Foreign direct investment offers a window into what’s coming next for industries, trade, and the global economy. Our analysis of recent FDI announcements finds that a growing number of billion-dollar-plus megadeals are targeting future-shaping industries and increasingly connecting geopolitically closer economies. The patterns analyzed suggest major business shifts on the horizon.
The session began with an overview of the report findings by authors Tiago Devesa and Jeongmin Seong, followed by a panel moderated by Olivia White featuring:
- Chris Miller, Professor, Tufts University, and Author of Chip War
- Vivek Ramachandran, Head of Global Trade Solutions, HSBC
- Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, S&P Global
Key themes explored:
- Investment as a catalyst for transformation: How capital has historically reshaped sectors such as energy, chips, and semiconductors — and what those lessons mean for today.
- Trade reconfiguration: How geopolitics are redefining investment flows and reshaping global supply chains.
- AI as the driving force: How artificial intelligence underpins today’s major shifts — from the boom in data centers to surging demand for chips, critical minerals, and energy.
- Strategies and signals to watch: How multinational organizations are adapting to a more complex, interconnected investment environment and which indicators — from capital flows to policy shifts — reveal where global opportunity is moving next.
For more on this topic, please watch the virtual event replay and read our report, The FDI shake-up: How foreign direct investment today may shape industry and trade tomorrow.