ASEAN Investment Report 2019 FDI in Services: Focus on Health Care

By：ASEAN Secretariat Update：2019-11-05

3 November 2019 – Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows into ASEAN rose for the third consecutive year, reaching an all-time high of $155 billion in 2018 as compared to $147 billion in 2017. The region’s share of global FDI inflows also increased from 9.6% in 2017 to 11.5% in 2018. This trend is expected to continue given the dynamic industrial developments and improvement of investment and business environment in the region.

Services sector is the largest recipient of FDI in ASEAN. In line with global average, the share of services sector in total FDI grew from 50% in 1999–2003 to 66% in 2014–2018. This is higher than the share of services in the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). A significant part of FDI in services flows into financial services; wholesale and retail; and real estate activities.

This year’s ASEAN Investment Report features FDI in the services sector, with a special focus on the health care industry. The report analyses FDI, corporate players and start-ups in the health care industry in the region. ASEAN is strengthening regional cooperation in health care through the implementation of various sectoral agreements and strategic action plans. Efforts to further open up the market to private players and to improve the investment environment for the sector is also progressing.

The ASEAN Investment Report is prepared under a technical cooperation arrangement between the ASEAN Secretariat and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), with inputs from members of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Investment (CCI) and supported by the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II).