The McKinsey Podcast Follow the money: How FDI is redrawing the global economy
21 snips
Apr 16, 2026 
Nick Leung, a McKinsey senior partner who studies global investment and trade, and Olivia White, a McKinsey senior partner focused on macroeconomic and industrial strategy, discuss how foreign direct investment is shifting into AI, semiconductors, batteries, and clean energy. They explore regional moves, supply‑chain and ecosystem effects, and why capital flows now signal where industries and jobs will land.
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FDI Signals Where Future Industries Will Be Built
- FDI has shifted from a background economic variable to a forward-looking indicator of where industries and trade will locate.
- Recent Greenfield FDI is concentrated in future-shaping industries like AI, semiconductors, EVs, batteries, and energy, signaling where production and competition will land.
FDI Builds Ecosystems Not Just Plants
- FDI creates place-based hubs that reshape entire local ecosystems beyond the core investor.
- New factories, data centers, mines, or energy projects generate supplier demand and services like hotels and food that shift regional competitive dynamics.
Use Competitor FDI Announcements To Inform Strategy
- Monitor competitors' FDI projects and evaluate how new local production hubs affect your market access and supplier networks.
- Use announced deals to decide whether to respond with local investment, partnerships, or supply-chain adjustments.