FDI Flows By Economic Activity, BMD4

This dataset FDI flows by economic activity, BMD4 includes inward and outward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows by economic activity for OECD reporting economies:

• Inward FDI flows by economic activity measure the value of cross-border direct investment transactions received by the reporting economy in a specific industry during a year, enabling, for example, the identification of the most attractive industries for FDI in each OECD economy in that year.
• Outward FDI flows by economic activity measure the value of cross-border direct investment transactions from the reporting economy during a year, by industry. The industry sector corresponds to the activity of the direct investment enterprise or to the activity of the direct investor (more details on the activity allocation method for outward FDI flows are indicated in the metadata information attached at the country level).

Inward and outward FDI flows by economic activity are presented according to the directional principle (unless otherwise specified in the country level metadata); they are measured in USD millions and in millions of national currency. A cross-classification of inward and outward FDI flows by major ISIC4 sections and by main geographic aggregates are also available for some OECD reporting economies.

In 2014, many countries implemented the latest international standards for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) statistics:

• the OECD’s Benchmark Definition of FDI, 4th edition (BMD4); and
• the IMF’s Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th edition (BPM6)

An OECD database was launched in March 2015 which includes the data series reported by national experts according to BMD4. The data are for the most part based on balance of payments statistics published by Central Banks and Statistical Offices following the recommendations of the IMF’s BPM6 and the OECD’s BMD4. However, some of the data relate to other sources such as notifications or approvals.

Historical and unrevised series of FDI flows by economic activity under the previous BMD3 methodology can be accessed in the archived dataset FDI flows by industry.