Buitenlandse investeringen in Frankrijk en Duitsland dalen scherp (en)

Foreign investment in France and Germany, the two largest economies of the European continent, fell sharply in 2004, according to figures released yesterday (23 June) by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

In France, inward investment almost halved last year, falling from $43bn to $24 bn.

In the case of Germany, foreign investors actually withdrew about $39bn from the country, reversing the inflow of $27bn recorded in 2003, the OECD said in the report "Trends and recent developments in foreign direct investment".

On the other side of the Channel, foreign direct inflows into the UK more than tripled, coming up to $78.5bn in 2004, according to the report.

The figures adds further to the overall impression that Tony Blair's Britain and George W. Bush are getting globalisation right, while Germany's chancellor Schroder and France's president Chirac are not.

The US has regained the role as the world's principal destination for direct investment, said the report.

And at the same time, foreign direct investment outflows from the United States hit an all-time record of $252bn in 2004.