London has attracted greater volumes of foreign direct investment (FDI) than any other international financial centre between May 2015 and April 2016, but the $1.1bn-worth of inward FDI is lower that the figure the city attracted a year earlier, according to estimates by greenfield investment monitor fDi Intelligence. Total investment into the world’s top 10 financial centres shrank to $5.95bn from $8.37bn over that period, as global economic growth remained sluggish.
Singapore came a close second to London with $995m, with Hong Kong in third place with $903m. Beijing took fourth place, while Shanghai – a former leader with an impressive $1.66bn – has disappeared from the table.
Despite its size and international profile, New York has displayed limited FDI pulling power, particularly compared with London. It sits in seventh place with $364m, climbing from ninth place and $274m. The city did better than Sydney, Ho Chi Minh and Chicago, but not as well as Yangon. Myanmar’s financial centre attracted an estimated $491m from banks and insurance firms from the US, UK, China, Taiwan and Japan.
Outward investment figures also put London on top. The UK capital generated $2.68bn in FDI, which not only puts Zurich a distant second, it also represents an increase from the previous year.
New York sits in third place followed by Tokyo and Abu Dhabi. The United Arab Emirates centre’s $1.41bn was not enough to retain its past lead and represent less than half the figure generated between May 2014 and April 2015.
Overall, outward FDI for the top 10 financial centres has fallen to $13.18bn from $18bn.
