Outward Foreign Direct Investment Flows Research Articles

Outward FDI, Profit Shifting, and Its Impact on the Tax Payments of the Parent Firm: A Case of Indian Manufacturing Firms

Outward FDI, Profit Shifting, and Its Impact on the Tax Payments of the Parent Firm: A Case of Indian Manufacturing Firms

The determinants of Vietnam’s outward foreign direct investment: the push factors approach

In the context of integration, in addition to increasing foreign capital inflows, Vietnamese enterprises are becoming more and more interested in outward foreign direct investment activities. This research expands the Investment Development Path model to assess the influence of some macroeconomic factors (GNI per capita, the proportion of expenditure on science and technology, FDI flows, USD to VND exchange rate, total import-export turnover) on Vietnam's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) flows. Using the 32-year dataset (1989-2020), the regression results depict that the proportion of expenditure on science and technology, the amount of FDI, GNI per capita had a positive impact on the capital OFDI of Vietnam. However, the growth rate of total import-export turnover harmed OFDI flows in the same period. Meanwhile, the difference variable of exchange rate USD to VND in the multiple regression model was not statistically significant. Based on regression model results combined with qualitative studies, the authors propose some policy implications to promote OFDI flows of Vietnam in the near future.

Impact of corruption control, free information flow, and ICT infrastructure on China's outward foreign direct investment

ABSTRACT This study examines the interplay between corruption control, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, and free information flow, assessing their collective influence on China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI). Based on unbalanced panel data on China's OFDI flows to 182 countries from 2005 to 2020, we find that improved corruption control measures and advanced ICT infrastructure in host countries significantly increase China's OFDI. Furthermore, a more robust information flow, facilitated by e-participation and a free press in the host country, enhances the positive influence of corruption control measures on attracting China's OFDI. Importantly, the beneficial effect of corruption control on China's OFDI is amplified when the host country has well-developed ICT infrastructure that supports e-participation. By elucidating the complex interplay between institutions, ICT, and international business activities, this study contributes novel insights into the understanding of ICT's role in socioeconomic development, particularly in the context of foreign investment.

Location choice and Indian outward foreign direct investment: institutional thresholds and differentiating between institutional quality and institutional distance

Abstract Institutions matter as regards foreign location investment decisions, but how they matter and in what ways, is still unsettled. We differentiate between absolute and relative institutional effects on both location choice and on the size of the FDI and do so by examining India's outward FDI flows between 2008 and 2020. We find that absolute and relative institutional measures have different effects, and these are noticeable at different stages. We show that the quality of institutions affects location choice, but once they have made that decision then the scale of the investment is impacted by institutional threshold effects and institutional distance, and we explain why this could be the case. We provide further nuance to studies on the asymmetrical effects of institutions on outward FDI. We provide empirical evidence that the effects of absolute institutions matter more where host countries lie at the lower end of the institutional profile distribution. Likewise with institutional distance—it might not be the direction of the difference that matters so much as where the host country is located along the institutional profile distribution. This has substantial consequences from both a managerial and a policy perspective.

The carbon reduction effect of "Going Global" strategy: an empirical perspective on the carbon emission efficiency of OFDI in China.

Under the constraints of the "dual-carbon" objectives, how China can sustain economic development while concurrently achieving carbon emission reduction has become a pressing issue. With the rapid expansion of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), elucidating its impact on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) assumes pronounced significance. Employing the systematic generalized method of moments (GMM) approach, based on panel data spanning the years 2006 to 2019 for China, this study primarily delves into the influence of OFDI on China's CEE. Furthermore, it probes into the mechanisms and asymmetries underpinning the relationship between OFDI and CEE. The principal findings are as follows: (1) augmentation of OFDI exerts a constructive effect on domestic carbon emission reduction, concomitantly yielding a discernible enhancement in CEE. A 1% increase in the magnitude of OFDI flow gives rise to a 0.009% improvement in CEE. (2) Mechanism verification reveals that heightened levels of OFDI operate through elevating green total factor productivity (GTFP), fostering optimal industrial structural adjustments, and invigorating green technological innovation, thereby elevating the CEE of the home country. (3) Asymmetry characterizes the impact of OFDI on domestic CEE, signifying a significant enhancement in regions with lower CEE while exhibiting less conspicuous effects in areas with higher CEE. This study furnishes policymakers with insights into leveraging OFDI to enhance CEE, thereby facilitating the attainment of the "dual-carbon" objectives.

