Publication: The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Investors: Evidence from the Quarterly Global MNE Pulse Survey for the Third Quarter of 2020
Date
2020-12
ISSN
Published
2020-12
Author(s)
Saurav, Abhishek
Kusek, Peter
Kuo, Ryan
Viney, Brody
Abstract
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 Group’s Global Investment Climate Unit is conducting
quarterly pulse surveys of MNE affiliates throughout 2020 to
gauge the pandemic’s 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 pandemic’s 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
MNEs’ experiences in developing countries.
Citation
“Saurav, Abhishek; Kusek, Peter; Kuo, Ryan; Viney, Brody. 2020. The Impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Investors : Evidence from the Quarterly Global MNE Pulse Survey for the Third Quarter of 2020. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/34924 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”