Introduction

Since the mid-1980s, there has been a resurgence of foreign direct investment (FDI), directed by the multinational enterprise (MNE), into the economies of the developing world. Indeed, the annual growth rates of FDI inflows into these regions averaged 22 per cent during the 1985–89 period compared to a mere 3 per cent in the 1980–84 period and 13 per cent during the 1975–79 period (UNCTAD 1991). This growth in FDI inflows continued unabatedly into the 1990s with total FDI flows into the developing world soaring to a record level of US$149 billion in 1997 (UNCTAD 1998).