This book takes a unique approach to analysing foreign capital flows. Using the neighbourhood model, it analyzes foreign capital inflows from the perspective of both the source and destination countries. Focusing on China, India and the Caribbean, it explores the direct and spillover effects of foreign capital on the destination countries' economy.

This document examines the global and regional evolution of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and offers recommendations so these flows can contribute to the region's productive development processes.

In 2010, the Latin American and Caribbean region showed great resilience to the international financial crisis and became the world region with the fastest-growing flows of both inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI). The upswing in FDI in the region has occurred in a context in which developing countries in general have taken on a greater share in both inward and outward FDI flows. This briefing paper is divided into five sections. The first offers a regional overview of FDI in 2010. The second examines FDI trends in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic. The third describes the presence China is beginning to build up as an investor in the region. Lastly, the fourth and fifth sections analyze the main foreign investments and business strategies in the telecommunications and software sectors, respectively.

This is the latest in a series of annual reports on recent trends and developments in relation to foreign direct investment (FDI) and investment strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean region. The main message of this year's report is that active and integrated FDI attraction policies linked to national development strategies are necessary to secure quality FDI. These lessons are drawn from policy practices in the more successful European and Asian countries which contrast with the more passive and disconnected FDI attraction policies evident in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2006 report also contains chapters that analyse the experiences of two relatively small investor countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Republic of Korea and Portugal.

Over the last decade China’s investment in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has increased substantially in volume and become more diversified from natural resources to other industries. Using cross-border mergers and acquisitions data, we demonstrate that since mid-2010s China’s overseas investment has tilted toward sectors where China has a comparative advantage in the global markets, a trend similar to that of other major foreign direct investment (FDI) source countries. Moreover, China’s rising overseas investment can be linked to the rebalancing of Chinese economy, and LAC stands to benefit from its complementarity vis-à-vis China in sectors where the rising Chinese overseas investment can be met with LAC’s own investment gaps. The COVID-19 pandemic could have a long-lasting impact on global value chains and FDI flows, which poses both challenges and opportunities to LAC in attracting FDI, including from China, to support the region’s long-run economic development.

This book compares India and China, important players in industries like IT, automobiles, electronics, bio-technology and pharmaceuticals. It discusses the globalisation of these enterprises, focussing on e-commerce, equity and non-equity alliances, offshore investment etc.