Yuqing Xing

Foreign direct investment and exports : the experiences of Vietnam

We examined the implementation statuses of a total of 5,919 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment since 1988, and compiled a database of actually disbursed FDI in Vietnam. The database covers FDI flows into Vietnam from 23 countries from 1990 to 2004. Using the data, we analyzed the impact of FDI on the exports of Vietnam with gravity equations. The empirical results demonstrate that FDI is one of the major factors driving the rapid export growth of Vietnam. It has significantly facilitated the expansion of Vietnams exports to FDI source countries. In particular, the empirical analysis shows that a 1 percent increase in FDI inflows will be expected to give rise to a 0.13 percent increase in Vietnams exports to these countries.

Foreign direct investment and China's bilateral intra-industry trade with Japan and the US☆

This paper analyzes dynamic changes of Chinas intra-industry trade with its major trading partners, Japan and the US, from 1980 to 2004. It also investigates to what extent foreign direct investment promoted intra-industry trade. The empirical results show that, while shares of Chinas intra-industry trade with both Japan and U.S rose substantially, its intra-industry trade with Japan has reached 35 per cent of the overall trade, considerably larger than 10 per cent with the US. Sino-Japan intra-industry trade concentrated in the electrical and machinery sectors accounted for 52 per cent and 46 per cent of overall trade respectively. On the other hand, it is in the chemical and food sectors where intra-industry trade represented a relatively large proportion of Sino-US trade, 50 per cent and 30 per cent accordingly in each sector. In addition, the analysis indicates that Japanese direct investment in China performed a significant role in enhancing intra-industry trade between Japan and China. However, it found no evidence that the US direct investment in China contributed to the growth of the bilateral intra-industry trade between the two countries.

Exchange Rates and Competition for FDI in Asia

This paper argues that relative exchange rates between the host countries of foreign direct investment affect their competition for FDI. Specifically, if the host country currency appreciates against the source countrys currency more than that of its rival, FDI inflows of the host country will decrease, while FDI inflows increase in the rival country. Using the data of Japanese FDI in nine Asian manufacturing sectors from 1981 to 2002, the paper examines the hypothesis in the context of the competition between China and ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand). Empirical results show that the relative exchange rate is a statistically significant factor that determines the relative inflows of Japanese FDI for manufacturing as a whole, and for such sub-sectors as textiles, food, electronics, transportation equipment, and others. Exchange rate policies of China and ASEAN-4 played a critical role in dynamically reshaping the geographic distribution of Japanese FDI in Asia. Copyright 2006 The Authors Journal compilation 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd .

Facts About and Impacts of FDI on China and the World Economy

This paper provides a comprehensive review of foreign direct investment in China over the last three decades. It reviews the growth, sources and distribution of FDI in China and analyses factors determining FDI inflows. It summarises the contributions of FDI to the Chinese economy in terms of economic growth, total factor productivity, exports and technology progress. Finally, the paper discusses potential impacts of FDI in China on the rest of the world in terms of FDI-competing countries and FDI source countries.

Global Production and Currency Devaluation

We model the production allocation choices of a multinational enterprise (MNE) in a three-country framework-one northern country and two southern ones. Products made in the South are of lower quality than those made in the North. Substitutability between goods differs due to variations in product quality. We investigate how exchange rates affect production, employment, and welfare, and find that currency devaluation from different countries brings contrasting results. In particular, an appreciation in the southern country (X) producing the lowest-quality good with the least cost may reduce production (employment) in the North, while an appreciation in the other southern currency (Y) always does the opposite. A northern depreciation against both southern currencies may increase production in country X, but always reduces that in country Y. These arise because the MNE shifts production globally to minimize costs. Northern welfare always falls following currency appreciation in southern countries. Copyright

Exchange Rate Policy and the Relative Distribution of FDI Among Host Countries

This paper examines the FDI-exchange rate nexus in the context of one FDI source and two host countries. It focuses on the effect of exchange rates on relative FDI inflows between the two host countries. The theoretical analysis shows explicitly that relative FDI inflows are a function of relative real exchange rates. In particular, if one host country devalues its currency against that of the source country more than the other does, FDI into the former country will be expected to increase relative to the other country. The theoretical inference is examined with Japanese FDI in manufacturing industries of China and ASEAN-4 (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand). The empirical results generally support the theoretical conclusion, suggesting that the real devaluation of the Chinese Yuan undercut FDI into the ASEAN-4.