Domestic environmental impacts of OFDI: City-level evidence from China

With the increasingly severe ecological environment, seeking sustainable development between the economy and the environment has become the main social consensus. Under this background, this study explores the domestic environmental impacts of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) activities, using the panel data of 222 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2019. The following results are obtained: (1) With every 1% increase in OFDI flows, the overall domestic environmental quality can get improved by 1.55%. (2) The home-country environmental effect differs among cities due to the economic-regional factors, being more evident in the eastern region cities, highly industrialized cities, and cities with better business facilitation. (3) Although a spatial relationship exists between cities, no obvious evidence supports the spatial spillover phenomenon. Domestic environmental quality is mainly improved by its own OFDI activities. This study has important practical significance for international investment activities and home-country environment protection with several related policy implications.

The determinants of China’s outward foreign direct investment in ASEAN: A panel ARDL approach

Research aims: This paper aims to examine factors influencing China's outward foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN economies.Design/Methodology/Approach: The Kao panel cointegration approach and the Panel ARDL model were used in this study to estimate the long-run and short-run relationship between variables. This method is deemed superior to other panel models since it is advantageous when dealing with non-stationary variables at the level or I(1).Research findings: The estimation results provide empirical evidence that in the long run, ASEAN market size, exchange rate, import and export levels between China and ASEAN countries, inflation rate, and institutional factors such as the index of corruption control and political stability are the primary determinants of the flow of outward foreign direct investments from China to ASEAN economies. Theoretical contribution/Originality: This study provides additional evidence regarding the factors influencing direct investment flow from the home country to the host country, known as an outward foreign direct investment (OFDI). Previous studies have robustly proven that OFDI flows are influenced by factors such as the resources and market size of the host country, as predicted by location theory. This study further provides evidence that host country trade policy, the level of competitiveness demonstrated by favorable exchange rates, and institutional factors like corruption control and political stability are other important determinants in the context of China’s OFDI in ASEAN countries.Practitioner/Policy implication: Maintaining open trade policy, a competitive exchange rate and significant improvement in law and order would be suitable policies for ASEAN economies to attract more investment from China and other countries.Research limitation/Implication: This study did not cover other variables, such as investment facilities provided by the host government. In addition, economic packages like tax holidays and import-tariff discounts are common policies ASEAN countries provide. Hence, this variable can be considered in future research.

Financial Deepening, OFDI and Economic Growth: Based on the Perspectives of Both China and Host Countries

Based on the perspectives of both China (home country) and host countries (economies), a financial deepening indicator system and an economic growth indicator system are constructed, the mutual influence mechanism between financial deepening (FD), outward foreign direct investment flows (OFDI) and economic growth (EG) are studied. Firstly, from the perspective of China, based on Error Correction Model (ECM) and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), the conclusions received are as follows. (i) China's financial deepening and OFDI have a long-run positive impact on China's economic growth. (ii) Further analysis also confirms that reforms related to financial deepening have positive policy effects on promoting OFDI in China. Secondly, from the perspective of the interaction between China and host countries (economies), based on Time-varying Spatial Durbin Model (TVSDM), the conclusions received are as follows. (i) In general, China's OFDI to host countries plays a positive intermediary role in the process of financial deepening for economic development in host countries. (ii) Three aspects (FD, OFDI, EG) have different degrees of spatial autocorrelation and spatial spillover effects on each other, which are positive in general. (iii) Further analysis also found heterogeneity in the above conclusions for high-income and low-income host countries individually. In a word, a comprehensive analysis framework of three aspects (financial deepening, OFDI and economic growth) is finally constructed, which has important implications for overseas investments and financial support to the real economy.

Does Religious Proximity Affect FDI Location Choice? An Empirical Analysis of Outward FDI from Morocco to 54 Host Countries


 
 
 The present paper investigates the effect of religious distance on the choice of location of Moroccan Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) when investing abroad. The main research hypothesis considers the religion as an element of the psychic distance between the home country and host countries that can affect the FDI location decision. The results of the Robust Weighted Least Squares (RWLS) estimation method using panel data of outward FDI flows from Morocco to 54 host countries from 2007 to 2020 show that the more the local Muslim population is important in the host country, the more it receives FDI from Morocco. The results of the study are highly relevant to policymakers as they prove that the religion is important for inward and outward foreign direct investment. On the one hand, policy makers in charge of FDI attractiveness in the host country have to adopt religious strategies accompanied by public–private partnerships to integrate main foreign religions to facilitate the integration of MNEs and reduce their transaction costs. On the other hand, policy makers in charge of promoting outward FDI from the home country have to establish a liaison office in host countries to support the MNEs and facilitate their internationalization process.
 
