P.M. BRIEFING : Foreign Investment in U.S. Spurts
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WASHINGTON — Foreign investors spent $65 billion to acquire or establish U.S. businesses last year, up sharply from the $40.3 billion spent in 1987, the government reported today.
The Commerce Department attributed the 61.3% increase in spending last year over the 1987 level to a surge in large transactions, with the number of investments worth $1 billion doubling from six to 12 in 1988.
Those 12 investments accounted for 80% of the increase in spending last year.
The $65 billion in outlays included $60 billion spent to acquire existing U.S. businesses and $5 billion to establish new operations. About $16.4 billion of the money was spent by foreign direct investors, while $48.6 billion was spent by U.S. affiliates of foreign companies.
Britain was the biggest spender, at $21.5 billion, followed by Japan, at $14.2 billion, and Canada at $10.4 billion.
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