Four of investors’ top 5 favorite investment destinations are in Europe, Milken Institute report shows

Four
of
investors’
top
five
favorite
destinations
are
in
Europe,
according
to
the
Milken
Institute’s

Global
Opportunity
Index
(GOI)
report.

Denmark
topped
this
year’s
rankings,
scoring
first
on
business
perception,
a
measure
of
the
ease
of
doing
business
in
a
country
as
well
as
other
regulatory
metrics.

The
index
factors
in
100
indicators
under
five
categories:
business
perception,
economic
fundamentals,
financial
services,
institutional
framework,
and
international
standards
and
policy.

Denmark
ranked
third
on
economic
fundamentals
which
capture
macroeconomic
performance,
workforce
talent,
and
“efforts
to
create
a
resilient
and
sustainable
economy
and
society,”
according
to
the
report.

These
are
the
top
five
countries
that
investors
find
attractive,
according
to
the
latest
GOI
report:

1. Denmark
2. Sweden
3. Finland
4. United
   States
5. United
   Kingdom

The
U.S.
moved
up
one
spot
to
the
fourth
position
this
year,
ranking
highest
in
the
institutional
framework
category,
which
tracks
the
protection
a
country’s
institutions
offer
to
investors’
rights
and
their
assets.

The
country
ranked
fifth
in
the
financial
services
category,
which
evaluates
the
overall
financial
system
in
a
nation
as
well
as
the
accessibility
to
finance.

Finland
which
placed
third
overall,
was
ranked
highest
in
the
international
standards
and
policy
category
that
evaluates
economic
openness
and
the
extent
to
which
a
country’s
policies
are
aligned
with
global
regulatory
and
intellectual
property
protection
standards.

Emerging
and
developing
Asia
performed
well
compared
to
other
E&D
regions,
drawing
more
than
half
(53.2%)
of
the
funds
flowing
into
E&D
countries
between
2018
and
2022,
according
to
the
report.

“While
advanced
economies
provide
stability,
investors
seeking
high-growth
returns
continue
to
show
interest
in
emerging
and
developing
economies,” Maggie
Switek,
Senior
Director
of
the
research
department
at

The
Milken
Institute,
said
in
a

statement.

Among
Asian
E&D
economies,
Malaysia
emerged
as
investors’
favorite
and
ranked
27th
globally.

It
has
the
“best
investment
conditions”
among
all
E&D
economies,
and
ranks
well
on
institutional
frameworks,
partially
due
to
the
fact
that
the
country
“has
very
strong
investors’
rights,”
Switek
said.

Malaysia
is
also
now
the
sixth
largest
chip
exporter
in
the
world
and
packages
23%
of
all
U.S.
chips,
according
to

The
New
York
Times.

Overall,
E&D
regions
“offer
attractive
opportunities
to
investors
interested
in
emerging
markets
with
favorable
growth
potential,”
the
report
said.

Rising
tensions
between
the
U.S.
and
China,
however,
have
hit
inflows
to
Asian
E&D
economies,
down
75.4%
in
2022,
the
report
added.

The
world’s
second-largest
economy,
China,
came
in
at
39th
place.
“That’s
actually
pretty
high,”
Switek
told

CNBC’s
Squawk
Box
Asia,
adding
it
is
still
an
emerging
and
developing
Asian
economy
according
to
the
IMF.

“While
China
attracted
more
than
half
of
total
capital
inflows
to
E&D
Asia
between
2018
and
2022,
its
appeal
to
investors
appears
to
have
decreased
recently,
likely
due
to
rising
geopolitical
tensions
with
the
US,”
the
report
said.

Here
are
the
top
10
E&D
Asian
countries
on
the
Global
Opportunity
Index:

1. Malaysia
2. Thailand
3. China
4. Indonesia
5. Vietnam
6. India
7. Mongolia
8. Sri
   Lanka
9. Philippines
10. Cambodia

Singapore
topped
Asia
as
investors’
favorite
country
in
the
region,
and
grabbed
the
14th
place
globally.
Hong
Kong
and
Japan
ranked
15th
and
16th,
respectively,
in
Asia.