In: Economics
FDI flows can vary considerably from one year to another, influenced mainly by large mergers and acquisitions. Luxembourg remained the EU Member State with the largest share of the total FDI outward flows from Europe.
In the period 2013–2015, Luxembourg had a share of 40 % of total EU FDI outward flows; special-purpose entities handle most of Luxembourg’s total direct investment. Special-purpose entities also play an important role in other EU Member States, including the Netherlands, Belgium and Hungary.
North America, in particular the United States, was the top recipient, attracting around 73 % of Luxembourg’s outward FDI investments in non-member countries in 2013—2015. Offshore financial centres were also a common destination of Luxembourg’s outward FDI, reflecting the importance of the financial sector for this EU Member State.
The Netherlands’ outward FDI flows to non-member countries were also very high during 2013–2015 (33 % of the EU-28 total), pushing it into second place among the EU Member States, ahead of Spain (9 % of the total).