Foreign direct investments in emerging Asia: an evaluation of pandemic and policy shocks

Foreign direct investments (FDI) play an integral role in the growth story of Emerging Asian economies. As an essential source of foreign capital, FDI bolsters the path to economic recovery from recessions, including the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is a collection of essays investigating the reconfiguration of FDI flows to the Emerging Asian economies of ASEAN, China and India following the pandemic and FDI policy reforms.

This book broadly covers the trends in greenfield FDI flows to Emerging Asia in the context of three pertinent themes. Part I explores the rebalancing effects in global FDI flows after the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the experience of Emerging Asian economies. We also evaluate the nature of the pandemic’s impact on existing FDI linkages between China and ASEAN. Part II delves into the implications of a cross-border policy framework such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In particular, we examine ASEAN trade activity after China's investments through BRI. We further discuss the future of BRI in ASEAN economies amid the emergence of global competitors. Part III of the book zooms in on the effectiveness of domestic FDI policy reforms. We discuss the cases of Indonesia Special Economic Zones and the Make in India initiative.

This book is written for scholars, policymakers and industrial practitioners who wish to gain more knowledge on the recent FDI dynamics of Emerging Asia.