Publication: The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Investors: Evidence from the Second Round of a Global Pulse Survey
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2020-09
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2020-09
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global economy, triggering the deepest global recession of the past eight decades. Together, the crisis and public health response have caused both a severe supply shock in the form of reduced worker availability and supply chaindisruptions, and a massive demand shock as consumption became restricted and confidence fell. The World Bank forecasts a 5.2 percent contraction in global GDP in 2020, including a 2.5 percent decline in emerging markets and developing economies (World Bank 2020).
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âSaurav, Abhishek; Kusek, Peter; Kuo, Ryan; Viney, Brody. 2020. The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Investors: Evidence from the Second Round of a Global Pulse Survey. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34638 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.â
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Publication The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Investors(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-12)As the COVID-19 crisis extends into the second half of 2020, the outlook for both the pandemic and the associated economic crisis remains highly uncertain. In this environment, multinational enterprises (MNEs) need to weather a prolonged economic downturn while also navigating government policy responses to the pandemic and updating investment plans for an uncertain future. Given the importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) to the crisis and recovery, especially for developing countries, the World Bank Groupâs Global Investment Climate Unit is conducting quarterly pulse surveys of MNE affiliates throughout 2020 to gauge the pandemicâs effect on foreign investors. According to previous rounds of the survey, four in five MNE affiliates experienced reduced revenue and profits, and three in four experienced a decline in supply chain reliability in the first quarter of 2020 (Saurav, Kusek, and Kuo, April 2020). The adverse impacts became near-universal in the second quarter of 2020, with over 90 percent of MNEs experiencing adverse effects (Saurav, Kusek, Kuo, and Viney, September 2020). A third round of the quarterly pulse survey, reflecting the third quarter of 2020, was administered in October and November 2020. The survey results show that the pandemicâs adverse effects remained widespread for MNE affiliates in the third quarter, with only limited improvements expected in the fourth quarter. While these survey results may not be generalizable to all developing countries, they are directionally indicative of MNEsâ experiences in developing countries.Publication The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Investors(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-03)A fourth round of the quarterly pulse survey, reflecting the last quarter of 2020, was administered in February 2021. This round of the survey included new questions reflecting on 2020, and the impacts of the crisis on technology adoption and environmental sustainability trends. The reportâs findings will help provide policy makers and businesses with an updated picture of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on MNEs and the global outlook for foreign investment. 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This analytical note reports the results of the survey.Publication World Bank Investor Confidence Survey(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-11-08)As economic conditions begin to improve in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign investors face new challenges that are impeding a complete recovery. Results from the latest round (Q2 2021) of World Bank Groupâs quarterly pulse survey of Multinational Enterprise (MNE) affiliates suggests that despite output and demand reaching pre-pandemic levels on average, most firms are still facing adverse effects. The share of firms reporting at least one adverse impact of the pandemic continued to fall in Q2 to 73 percent compared to 93 percent in Q1 2021. Within the ten business dimensions measured, employment and investment saw the largest improvement from Q1, but new challenges are emerging. Worker productivity and liquidity have emerged, alongside input cost pressures and supply chain reliability, as areas of concern for a complete recovery. 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