The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada proudly presents its first-ever Investment Monitor Report focused solely on research and development (R&D), Lagging Foreign Direct Investment in Research and Development: Past Trends, Current Relations, and Potential in Collaboration Between Canada and the Asia Pacific. Rapid technological innovation incentivizes a timely analysis of the global R&D landscape and Canada’s place in this evolving ecosystem. In providing this analysis, this report reviews trends in Canada-Asia foreign direct investment (FDI) in R&D over the past 18 years to contextualize the development of this growing sector.
The report finds that R&D investment between Canada and Asia has been relatively modest, accounting only for five per cent of total FDI flows between Canada and the Asia Pacific from 2003 to 2021. This trend may change in the future as governments in Canada and Asia have doubled down on their efforts to attract FDI. By tracking several of these initiatives, this report provides an in-depth look at some of the policy tools used by governments on both sides of the Pacific to encourage R&D investment in key economies and districts.
As a testament to the success of some of these transpacific government initiatives to attract FDI in R&D, the report highlights that Canada-Asia investment in R&D has experienced modest growth, despite the economic turbulence generated by the pandemic. To better understand this trend, Lagging Foreign Direct Investment in Research and Development: Past Trends, Current Relations, and Potential in Collaboration Between Canada and the Asia Pacific provides an in-depth analysis of R&D investments over the past two years and compares recent developments with historical trends at national and sub-national levels. The report also includes sectoral analysis to better understand the composition of R&D investment and changes in investors’ sectoral preferences over time.
The findings of this report rely on the subset of data from the publicly available Investment Monitor database, which is compiled through a combination of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s legacy data of Canada-Asia Pacific investments, metasearch engines, and data from third-party sources. While the website does not have the option to examine R&D investments specifically, it can provide information on investment flows between Canada and Asia at the national, provincial, and city levels. The data is updated quarterly and provides a comprehensive overview of FDI transactions.
The Investment Monitor reports, along with the publicly available data, are designed to inform policymakers, businesses, and the broader public about FDI relations between Canada and the Asia Pacific. By compiling and analyzing FDI data, APF Canada facilitates the analysis of past FDI trends that can be useful for identifying future economic opportunities. The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is grateful for the sponsorship and support from the Government of British Columbia and Export Development Canada.
Explore other reports in this series:
Investment Monitor 2022: Post-Pandemic Recovery and Canada-Asia FDI: Is the Rebound Sustainable?
Investment Monitor 2020: Trade Agreements and Foreign Investment in the Asia Pacific
Investment Monitor 2019: Tracking Canada-Asia Investments at the City Level
Investment Monitor 2018: Report on Foreign Direct Investment from Canada into the Asia Pacific
Investment Monitor 2017: Report on Foreign Direct Investment from the Asia Pacific into Canada
