Hunya, Gábor --- "Foreign direct investment in CEECs and the position of the electricity, gas and water distribution sector" [2003] ELECD 121; in Tumpel-Gugerell, Gertrude; Mooslechner, Peter (eds), "Structural Challenges for Europe" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2003)

Book Title: Structural Challenges for Europe

Editor(s): Tumpel-Gugerell, Gertrude; Mooslechner, Peter

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843764748

Section: Chapter 21

Section Title: Foreign direct investment in CEECs and the position of the electricity, gas and water distribution sector

Author(s): Hunya, Gábor

Number of pages: 8

Extract:

21. Foreign direct investment in
CEECs and the position of the
electricity, gas and water
distribution sector
Gábor Hunya

1. MAIN TRENDS OF FDI IN CEECS

Amid post-communist transformation, the former centrally planned econ-
omies of Central and Eastern European countries1 (CEECs) opened up to
foreign direct investment (FDI) around 1990. Initially, FDI was low and
started to grow in just a few countries which were ahead of others in terms
of institutional reforms, liberalization and privatization. Inflows into the
region increased in almost every successive year in the 1990s and continued
to do so up to and including 2001 when global FDI plummeted. Despite
steady growth, the region's share in global FDI inflow declined from 4 per
cent in 1996 to 1.8 per cent in 2000, recovering to 3.7 per cent in 2001
(UNCTAD, 2002). This fluctuation reflects the fast increase of FDI among
developed countries and the bubble in global FDI against the steady
increase in the region. Measured against developing countries and CEECs
as a combined base of reference, the share of the latter increased from an
average 7.5 per cent in the first half of the 1990s to over 10 per cent in 1998
and to 11.7 per cent in 2002.
Although FDI inflows have, over time, become more evenly spread
among the CEECs, the bulk of foreign capital is concentrated in just a few
more advanced CEECs. In the first half of the 1990s, Hungary was the most
...