India moves up a rank to become second-largest source of FDI for UK

India invested in 120 projects and created 5,429 new jobs in the UK to become the second-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) after the US in 2019, according to new UK government figures released on Friday.

The Department for International Trade (DIT) inward investment statistics for 2019-2020 found India moving up from its previous third-largest spot, representing an overall 4 per cent FDI increase for the UK on 2018-2019 with 1,852 new inward investment projects in the 2019/2020 financial year.

The US remains the number one source of FDI for the UK, delivering 462 projects and 20,131 jobs, followed by India, Germany, France and China and Hong Kong. Australia and New Zealand were responsible for 72 projects and the Nordic and Baltic region 134, an increase for both regions.

The number of Indian projects at 106, resulting in a job creation figure of 4,858 last year contrasts with 120 projects and 5,429 jobs for this year.

“During the Covid-19 crisis, we have been working with India to keep supply chains open and keeping trading routes alive and as we emerge from CovidOVID, it is vitally important we don’t move to protectionism,” said UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, addressing the annual India Global Week 2020 virtual summit on Friday.

“On the trade side, we are not letting the grass grow under our feet and the UK and India are carrying on negotiations virtually given the current crisis,”” she said, in reference to a planned virtual India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) summit this year.

The latest UK FDI figures show that while the number of new jobs as a direct result of foreign investment has declined — a global trend as seen in other FDI reports this year — the number of jobs safeguarded by FDI increased by 29 per cent.

DIT said it worked closely with existing investors to safeguard 26 per cent more jobs compared to 2018-2019, demonstrating the broad range of support DIT delivers for the UK economy by promoting investment.

These figures further demonstrate the resilience of the UK economy and the work of the government to continue to build and attract inward investment into the UK.

“Developing key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences and renewable energy will help us to rebound post-pandemic and build on our attractive business environment across the UK for investors around the globe,” added Truss.

All the regions of England, Wales and Northern Ireland saw an increase in the number of projects each nation attracted, though Scotland saw a decline on the number of projects from the previous year.