this year’s FDICI, with Canada, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom joining the US in the top eight positions. Overall, developed economies comprise more than half of the FDICI’s top 25 countries, indicating that flows to these regions are likely to keep accelerating.
