EDITOR’S NOTE: The arrival of Fuling Plastics USA — a company headquartered in China — and the recent World Forum held in Philadelphia shined the spotlight on Foreign Direct Investment. As this feature from Development Counsellors International indicates, FDI is poised for greater breakthroughs here in America.

Confidence is rising.

That’s the #1 takeaway from the 2014 A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index.

Key findings from this important annual survey that was released yesterday include:

Renewed Confidence in the Global Economy: Nearly four of every five investors are more optimistic about the global economy than they were a year ago. That compares to 50% in 2013 and 37% in 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Pre-Crisis Levels of FDI: When asked, “When will your company FDI return to pre-crisis levels of FDI,” 37% of those surveyed indicated “It already has” and 27% indicated “it will in within 2014.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top Countries for Investment: The United States, China, Canada, United Kingdom and Brazil top the list of the most likely countries for future investment. A ranking of the top 25 countries is provided below:

 

For a more in-depth look at the full study, click here.

Overall, the outlook is brightening. And that’s good news for economic development professionals around the world.