According to initial statistics by UN Trade and Development Conference, in 2006 global attraction of foreign capital reached 1.2 trillion US dollars, marking a record high since 2000.
In 2006 the US overtook England again to become the biggest country in attracting foreign capital, with a foreign investment of 177 billion US dollars; England came next with 170 billion US dollars, and France ranked the third with 88 billion US dollars. Foreign capital inflow in developed countries amounted to 800 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of close to 50%. The European Union accounted for 45% of the total foreign capital intake in the developed nations. The growth in foreign capital attraction in developed countries is mainly attributed to transnational mergers of enterprises – just one single merger can affect a country’s global ranking in foreign capital attraction.
China’s attraction of foreign capital in 2006 remained No.1 among developing nations and ranked the fourth globally. China attracted 70 billion US dollars, slightly less than the 72 billion US dollars of 2005. Foreign capital attraction of developing countries was 368 billion US dollars, and that of countries undergoing economy transition in Eastern Europe and Central Asia was a record breaking 62 billion US dollars. Foreign capital flowed to Africa mainly focused on petroleum exploitation and the smelting industry. Demands for energy caused foreign capital injection in Russia to double. But in Latin America, foreign capital attraction in countries like Venezuela Bolivia and Eduardo declined due to unfavorable investment environment of the region.