联合国贸发会最新《世界投资报告》（英）-2024-184页_3mb

2024 World Investment Report Summary

Core Content

The 2024 World Investment Report (WIR) highlights the challenges and opportunities in the global investment landscape, emphasizing the role of investment facilitation and digital government in promoting sustainable development. The report underscores the importance of investment in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while also addressing the current stagnation in financial flows and the need for urgent reforms.

Main Views

• Investment is critical for sustainable development, yet it remains insufficient, particularly in developing countries.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stagnated in 2023 at $1.3 trillion, with a 2% decline globally and further drops in developing Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
• SDG-related investment saw a more than 10% decline in 2023, especially in agrifood systems and water and sanitation.
• Geopolitical tensions and high interest rates are key barriers to investment, despite efforts in policy reform and digital facilitation.
• Digital government solutions and investment facilitation are vital tools to streamline processes, enhance transparency, and attract sustainable investment.
• Sustainable finance markets are growing but slowing, with concerns about greenwashing and the need for stronger standards and verification mechanisms.
• Multilateral development banks and international investment agreements (IIAs) are being called upon to play a greater role in scaling up sustainable finance and reducing the risk of investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS).

Key Information

International Investment Trends

• Global FDI in 2023: Stagnated at $1.3 trillion, with a 2% decline. Excluding European conduit economies, the decline was over 10%.
• FDI in developing countries: Fell by 7% to $867 billion, with significant drops in developing Asia (8%), Africa (3%), and Latin America and the Caribbean (1%).
• Greenfield projects: Increased by 2% globally, with strong growth in developing countries, especially in manufacturing and critical minerals.
• Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As): Declined by 46% in value, driven by tighter regulations and investor uncertainty.
• Project finance: Fell by 26%, affecting infrastructure investment, especially in poorer countries.

Investment Policy Trends

• Number of investment policy measures: Decreased by 25% in 2023 compared to 2022 but remained consistent with the five-year average.
• Favourable measures: 72% of all measures were pro-investor, with investment facilitation and incentives being the main types.
• Restrictive measures: Increased due to FDI screening mechanisms, which accounted for nearly half of the restrictive policies.
• IIA reforms: Continued, with new treaties including broader investment facilitation and sustainability provisions.
• ISDS cases: Reached 1,332 in total, with 70% targeting developing countries, including three least developed countries (LDCs).

Sustainable Finance Trends

• Sustainable investment products: Grew in value to over $7 trillion in 2023, with a 20% increase, but growth was driven by cumulative issuance and valuations.
• Sustainable bonds: Rose slightly by 3%, reaching $872 billion in issuance, with green bonds as the main driver.
• Sustainable funds: Experienced a sharp decline in net inflows, from $161 billion in 2022 to $63 billion in 2023.
• Greenwashing concerns: Pose a major challenge, with only 20% of funds having a clear net exposure to climate-positive assets.
• Sovereign and public institutional investors: Improved sustainability reporting, but only a quarter used third-party verification.

Investment Facilitation and Digital Government

• Digital government is a key enabler for investment facilitation, helping to streamline procedures and increase transparency.
• Online single windows and business portals are increasingly used to facilitate investment, especially in developing countries.
• Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) play a significant role in managing and supporting these digital initiatives.
• Facilitation measures accounted for almost 40% of pro-investor policies and 30% of all investment policy measures, marking a record.
• Digital government is not only a technical solution but also a step towards broader institutional and governance reforms.

Policy Implications

• Urgent action is needed to increase sustainable finance flows and improve investment governance in developing countries.
• Strengthening multilateral development banks is crucial to attract private investment and support the SDGs.
• Balancing transparency and business burdens is essential, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries.
• Global sustainability reporting standards must be carefully implemented to avoid negative impacts on SMEs and to ensure credibility in the sustainable finance industry.

Conclusion

The 2024 World Investment Report serves as a call to action for policymakers, emphasizing the need for investment facilitation, digital government, and sustainable finance reforms to support the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. The report outlines actionable recommendations to improve the investment climate and align global investment flows with sustainable development goals.