For 2014, global perspectives are uncertain with about half
of TNCs across the world being either neutral or undecided about
the investment climate. Over the medium term, however, TNCs from
developed countries seem to be less uncertain while still retaining
some uncertainty about the global investment climate, with more than
56 per cent of them responding that they are undecided or neutral for
2016 investment prospects (figure 8). In contrast, TNCs from the South
(developing and transition economies) are more optimistic. Differences
in perceptions across country groups are large for all years with the
share of companies based in developing and transition economies
stating they are optimistic about the global investment climate about 20
percentage points higher than their developed counterparts. Strikingly,
in spite of their pronounced uncertainty, TNCs in developed economies
were less pessimistic than their peers in developing and transition
economies about the global investment climate in 2014 (5 per cent
compared with 13 per cent).