Trade Fair Report: Financial activities boost the global foreign direct investment recovery in 2025.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development recently released a report saying that global foreign direct investment rebounded in 2025 after two years of stagnation, increasing by 14% compared to the previous year to reach $1.6 trillion. The report pointed out that of the growth in global foreign direct investment, over $140 billion came from the increase in financial flows from global financial centers. Excluding these "pipeline flows," global foreign direct investment increased by only about 5%, indicating that actual investment activity remains limited. The report stated that investment is increasingly concentrated in a few strategic and capital-intensive industries. Driven by the demand for AI infrastructure and digital networks, data centers accounted for over one-fifth of the total global greenfield project investment last year, with announced investments exceeding $270 billion. Investment in semiconductor projects grew by 35%. Industries such as textiles, electronics, and machinery, which are heavily affected by tariffs and are part of the global value chains, saw a significant decrease in the number of investment projects. The report predicts that if the financing environment remains loose and cross-border mergers and acquisitions recover, foreign direct investment may experience moderate growth by 2026. However, factors such as geopolitical tensions, policy uncertainty, and economic fragmentation may continue to negatively impact actual investment activities.