Foreign Direct Investment in Malta dropped by 70% in the first six months of last year compared to the previous year, officials figures issued today show.

At the end of June 2011, foreign direct investment in Malta was estimated at €12.4 billion, an increase of €518.8 million over the corresponding month in 2010, the NSO said.

The level of investment flows decreased significantly during the first six months of 2011 compared to the same months in 2010. The flows during January-June 2011 were estimated at €140.2 million, a decline of over 70 per cent over the comparative period in 2010.

The gains in reinvested earnings and other capital during the period under review were not enough to outweigh the drop in equity capital investment, which had registered an extraordinary increase in 2010, mainly in the financial and
insurance activities, the National Statistics Office said.

In the six months under review, the net flows for this sector amounted to €1.0
million.

Direct Investment abroad

Outward flows of direct investment during the first six months of 2011 also contracted significantly when compared with the corresponding period in the previous year, with estimated flows amounting to €7.9 million.

The decline, estimated at €47.5 million, was due to a drop in claims on affiliated
enterprises. During the first six months of 2010, such claims had amounted to €44.2 million, while last year, these amounted to €0.5 million. During the same period, reinvested earnings abroad advanced from €2.5 million to €4.6 million.

In terms of stock positions, in June 2011 direct investment abroad by resident enterprises was estimated at €1.1 billion, of which €604.9 million were invested in the EU.