People cross a destroyed bridge as they evacuate the city of Irpin, Ukraine, during heavy shelling and bombing by Russia on March 5, 2022. Aris Messinis/ AFP
"The global environment for international investment changed dramatically with the onset of the war in Ukraine," said UNCTAD chief Rebeca Grynspan. Greenfield investment typically refers to projects that create new physical facilities which are considered productive, in part because they normally create jobs. New greenfield projects are considered an indicator of future FDI trends.
The agency said the growth momentum of 2021 could not be sustained and that global FDI flows in 2022 would "likely move on a downward trajectory, at best remaining flat.""This fragile growth of real productive investment is likely to persist in 2022," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The top 10 economies for FDI inflows in 2021 were the United States, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, Brazil, India, South Africa, Russia and Mexico.