165 Canadian Cities Have Seen Investments from the Asia Pacific in 2018: Investment Monitor Report

VANCOUVER, BC – MAY 7, 2019 – Over the past 16 years, Asia Pacific investors have invested C$121.3 billion across 905 deals made in 165 Canadian cities – most of those investments made outside of Canada’s largest urban centres. According to the findings of the new APF Canada Investment Monitor Report 2019 released today by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, 60 per cent of all investment deals from Asia have gone to cities outside of Vancouver, Calgary, or Toronto.

This is just one of the key findings of APF Canada’s Investment Monitor Report 2019 on city-level foreign direct investment (FDI) between Canada and the Asia Pacific. The report is also the first release of data and insights on national two-way FDI flows for 2018, and adds timely, detailed analysis to the hot-button issue of Asian investments in Canada.

Additionally, the report finds that Canadian companies have more than kept up with the pace of their Asia Pacific counterparts, investing C$209.4 billion over 2,188 deals in 465 Asia Pacific cities between 2003 and 2018. Australia remains the go-to destination for Canadian investors, with four Australian cities ranking among the top 12 destinations for Canadian investments.

“The increasing significance of the Asia Pacific as the driver of the new global economy underscores the need for Canada to strategically deepen and diversify its two-way investment links with this vital region,” said APF Canada President and CEO, Stewart Beck. “[A]s Canada pivots to new Asian markets as part of its national trade diversification strategy, both policy-makers and the public have begun turning their attention to the foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing in and out of Canada.”   

Highlights of the Investment Monitor Report 2019 include:

• Canada received C$51.2 billion in FDI over 333 deals from the Asia Pacific between 2015 and 2018
• China (C$59.9B), Japan (C$34.5B), and Hong Kong (C$15.5B) are the top Asia Pacific countries of origin for FDI into Canada
• 11% of the 333 deals between 2015 and 2018 are from Asia Pacific state-owned enterprises (down from 35% between 2011 and 2014)
• Canadian companies invested C$63.7 billion over 437 deals in the Asia Pacific between 2015 and 2018
• Australia (C$64.7B), China (C$41.5B), and India (C$24.8B) are the top destinations for Canadian investments into the Asia Pacific
• Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec received 93% of Canada’s total investment from the Asia Pacific and invested 98% of Canada’s total investments in the Asia Pacific between 2003 and 2018
• Calgary (C$41.9B), Kitimat, B.C. (C$26.2B), and Vancouver (C$14.1) were the top three destination cities for investments from the Asia Pacific by value of investments
• Melbourne (C$18.5B), Sydney (C$16.7), and Hong Kong (C$11B) were the top three Asia Pacific destination cities for Canadian investments by value of investments
• Canadian investments in Beijing and Shanghai have dropped slightly while investments in other Chinese cities have risen between 2015 and 2018, compared to 2011 and 2014

The full report is available at www.investmentmonitor.ca