The top five recipients accounted for 85% of foreign direct investment flows to small island developing states.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to small island developing states (SIDS) rose by 39% to $7.8 billion in 2022, about 0.6% of global FDI, according to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2023 published on 5 July.

Reflecting differences in levels of development and factor endowments, a handful of SIDS continued to attract the bulk of inflows, the report shows.

The top five recipients were Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Maldives, Jamaica and Timor-Leste, in that order.

Inflows to the 11 Caribbean SIDS rose by 27% to $5.9 billion, owing to some recovery in international tourism investment.

FDI in the Dominican Republic rose by 25% to $4 billion; the number of greenfield projects more than doubled to 30, and the value more than quadrupled to $3.5 billion.

In the Bahamas, inflows rose by 6% to $1.3 billion, mainly due to higher intracompany loans. FDI to Jamaica increased by 12% to $360 million. Flows to Trinidad and Tobago were negative at -$0.5 billion, but there were several new greenfield project announcements.

FDI in the two Asian SIDS turned positive to $984 million. In Maldives, FDI inflows rose by 12%, to $722 million. In Timor-Leste, flows reached $262 million after negative values for the last three years.

Among the five African SIDS, Mauritius saw its FDI flows remain flat at $252 million. In Seychelles, FDI flows fell by 6% (to $212 million).

Among the 11 SIDS in Oceania, Fiji, the largest host country, saw FDI down by 74% to $104 million. However, there were several new greenfield project announcements in 2022 with a total value of $41 million, a significant increase compared with 2021.

Multinational enterprises from the United States remained the largest investors in SIDS at $99 billion, followed by Canada and Brazil.

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About UNCTAD

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) promotes inclusive and sustainable development through trade, investment, finance, and technology.

UNCTAD’s World Investment Report is a leading publication that provides analysis and insights into global investment trends and policies.

World Investment Forum

The key findings of the World Investment Report 2023 will inform discussions at UNCTAD’s 8^th World Investment Forum to be held in Abu Dhabi from 16 to 20 October 2023 under the theme “Investing in sustainable development”.

The forum will bring together government leaders, global CEOs, policymakers and other stakeholders to find solutions and reach consensus on priority issues. Its outcomes will feed into negotiations at the annual climate summit COP28, which will also be held in the United Arab Emirates.