Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of Foreign Direct Investment in the UK in 2017-18 was represented by (a) acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures and (b) new investments or expansions.

The proportion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attributable to merger and acquisition (M&A) activity can vary substantially from year to year. For instance, almost all of the inward FDI flows in 2016 can be attributed to a small number of high value deals. In 2017, the ONS recorded that 23.8% of FDI flows into the UK were due to mergers and acquisitions (net of disposals). The remainder can include acquisition of equity (share ownership), reinvested earnings and inter-company loans. However, we cannot ascertain how much new investment or expansions contributed to this remainder.