Foreign direct investment down 70% from 2010-2011

At the end of June 2011, foreign direct investment in Malta was estimated at €12.4 billion.

This amounts to an increase of €518.8 million over the corresponding month in 2010. Geographically, the EU is the largest contributor to Malta's inward foreign direct investment, with Germany accounting for the lion's share.

The level of flows decreased significantly when comparing the first six months of 2011 with the previous year. The flows during January-June 2011 were estimated at €140.2 million, a decline of over 70 per cent over the comparative period in 2010. The gains in reinvested earnings and other capital during the period under review were not enough to outweigh the drop in equity capital investment, which had registered an extraordinary increase in 2010, mainly in the financial and insurance activities. In the six months under review, the net flows for this sector amounted to €1 million.

Direct Investment abroad

Outward flows of direct investment during the first six months of 2011 contracted significantly when compared with the corresponding period in the previous year, with estimated flows amounting to €7.9 million. The decline, estimated at €47.5 million, was due to a drop in claims on affiliated enterprises.

During the first six months of 2010, such claims had amounted to €44.2 million, while last year, these amounted to €0.5 million. During the same period, reinvested earnings abroad advanced from €2.5 million to €4.6 million.

In terms of stock positions, in June 2011 direct investment abroad by resident enterprises was estimated at €1.1 billion, of which €604.9 million were invested in the EU.