Definition: Foreign direct investment flows

Category: Foreign direct investment

FDI flows are direct investment transactions from the reporting to the partner country (outward FDI) and from the partner to the reporting country (inward FDI). They include the net purchase by the investor of the investment company’s equity capital, plus the direct
investor’s share in the company’s reinvested earnings, plus other capital, which is the net increase in trade and other credit, including the net purchase of debt and other financial instruments. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/coded_files/fdi_yearbook_2007.pdf