July 12, 2017

Expenditures by foreign direct investors to acquire, establish, or expand U.S. businesses were $373.4 billion in 2016, down $66.2 billion, or 15 percent, from $439.6 billion in 2015.

  • Expenditures for acquisitions were $365.7 billion, expenditures to establish new U.S. businesses were $5.6 billion, and expenditures to expand existing foreign-owned businesses were $2.2 billion.
  • Total greenfield investment expenditures—expenditures to either establish a new U.S. business or to expand an existing foreign-owned U.S. business—for investments initiated in 2016 which include both first-year expenditures and planned spending in other years, totaled $22.0 billion.
  • Employment at newly acquired, established, or expanded foreign-owned businesses in the United States was 480,800 employees.

For more information, read the full report.