Preface to : New Dimensions of Economic Globalization: Surge of Outward Foreign Direct Investment from Asia

The phenomenon of South-South FDI flows, particularly those arising from multinational companies from China and India, has generated considerable interest among policymakers, academics and the popular press in recent times. This phenomenon raises several questions such as: What is behind the rise of such intra-regional investment flows? What is the magnitude of such flows, and can they be expected to persist/accelerate over time? What are the challenges faced by emerging market multinationals and the future prospects of intra-Asian FDI flows?This book, written by top scholars from academia, international organizations as well as think tanks, consists of a set of papers focusing on these issues. The book is unique in its coverage - focusing on China, India and Southeast Asia rather than limiting itself to a sub-regional or country-specific focus. The chapters in this book highlight important policy issues but are supported with relevant data and empirics, with rigorous empirical analysis being applied to important practical policy issues. The book also provides pertinent overviews of recent research on the questions explored. While the chapters have been crafted to be able to stand up to academic scrutiny, they are also written in a manner that makes them easily accessible to all policymakers, students and business/financial journalists who are interested in Asia and in the emergence of South-South FDI flows