Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

Azerbaijan saw a growth in investment, said a new report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

The report notes that in the first half of 2014, the whole world’s global flows of foreign direct investment fell by 8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year amounting to $1.26 trillion.

The UNCTD says this trend is connected with the economic uncertainty and geopolitical risks, including regional conflicts.

The report analyzed the most recent trends in global investment and assessed their prospects.

The flow of foreign investment in countries with economies in transition period decreased by almost twice compared to the previous year and amounted to $45 billion, the report noted. The UNCTAD attributed this decline to the conflict in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and the forecasts of economic downturn.

Foreign investment in the Russian economy fell by 70 percent to about $19 billion. Major oil and gas companies from developed countries have stopped or started to refrain from investing in Russia.

In Ukraine, the foreign direct investment flow decreased by $0.2 billion.

On the contrary, the volume of investment coming to Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan increased.

The report states that China attracted $ 128 billion and ranked first in the list of states where the most part of foreign direct investments were made in 2014.

The report also indicates there was a 14 percent drop in the volume of investments coming in industrialized countries, which is mainly due to the sluggish nature of the investment in the U.S. economy.

FDIs flow to the EU amounted to $267 billion. This is 13 percent more than in 2013, but still much less than the level of 2007.

Last year, developing countries brought to their economy $ 700 billion, which is 4 percent more than in 2013. They generally account for 56 percent of all foreign direct investment.

Last year, investments made in the Azerbaijani economy amounted to $27 billion, including domestic investment-$16 billion, and foreign investment-$11 billion.

Some of the main priorities of Azerbaijan's government are promoting its non-oil sector and attracting investments, advanced technologies and management experience from abroad.