Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important part of cross-border flows of capital. It includes the purchase of physical assets, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, investment in plant and equipment, the purchase of real estate, and capital transfers to foreign owned businesses. It does not include portfolio investment into stocks and bonds issued by governments, public sector agencies, or commercial enterprises in the private or the public sector. Any consideration of FDI in Non-Japan Asia will highlight how difficult it is to make meaningful generalizations about the various economies in the region, but certain trends can be identified_

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