UNCTAD highlights tighter investment screening as countries steer capital to strategic sectors

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UNCTAD tighter investment screening

Highlights

Governments enacted a record 229 investment policy measures in 2025, with 73% favourable to investors but a strong focus on AI, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy-transition technologies.
The number of economies with investment screening regimes increased from 21 in 2016 to 52 in 2025, reflecting heightened security considerations in cross-border investments.
UNCTAD highlights that developing economies must strengthen infrastructure, energy, labour and investor-local linkages to attract capital amid intensified competition and sectoral concentration.

Policy shifts reshape investment priorities

As reported by UN Trade and Development, the World Investment Report 2026 shows that international investment is moving through a more turbulent environment as states adopt more selective policies and companies rethink where they invest. Governments adopted a record 229 investment policy measures in 2025, with 73% of them favourable to investors, while increasingly directing capital towards artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy-transition technologies.

Security considerations are also taking a larger role in cross-border investment decisions. The number of economies with investment screening regimes rises from 21 in 2016 to 52 in 2025, reflecting a broader effort by governments to protect strategic capabilities while trying to preserve openness to international business.

Implications for developing economies and supply chains

For developing countries, competition for investment is extending beyond incentives alone. Reliable infrastructure, affordable energy, skilled labour, efficient public services and stronger connections between foreign investors and local firms are all presented as critical to making projects viable and generating lasting development gains.

These issues are set to feature prominently at the World Investment Forum 2026, where a high-level plenary on 25 October will examine how policy, international cooperation and business partnerships can rebuild global value chains for growth and resilience. UNCTAD says cooperation remains essential as investment becomes more concentrated in strategic sectors, helping maintain predictable conditions for cross-border capital and widening access to new opportunities.

In our earlier article on how wars and tariffs are reshaping global trade, we examined why companies are redesigning supply chains and shipping routes to reduce exposure to geopolitical shocks, even when the alternatives are costlier. We also noted that the push toward resilience is accelerating regional trade patterns, while demand linked to AI-related products is helping cushion overall trade growth despite ongoing disruption.

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