 

Environmental regulation and outward foreign direct investment: Evidence from China

This paper explores the impact of environmental regulation (ER) on outward foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in China. During the period from 2013 to 2015, all Chinese cities were required to join a nationwide automatic air quality monitoring network in batches, and this policy exogenously raised local environmental regulation. This unique policy implemented full coverage through a staggered adoption, which motivates this paper to apply an event study approach to identify the treatment effect of stringent environmental regulation. Based on a city-year level capital outflows dataset constructed from the fDi Markets database, we obtain three main findings: (1) environmental regulation significantly stimulates outward FDI flows; (2) this promoting effect centers on polluting industries; and (3) these ER-induced FDI outflows are mainly directed toward countries with weaker environmental protection and with a closer geographic and cultural distance to the home country. These results together provide a snapshot confirming the classical “pollution haven hypothesis”.

Corporate governance and the outward foreign direct investment: Firm-level evidence from China

This paper investigates the role of corporate governance in China’s outward foreign direct investment (ODI) using a sample of Chinese public firms over the period 2009–2015. Different from previous studies, which mainly use country-level aggregate data to examine China’s ODI behavior, this study utilizes firm-level data to explore the impact of corporate governance on firms’ ODI decision making. Building on the integration of agency theory and foreign direct investment theories, the study finds that ownership concentration, share ownership, and executive compensation significantly influence China’s ODI flows in both full-sample and sub-sample estimations. The corporate governance has an essential effect on firms’ ODI flows in that the firms with better corporate governance are more interested in undertaking ODI projects. The results are robust across different sample periods and in both state-owned and non-state-owned firm sub-groups. The government may design some policies such as friendly tax regulations to stimulate private firms to invest overseas.

Indonesia’s Promotion Towards Its Outward Foreign Direct Investment from Transnational Law Perspective

Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) from developing economies has recently increase which have caught up to become global leaders in several industries. However, Indonesia as one of the developing economies still lacking its OFDI flow. The purpose of this research is to examine on what should the Indonesian government do to promote and coordinate its OFDI. This is done by firstly examining the success of other Asian states in promoting OFDI, and followed by comparing the role of home governments from developing countries in Asia that have better OFDI climate in coordinating their OFDI implementation from transnational law perspective that includes the role of international agreements in practice. Based on the research, it is found that to support OFDI government requires policy and regulation which is followed by coordination. This result support a conclusion that home countries should negotiate terms which protects and facilitate OFDI in investment treaties and Double Taxation Treaties. Home countries should also establish more firm coordination and collaboration internally in order to provide better assistance to their business entities that intend to conduct OFDI. Keywords: Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Transnational Law, Indonesia, Asia DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/123-03 Publication date: August 31 st 2022

Indonesia’s Promotion Towards Its Outward Foreign Direct Investment from Transnational Law Perspective

Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) from developing economies has recently increase which have caught up to become global leaders in several industries. However, Indonesia as one of the developing economies still lacking its OFDI flow. The purpose of this research is to examine on what should the Indonesian government do to promote and coordinate its OFDI. This is done by firstly examining the success of other Asian states in promoting OFDI, and followed by comparing the role of home governments from developing countries in Asia that have better OFDI climate in coordinating their OFDI implementation from transnational law perspective that includes the role of international agreements in practice. Based on the research, it is found that to support OFDI government requires policy and regulation which is followed by coordination. This result support a conclusion that home countries should negotiate terms which protects and facilitate OFDI in investment treaties and Double Taxation Treaties. Home countries should also establish more firm coordination and collaboration internally in order to provide better assistance to their business entities that intend to conduct OFDI. Keywords: Outward Foreign Direct Investment, Transnational Law, Indonesia, Asia DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/122-10 Publication date: July 31 st 2022

Who wins the race for knowledge-based competitiveness? Comparing European and North American FDI patterns

