Foreign Direct Investment in East Asia

Abstract

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has played an important role in the economic development of the Asia-Pacific region. In the past, FDI was mainly from the Western industrialized countries such as the United States and Britain. Since the late 1980s, however, intraregional direct investment has been growing very rapidly, signifying an increasing economic integration and cooperation within the region. Japan, one of the economic superpowers, has become a major source of investment in the region. Moreover, the Asian newly industrializing economies (NIEs)—Hong Kong; Republic of Korea; Singapore; and Taipei, China—which have experienced remarkable economic growth, also invest substantially in other Asian developing countries…