Optimism from IPAs in developing and transition economies is not
unwarranted. TNCs that respond to the survey have increasingly ranked
developing-country host regions as highly important (figures 12 and
13). Confirming recent FDI trends, developing Asia attracts the highest
interest from investors; in particular, South-East Asia has been cited by
almost 80 per cent of respondents as a possible destination of FDI in the
next years, followed by East Asia with about 55 per cent of preferences.
Interestingly, EU countries have been selected as the most probable
destinations by almost 90 per cent of investors. This confirms the
positive expectations about the economy of the EU and their investment
opportunities that are emerging after the prolonged recession. North
America comes fourth, after the EU and two Asian regions. The very low
share of companies selecting North African countries as an investment
destination in the next years indicate that investors are still cautious
about political instability in the region. By contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa,
while still low in investors’ rankings, is gaining some importance and
is now considered more likely as an investment destination than West
Asian and “other developed” European countries.