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Some 65 countries and economies adopted at least 126 investment policy measures in the past year, according to World Investment Report (WIR) 2018.
Of these policy measures, 84 per cent were favourable to investors.
The WIR was released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the first week of June this year.
It said that the countries adopted the policy measures liberalising entry conditions in a number of industries including transport, energy and manufacturing.
“They also promoted and facilitated investment by simplifying administrative procedures, providing incentives and establishing new special economic zones (SEZs),” it added.
At the same time, an increasing number of countries have taken a more critical stance towards foreign investment.
“New investment restrictions or regulations in 2017 mainly reflected concerns about national security and foreign ownership of land and natural resources,” the report pointed out.
“Some countries have heightened scrutiny of foreign takeovers, in particular of strategic assets and technology firms. Several countries are considering tightening investment screening procedures,” it continued.