India receives $64 billion in FDI in 2020; becomes 5th largest recipient of inflows in world

Geneva, June 22: Foreign direct investments ( FDI ) in India rose to 64 billion dollars in 2020, making it the fifth-largest recipient in the world, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report said, in India, Foreign Direct Investment increased 27 percent, to $64 billion in 2020, from USD 51 billion in 2019, pushed up by acquisitions in the information and communication technology industry.

 

Robust investment in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry and construction bolstered FDI inflows. Cross-border mergers and acquisitions surged 83 per cent to 27 billion dollars with major deals involving ICT, health, infrastructure and energy. "FDI in South Asia rose by 20 per cent to 71 billion dollars, driven mainly by a 27 per cent rise in FDI in India to 64 billion dollars," according to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2021.

 

 

The World Investment Report 2021 by the UN Conference on Trade and Development released today, said global Foreign Direct Investment flows have been severely hit by the pandemic and they plunged 35 per cent in 2020, to USD 1 trillion from USD 1.5 trillion the previous year.

 

 

The report noted that the second wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in India weighs heavily on the country’s overall economic activities but its strong fundamentals provide “optimism” for the medium term. FDI fell in other South Asian economies that rely on export-oriented garment manufacturing. Inflows in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka contracted by 11 per cent and 43 per cent respectively.