Net foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks held in the rest of the world by investors resident in the EU amounted to €8 990 bn at the end of 2019, up by 3.8% compared with the end of 2018. Meanwhile, investment stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU also increased to €7 138 bn at the end of 2019 (+3.4%). Consequently, the EUˈs net investment position vis-a-vis the rest of the world was higher than a year earlier i.e. €1 851 bn at the end of 2019 compared with €1 761 bn at the end of 2018.
Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos
Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) resident in the EU continued to play a significant role in FDI, albeit a less prominent one than a year earlier. At the end of 2019, they accounted for 48% of the total EU FDI stocks held abroad and for 57% of the FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU, compared with 51% and 61% respectively in 2018.
USA and the UK: by far the main FDI partners
At the end of 2019, the United States absorbed 24% of the total FDI stocks held by the EU in the rest of the world (€2 161 bn), closely followed by the United Kingdom (€1 872 bn, 21%). They were far ahead of Switzerland (€969 bn, 11%), Canada (€399 bn, 4%), China (incl. Hong Kong; €362 bn, 4%), Brazil (€319 bn, 4%), Russia (€311 bn, 3%) and the United Arab Emirates (€271 bn, 3%).
Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos
In the reverse direction, United States' direct investors accounted for 28% (€2 003 bn) of the total FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU at the end of 2019 and those of the United Kingdom for 18% (€1 278 bn). They were followed by those from Switzerland (€735 bn, 10%), Bermuda (€411 bn, 6%), Jersey (€304 bn, 4%), China (incl. Hong Kong; €255 bn, 4%), Canada (€239 bn, 3%), Cayman Islands (€219 bn, 3%) as well as Japan (€217 bn, 3%).
Source dataset: bop_fdi6_pos
Notes
• These data are subject to revision.
• FDI stocks help to quantify the impact of globalisation and measure longstanding economic links between countries (according to immediate counterpart criteria). They provide an indication of the relative importance of a country's economic presence abroad, or that of foreign partners in the reporting entity, measured in terms of FDI capital.
• The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here. The EU data reflect the political change in the EU composition so the UK is considered as an extra-EU partner country for the EU. However, the UK was still part of the internal market during the period covered, meaning that data on the UK were based on statistical concepts applicable to exchanges between EU Member States.
For more information
Eurostat website section dedicated to foreign direct investment statistics
Eurostat database on balance of payments and EU direct investments
Eurostat Statistics Explained article on FDI statistics methodology
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