The geographical dispersion of value-added activities triggered by the ‘great unbundling’ of production has made the race for competitiveness increasingly shaped by the capability of multinational corporations (MNCs) to orchestrate global innovation networks at world scale. However, major differences in the distribution of foreign investments across value chain functions undertaken by MNCs based in different economic areas have drawn little attention in the empirical literature. This work attempts to fill this gap by focusing on the FDI patterns of European and North American MNCs, which have historically played a key role in the internationalization of production and innovation. To this aim, we compare outward FDI flows of European and North American MNCs in manufacturing and knowledge-intensive activities over the period 2003–2017. We show that while European MNCs are key players in global networks of production, they do not reach the heights of North American investors in the dispersion of knowledge-based activities. Most importantly, European MNCs rely on emerging economies more to offshore production than to set up R&D labs in these countries; by contrast, US-based MNCs are more prone to engage in knowledge-intensive FDIs towards the most dynamic emerging countries (especially China and India, as well as the Four Asian Tigers). Further, we account for the growing role of new entrants in global FDI markets by comparing the advanced economies’ foreign investment decisions with those from Chinese MNCs. Drawing from the literature on the globalization of R&D and cross-border knowledge transmission, a discussion is finally offered on the potential implications of the detected differences in internationalization patterns, together with possible directions for future research.

An Empirical Testing of Investment Development Path Theory in the Indian Context

There has been a substantiated rise in the FDI flows (both inward and outward) across the globe since the 1990s. The most remarkable fact about the global FDI flows is that the share of developing countries in total FDI is continuously rising. India, being one of those important developing countries, has also seen a surge in both inward and outward FDI flows. The present study uses Dunning's investment development path (IDP) paradigm as a theoretical framework to examine long-term developments in India's inward and outward FDI. Its primary goal is to assess how far the country has progressed along its IDP. The study has analysed the annual time series data from 1991 onwards using the quadratic specification model as proposed by Dunning. The analysis indicates that India has reached the stage 3 of the IDP, with a few notable exceptions, the assessed IDP trajectory is in accordance with Dunning's model.

Does intellectual property rights protection affect UK and US outward FDI and earnings from FDI? A sectoral analysis

PurposeDespite decades of research, the relationship between intellectual property rights (IPRs) and foreign direct investment (FDI) remains ambiguous. Using a recently developed patent enforcement index (along with a broader IPR index) and a large sectoral country-to-country FDI dataset, the authors revisit the FDI-IPR relationship by testing the impact of IPRs on UK and US outward FDI (OFDI) flows as well as earnings from outward FDI (EOFDI).Design/methodology/approachThe authors use disaggregated data for up to 9 distinct sectors of economic activity from both the US and UK for OFDI flows and EOFDI, for a panel of up to 42 developed and developing countries over sample periods from 1998 to 2015. The authors employ a panel fixed effects (FE) approach that allows exploiting the longitudinal properties of the data using Driscoll and Kraay's (1998) nonparametric covariance matrix estimator.FindingsThe authors do not find any consistent evidence in support of the hypothesis that countries' strength of IPR protection or enforcement affects inward FDI, or that sector of investment matters. The results prove robust to sensitivity checks that include an alternative broader measure of IPR strength, analyses across sub-samples disaggregated according to the strength of countries' IPRs as well as developing vs developed economies and an extended specification accounting for dynamic effects of the response of FDI to both previous investment levels and IPR (patent) protection.Originality/valueThe authors make use of the largest most granular sectoral country-to-country FDI dataset employed to date in the analysis of the FDI-IPR nexus with disaggregated data for OFDI and EOFDI across up to 9 distinct sectors of economic activity from both the US and UK The authors employ a more sophisticated measure of IPR strength, the patent index proposed by Papageorgiadis et al. (2014), which places emphasis on the effectiveness of enforcement practices as perceived by managers, together with the overall administrative effectiveness and efficiency of the national patent system.

