Increasing investments from developing countries

Assistant Professor Peter Gammeltoft receives DKK 538.000 for research project

For a number of years we in the West have been familiar with some Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese business names and brands.

During the past few years an increasing number of businesses from different countries have started showing up in the international business press.

This is a sign of increased outgoing investments from the developing countries.

Professor and PhD Peter Gammeltoft from Department of International Economics and Management has received DKK 538,000 for a research project from Danish Social Science Research Council. The project will analyse the outgoing Chinese investments with specific focus on investments in South East Asia.

The developing countries are investing

Direct foreign investments from a number of large developing countries are increasing rapidly and the businesses like Mittal and Tata (India, Haier and Lenovo (China), Embraer (Brazil) SAPMiller (South Africa) and Cemex (Mexico) are penetrating deeper into the international economy.

- So far analyses of foreign investments and developing countries have mostly focused on investments from OECD countries to developing countries, where as only few analyses exist of the increased outgoing investments from the developing countries themselves, says Peter Gammeltoft.

Access to markets in OECD-countries

Investments from developing and fast growing economies will be increasingly important both for these countries and for the OECD countries. The biggest immediate effect will most likely be in the receiving developing countries where investments from other developing countries constitute an increasingly important supplement to the investments from OECD countries.

- We find other important effects in the home countries of the foreign investment businesses. But also OECD countries must look at the possibilities and challenges that appear when businesses from developing countries seek access to their markets and resourses, Peter Gammeltoft says.

Contact: Journalist Lonnie Høgh, tlf: 2751 7034