2025-06-29-联合国贸易发展委员-联合国贸易发展委员会年世界投资报告_数字经济中的国际投资（英）_274页_7mb

World Investment Report 2025 Summary

Core Content

The World Investment Report 2025 examines the state of international investment, with a particular focus on the digital economy and its role in promoting inclusive and sustainable growth. It highlights the challenges and opportunities in the current global investment landscape, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts to address inequalities and support development goals.

Main Viewpoints

• Global FDI Decline: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) fell by 11% in 2024, reaching $1.5 trillion, primarily due to increased geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty, and geopolitical divisions. This decline is a second consecutive year of contraction, indicating a persistent fragility in international investment flows.

• Conduit Economies Influence: The reported increase in FDI was inflated by volatile flows through conduit economies, especially in Europe. When excluding these, FDI actually declined by 11% on a like-for-like basis.

• Regional Disparities: FDI flows to developing countries are highly concentrated, with ten recipients accounting for three quarters of all inflows. Europe saw a 58% drop in FDI, while North America experienced a 23% increase, and Africa had a 75% surge in FDI inflows, largely due to a $35 billion project in Egypt.

• Digital Economy as a Growth Engine: The digital economy is growing at a faster rate than global GDP, with annual growth of 10–12%, and is becoming an increasingly important sector for value creation. However, investment in this sector remains highly uneven, with concentration in a few countries and many structurally weak economies being marginalized.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Crisis: Investment in key SDG sectors, such as infrastructure, renewable energy, water and sanitation, and agri-food systems, declined by 25–31% in 2024. Only the health and education sectors saw positive growth, albeit from a small base.

• Project Finance Slump: International project finance (IPF), critical for large-scale infrastructure, fell by 26% in 2024, following a steep decline in 2023. This has negative implications for development financing, especially for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

• Digital Infrastructure Importance: Digital connectivity is identified as a powerful driver of progress, but many developing countries lack adequate digital infrastructure, limited digital skills, and uncertain regulatory environments, which hinder their access to investment.

• Need for Policy Alignment: The report stresses the importance of aligning investment flows with long-term sustainability goals. It calls for coordinated policy efforts and improved governance frameworks to enhance digital investment and promote inclusive growth.

• Role of Development Institutions: Development finance institutions, multilateral banks, sovereign wealth funds, and blended finance mechanisms are highlighted as key players in scaling up digital investment.

• Global Digital Compact Commitments: The report reflects global commitments under the Global Digital Compact and the Pact for the Future, and proposes practical tools such as a Policy Toolkit for Investment in the Digital Economy to support implementation.

Key Information

• FDI in 2024: $1.5 trillion, a 11% decrease from the previous year.
• Digital Economy Growth: Annual growth of 10–12%, with project values doubling.
• Top 100 MNEs: Technology firms now account for over 20% of their revenues from the digital economy.
• SDG Investment Trends:
  • Infrastructure: -31%
  • Renewable Energy: -31%
  • Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: -30%
  • Agrifood Systems: -19%
  • Health and Education: +25%
• IPF Decline: International project finance fell by 26% in 2024, with a 40% drop between 2021 and 2024.
• Regional Highlights:
  • North America: +23%
  • Africa: +75% (new record)
  • Asia-Pacific: +3% (developing Asia)
  • Europe: -58%
  • China: -29%
  • South America: -18%
• Greenfield Projects: Remained at $1.3 trillion, the second-highest on record, with slight increases in project numbers and value declines in industrial sectors.
• M&A Activity: Increased by 14% to $443 billion, but still below the 10-year average.
• Call for Action: The report urges collective action to ensure the digital transformation is inclusive and sustainable, emphasizing the need for policy alignment, improved governance, and increased public and private investment.

Policy Recommendations

• Shaping the Foundations: Strengthen digital infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.
• Stimulating Investment: Develop targeted incentives and investment promotion strategies.
• Fostering Impact: Ensure investment aligns with SDGs and sustainability goals.
• Harnessing International Agreements: Promote cooperation and standardization through international agreements and regulatory harmonization.

Conclusion

The World Investment Report 2025 underscores the importance of international investment in driving growth and sustainability, especially in the digital economy. It calls for greater cooperation, policy alignment, and investment in marginalized economies to bridge the digital divide and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The digital transformation is not an inevitability but a choice that must be made to ensure inclusivity and sustainability.