Introduction to Foreign Direct Investment in Southeast Asia

The wider context for the subject of this book is best provided by a twenty-year perspective on the trajectory of global business activity, as represented by flows of foreign direct investment (FDI). Recorded FDI flows have demonstrated remarkable global growth, from under US$60 billion in 1980 to over US$1,400 billion in 2000. ¹ Over that same period, the total stock of FDI in Southeast Asia has grown from roughly US$24.7 billion to almost US$270 billion (ASEAN, 2002). Section 1.2 of this introductory chapter, on the underlying factors for the growth in foreign investment, briefly identifies the two main driving forces responsible for vigorous FDI activity in Southeast Asia. Section 1.3 sketches out world, regional and Southeast Asian FDI patterns, and profiles the trajectory of FDI flows and their regional distribution. Section 1.4 briefly outlines the issues addressed by each of the chapters that follow.