OFDI Entry Modes and Firms’ Innovation: Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Firms

Innovation is crucial for firms’ sustainable development. However, the original motivation of innovation in China is insufficient and the key technology is controlled by other countries. Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) is an important strategic choice in emerging economies to seek overseas advantageous technical knowledge and to participate in global competition. With the further development of China’s “go global” strategy, OFDI flows have risen considerably. Whether OFDI can promote firms’ innovation levels and whether OFDI entry modes (greenfield investment and cross-border M&A) have the same impact are still major issues to be solved. Therefore, we constructed a mathematical model and adopted the propensity score matching double difference method to analyze the impact and mechanism of OFDI on firms’ innovation. The results show that OFDI has a significant effect on innovation quantity, quality, and efficiency, and it has not led to innovative strategic behavior. Further research shows that cross-border M&A has a stronger effect on innovation quality than greenfield investment, and both have a sustainable innovation effect. Over time, the gap between the impact of greenfield investment and cross-border M&A on innovation quality has gradually narrowed. From the perspective of mechanism, the two entry modes of OFDI are beneficial to firms’ access to government resources and to promote innovation quality, while government resources have a stronger mediating effect on cross-border M&A firms. This paper deepens the research on the influence mechanism of OFDI entry modes on firms’ innovation levels, while also providing theoretical and practical support for the selection of OFDI modes and innovation strategies for firms.

Does informal economy undermine the effects of China’s aid on its outward foreign direct investment?

As an emerging donor, China’s growing role in the international development arena has provoked much debate. This paper explores the effects of China’s aid on its Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) to the recipient countries with great prevalence of informal economy, which is often neglected in recent research. Using a dataset of 51 countries receiving China’s aid during 2003–2014, we find that aid from China promotes China’s OFDI flows to the recipient countries. Moreover, the existence of the informal economy of recipient countries accelerates their inflows of FDI from China, while undermines the facilitating effects of China’s aid on its OFDI to the recipient countries. In addition, the undermining effects of informal economy are found only for African countries, rather than Asian countries. However, a sharp contrast is found from the case of the US. Therefore, our findings suggest that informal economy should be under serious consideration in the research.

Facilitating Sustainable FDI for Sustainable Development in a WTO Investment Facilitation Framework: Four Concrete Proposals

Foreign direct investment (‘FDI’) can be an important vehicle for development. However, in recent years, the focus has not just been on development generally, but sustainable development specifically. Thus, this article focuses on how countries can increase levels of FDI geared toward projects likely to contribute as much as possible to countries’ sustainable development—in other words, how countries can increase flows of sustainable FDI. To that end, and in light of the World Trade Organization’s ongoing Structured Discussions on Investment Facilitation for Development, this article first discusses the notion of ‘sustainable FDI’ and then outlines four issues and related concrete proposals whose implementation through an investment facilitation framework for development would help to ensure that commercially viable FDI makes a besteffort contribution to sustainable development: (1) How can governments encourage sustainable FDI? (2) How can governments promote corporate social responsibility (‘CSR’)? (3) How can one create the special category of ‘Recognized Sustainable Investor’ to incentivize international investors to implement their CSR commitments and engage in sustainable FDI? (4) What role can home countries play in facilitating outward FDI flows, especially the flow of sustainable FDI? Looking at the question of a multilateral framework from the perspective of its objective— namely ‘for development’—is particularly important as this objective should guide the negotiations of such a framework. sustainable FDI, sustainable development, WTO investment facilitation discussions, corporate social responsibility, home country policies, recognized sustainable investor

Institutional distance as a determinant of outward FDI from India

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to examine the role of institutional distance as a determinant of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from India. The study combines a nuanced view of institutional distance, with traditional location factors to analyze Indian OFDI flows to developed and emerging economies (EEs) during the period 2009 to 2017.Design/methodology/approachThe paper employs fixed effects panel regression model on an unbalanced panel data set.FindingsThe findings suggest that India's OFDI is undeterred by the isomorphic pressures caused by regulatory and normative institutional distance, but cognitive institutional distance acts as a deterrent in developed economies. Indian MNEs engage in institutional arbitrage as they simultaneously engage in strategies of institutional escapism and institutional exploitation. The study also finds that emerging economies have emerged as an important destination for strategic asset seeking FDI, in addition to developed economies.Practical implicationsThe findings of the study present important implications for policymakers and corporate managers. For policymakers, the study points toward the need for improving the general business environment at home to prevent escapist OFDI and trade enhancement as a tool to overcome cognitive barriers and behavioristic stereotypes. For corporate managers, the study's findings underline the importance of adopting different strategies for dealing with different isomorphic pressures in developed and emerging economies.Originality/valueThe study adds value to the sparse literature using the IBV in the emerging markets context, to supplement and enrich existing theoretical frameworks. It is a pioneering study in its use of institutional distance as an explanatory factor for Indian OFDI and provides evidence of institutional arbitrage.