Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India rose by 13 per cent in 2020.

This was stated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its report.

FDI in India received an impetus due to investments in the digital sector.

“India, another major emerging economy, also recorded positive growth (13%), boosted by investments in the digital sector,” stated the UNCTAD report.

FDI into India rose by 13 per cent to $57 billion last year, according to the UNCTAD report.

Other than India, China also emerged as a major benefiter with FDI into the Country rising by another 4 per cent in 2020.

According to the UNCTAD report, China overtook that of the United States in 2020 in terms of FDI for a year.

China has now become the world’s largest recipient of investments from foreign companies.

“China was the world’s largest FDI recipient, with flows to the Asian giant rising by 4% to $163 billion. High-tech industries saw an increase of 11% in 2020, and cross-border M&As rose by 54%, mostly in ICT and pharmaceutical industries,” the UNCTAD report stated.

Growth in FDIs of the two Asian giants comes at a time when the developed countries witnessed a decline in FDI by 69% to an estimated $229 billion.

“China and India were two major outliers in a gloomy year for foreign direct investment,” the UNCTAD said.

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The report published by the UNCTAD said that global FDI collapsed in 2020 by 42 per cent to an estimated USD 859 billion from USD 1.5 trillion in 2019.

“Such a low level was last seen in the 1990s and is more than 30 per cent below the investment trough that followed the 2008-2009 global financial crisis,” the UNCTAD report stated.

“The United States recorded a 49% drop in FDI, falling to an estimated $134 billion. The decline took place in wholesale trade, financial services and manufacturing. Cross-border M&A sales of US assets to foreign investors fell by 41%, mostly in the primary sector,” the report said.

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