Total investment abroad reached $800 billion in 2010

Asia continues to be the most popular direct investment destination for Singapore corporates, attracting 55.8% of all investments.

Coming in at a distant second and third are South and Central America and the Carribean (14.1%) and Europe (12.9%), according to the latest Singapore Investment Abroad 2010 survey.

Here are more highlights from Statistics Singapore:

Total investment abroad made by Singapore’s corporate sector grew from $747.7 billion as at
end-2009 to $802.6 billion as at end-2010. The three main components of Singapore’s investment abroad are direct investment, portfolio investment and other foreign assets. Direct investment accounted for about 50.7 per cent or $407.2 billion of total investment abroad. About 28.4 per cent and 20.9 per cent of total overseas investment were attributed to portfolio investment and other foreign assets respectively.

Direct Investment. Singapore’s stock of direct investment abroad rose to $407.2 billion as at end-2010, an increase of 9.1 per cent from the previous year. About 85.2 per cent of direct investment was in the form of direct equity investment while the remaining 14.8 per cent were net lending to overseas affiliates.

Geographical Distribution. Asia, which accounted for 55.8 per cent of total direct investment abroad, remained the preferred destination for Singapore’s investors. South and Central America and the Caribbean (14.1 per cent) and Europe (12.9 per cent) were also popular with Singapore investors.

Asia. The stock of Singapore’s direct investment in Asia reached $227.2 billion as at end-2010.
Within Asia, China ($70.6 billion), Malaysia ($31.2 billion) and Indonesia ($27.8 billion) were the top three destinations. There were also significant direct investment in Hong Kong ($23.7 billion) and Thailand ($21.8 billion). Singapore’s direct investment in China expanded from $62.0 billion as at end-2009 to $70.6 billion as at end-2010.

The main sectors invested in China were manufacturing ($37.3 billion or 52.8 per cent) and real estate activities ($16.0 billion or 22.7 per cent). Singapore’s direct investment in Malaysia increased by 8.1 per cent to $31.2 billion by 2010, and were concentrated in the financial & insurance services (54.1 per cent) and manufacturing (29.5 per cent) sectors. Direct investment in Indonesia reached $27.8 billion as at end-2010, with manufacturing (38.6 per cent) and financial & insurance services (21.4 per cent) being the more popular sectors for investment.

Europe. The stock of Singapore’s direct investment in Europe rose marginally from $51.2 billion as at end-2009 to $52.1 billion as at end-2010. The investment in Europe was primarily in United Kingdom ($32.3 billion), Switzerland ($4.8 billion) and Netherlands ($4.4 billion). The investment in United Kingdom were concentrated in financial services sector ($29.6 billion).

Other regions. Australia ($28.8 billion) and United States ($14.1 billion) also hosted significant investment from Singapore. About 50.1 per cent of our investment in Australia were in financial services, with another 23.7 per cent in information & communications sector. In the United States, Singapore’s investment were mainly channelled to the manufacturing ($9.3 billion) and financial services ($2.5 billion) sectors.