According to UNCTAD¡¯s World Investment Report, global foreign investment (FDI) inflows fell by 16 per cent to $1.23 trillion, mostly because of the fragility of the global economy, policy uncertainty for investors and elevated geopolitical risks. Global FDI inflows are projected to grow by 11 per cent to $1.4 trillion in 2015. Inward FDI flows to developing economies reached their highest level at $681 billion with a 2 per cent rise. Among the top 10 FDI recipients in the world, 5 are developing countries. China became the world¡¯s largest recipient of FDI. The low level of flows to developed countries persisted in 2014. Despite a revival in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As), overall FDI flows to this group of economies declined by 28 per cent to $449 billion. Investment by developing-country multinational enterprises (MNEs) also reached a record level: developing Asia now invests abroad more than any other region. Nine of the 20 largest investor countries were from developing or transition economies. These MNEs continued to acquire developed-country foreign affiliates in the developing world.

By sector, the shift towards service FDI has continued over the past 10 years in response to increasing liberalization in the sector, the increasing tradability of services and the growth of global value chain in which services play an important role. Cross-border M&As in 2014 rebounded strongly to $399 billion. The number of MNE deals with values larger than $1 billion increased to 223- the highest number since 2008- from 168 in 2013. Announced greenfield investment declined by 2 per cent to $696 billion. Developing countries continued to attract two thirds of announced greenfield investment

In terms of investment policy trends, countries¡¯s investment policy measures continue to be geared predominantly towards investment liberalization, promotion and facilitation. In 2014, more than 80 per cent of investment policy measures aimed to improve entry conditions and reduce restrictions. A focus was investment facilitation and sector-specific liberalization (e.g. in infrastructure and service). New investment restrictions related mostly to national security concerns and strategic industries (such as transport, energy and defence).

The Global Risks 2017 issued by the World Economic Forum highlights three economic risks of the highest likelihood: ¡°illicit trade¡±, ¡°asset bubble in a key economy¡± and ¡°unemployment or underemployment¡±. The three most influential economic risks are ¡°unemployment or underemployment¡±, "fiscal crises in key economies" and "state collapse or crisis". The report indicates 30 risks in five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical and societal, technological. The economic risks include the following nine: asset bubbles, deflation, state collapse or crisis, failure of critical infrastructure, fiscal crises, unemployment or underemployment, illicit trade, energy shocks and unmanageable inflation.