FORIEGN investment in 2001 in Slovakia fell to Sk57.9 billion ($1.3 billion) from the record Sk99.6 billion recorded in 2000, according to central bank data, copying a global decline in capital flows by 50 per cent last year from 2000.
According to the United Nations agency Unctad, the fall in money flowing between global economies was the first in the past decade and the greatest in 30 years. The main reason for the drop, the agency found, was a decline in direct foreign investment from $1.49 trillion in 2000 to $753 billion in 2001.
Cross-border mergers worth over $1 billion fell from 175 in 2000 to 113 last year. In the first seven months of 2002, 40 per cent fewer such mergers were concluded than in the same period the year before.
Developed economies suffered the most, with the investment drop hitting 59 per cent from 2000 to 2001. On the other hand, developing countries such as those in central Europe saw only a 14 per cent fall, while African nations and China saw sharp rises in investment inflows.
