Foreign direct investment into Ireland rallied in 2009

FOREIGN DIRECT Investment (FDI) into Ireland bounced back in 2009, according to a new report from a United Nations agency.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), the single most comprehensive source of data on FDI flows, said that foreign investment into Ireland amounted to $14 billion (€9.8 billion) in 2009, after the previous year saw a net outflow of $20 billion (€14 billion).

Most European countries recorded net inflows of FDI in 2009, with only Hungary seeing outflows. However, the value of the investment that did pour into EU member states was down 29 per cent on 2008.

In this scenario, Ireland was one of only six countries to record an increase in FDI last year.

According to estimates from Unctad, net inflows into EU member states reached a total of $356.7 billion (€250 billion) last year compared to more than half a trillion in dollar terms in 2008.

On a global basis, inflows of FDI fell by 39 per cent from $1.7 trillion to a little over $1 trillion in 2009. The decline was experienced over the full year, with no pick-up in the fourth quarter.

The agency said the decline in FDI was widespread across all major groups of economies.