Foreign direct investment
A non-resident's investment in a business large enough to carry a say in running it, rather than a claim on a security's income alone.
How to read the number
This money arrives for the long haul: a plant and a controlling stake cannot be sold in a day, which makes the inflow steadier than portfolio money and slower to leave.
When the metric lies
Part of the recorded inflow is not new capacity but ownership moving through intermediate jurisdictions — the statistic sees money travelling, not factories being built.
Also known as: inward investment