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Greenfield FDI

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FDI can be broken down by certain characteristics which allow for more specific analysis. A distinction is often drawn between Greenfield FDI and other types of FDI transactions (mergers & acquisitions, extension of capital and financial restructuring). The rationale behind drawing this distinction is that the transfer of ownership (merger & acquisition investment) will usually have a significantly different economic impact than the purchase or sale of new shares (greenfield investment), the extension of capital or financial restructuring.

Greenfield FDI can be described as ex nihilo investment: the establishment of a subsidiary “out of nothing”. International standards for the compilation of Greenfield FDI statistics are not yet available; these results should be considered a proxy for Greenfield FDI.1

Table 6.1 and Figure 6.1 display the number of Greenfield FDI projects in Ireland from 2012 to 2017, which have been recorded by the CSO.

Table 6.1 Number of Greenfield FDI Projects
 201220132014201520162017
Number of Projects542940273323
Greenfield Projects
201254
201329
201440
201527
201633
201723

In Figure 6.2 the sum of Greenfield FDI investment is shown between 2012 and 2017. There is a spike in 2015 which coincides with a significant increase in Irish FDI inward.

Sum of Greenfield Investment
201213.25453661793
201310.44359522278
201418.593444236
201526.382513277
20167.430572054
201711.38062182

Figure 6.3 displays the contribution which these projects have made to the overall inward FDI position in Ireland.

Sum of Greenfield Inward InvestmentNon-Greenfield Inward Investment
201213.25453661793277.18346338207
201310.44359522278290.28940477722
201418.593444236335.451555764
201526.382513277791.197486723
20167.430572054790.090427946
201711.38062182733.00537818
Table 6.2 Greenfield Investment in FDI%
 201220132014201520162017
% of Greenfield Investment in the FDI4.63.55.33.20.91.5

1These results were obtained by dividing FDI according to the date which it entered the CSO database.


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