The global distribution of Chinese investments: Importance for the economy of Serbia

Abstract

Before the onset of the global economic crisis (2007), SEE countries generally focused their activities on attracting investment from developed and affluent European countries. The financial crisis has significantly affected the inflow of foreign investment, so that some Southeast European countries have become very attractive destinations for Chinese companies and their investments. This is precisely the period when Chinese companies received a clear signal from their home country to take advantage of the financial crisis that hit European countries, to diversify their investments and increase their market share. Due to lack of investment, Serbia opened its market and received fresh Chinese capital. The aim of this paper is to present the global distribution of Chinese investments, with particular reference to the importance they have for the Serbian economy. In order to get a clearer picture of the current situation, the secondary data for the period 2013-2019 years are used in the analysis, both regionally and globally. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that Serbia is currently the largest recipient of Chinese investments in the region, and in the upcoming period, the trend of Chinese investments growth is expected to be continued, which will further contribute to the development of the Serbian economy.