The National Statistics Office have released figures today that show as at the end of December 2010, the stock position of Foreign Direct Investment in Malta stood at €12.4 billion while that of Direct Investment abroad stood at €1.1 billion.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in Malta from the rest of the world amounted to €792.1 million during 2010, corresponding to an increase of €250.6 million over the flows recorded in 2009. This is mainly attributable to an increase in equity capital invested in Malta of €583.8 million over 2009. Reinvested earnings, on the other hand, registered a decrease of €106.0 million.
The increase in FDI in Malta was mainly attributable to companies originating from outside the European Union, accounting for 68.8 per cent of the increase.
As in previous years, enterprises involved in financial intermediation were the largest contributors of FDI flows in Malta, accounting for 84.5 per cent in 2010, while the same sector accounted for 76.6 per cent in 2009. This results in 78.8 per cent of total stock of FDI in Malta attributable to the financial intermediation sector.
FDI stock position in Malta advanced by €5,910.3 million, or 91.2 per cent, over the position at the end of 2009, with the predominant increase attributable to the EU.
The net direct investment flows abroad during 2010 amounted to €66.2 million, a drop of €30.3 million when compared to net outflows in 2009. The decline in equity capital was the main contributor to this decrease, as the other components (re-invested earnings and other capital) registered increases. The large predominance of direct investment abroad was made in the EU.
While increases in direct investment stock abroad were largely made in extra-EU countries when comparing December 2010 with the corresponding month in 2009, direct investment abroad is still larger in the EU, accounting for 53.9 per cent of total stocks abroad. Financial intermediation companies account for 45.1 per cent of total direct investment stock abroad, increasing by €26.0 million over the position as at end December 2009.