ABSTRACT
Whereas the metrics for tracking foreign direct investment (FDI) flows are well established, either under IMF balance-of-payments protocols, or through the recording functions of host country central banks and investment agencies, delineating with certainty the activity of cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, 1 in terms of volumes and values, is much more problematic. Indeed, the problem has a number of dimensions. First, cross-border M&As form but one option within the FDI policy framework of modal neutrality (UNCTAD, 1996) by which firms can enter and service international markets. As such, cross-border M&As should be arithmetically part of measured aggregate FDI flows. Secondly, disaggregated statistics obtained by tracking cross-border M&A activity are more readily available in Europe and North America than in Southeast Asia, due to limited analytical capacity, albeit notwithstanding the publication of the ASEAN Investment Report (ASEAN, 2001).
