Net foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks held in non-EU countries by investors resident in the EU amounted to EUR 9.160 billion in 2023, reflecting a 4.1% decrease from 2022 (EUR 9.551 billion).
According to figures released by the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat, a similar trend was visible in investment stocks held by non-EU residents in the EU, which decreased to €7.446 billion in 2023, down 5.4% compared with 2022 (€7.874 billion).
In 2023, the EU’s net investment position with regard to the rest of the world remained relatively stable, with a 2.2% increase compared with 2022.
Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) continued to play a significant role in FDI. At the end of 2023 they accounted for 29% of the total EU FDI stocks held abroad, and for 33% of the FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU.
At the end of 2023, the United States absorbed 26.6% (€2 437 billion) of the total FDI stocks held by the EU in the rest of the world, followed by the United Kingdom (€1 765 billion, 19.3%). They were ahead of Switzerland (€755 billion, 8.2%), Brazil (€312 billion, 3.4%) and Singapore (€263 billion, 2.9%). More than 2% of EU residents’ stocks were held in Canada (2.7%), China except Hong Kong (2.5%), Russia (2.4%), Bermuda (2.3%), Mexico (2.3%) and United Arab Emirates (2.0%).
In the opposite direction, the United States’ direct investors accounted for most of the FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU (€2 299 billion, 30.9%). The United Kingdom (€1 314 billion, 17.6%) followed, ahead of Switzerland (€620 billion, 8.3%), the Cayman Islands (€353 billion, 4.7%), Singapore (€314 billion, 4.2%) and Bermuda (€276 billion, 3.7%). Among other countries, more than 2% of the FDI stocks in the EU were held by investors from Canada (3.3%), Japan (2.9%), Hong Kong (2.1%), Russia (2.1%) and the British Virgin Islands (2.0%).
