The impact of financial sector development on foreign direct investment in emerging markets

Abstract

The study investigates the financial sector development threshold levels that would influence FDI inflows. The threshold levels identified are 41.27% of stock market capitalisation for stock market turnover, 53.55% of GDP for stock market value traded, 121.53% of GDP for stock market capitalisation, 114.43% of GDP for domestic credit to private sector by banks, 144.06% of GDP for domestic credit provided by financial sector, 0.22% of GDP for outstanding domestic private debt securities and 41.26% of GDP for outstanding domestic public debt securities. The results show that higher stock market and banking sector development above the threshold level positively and significantly influence FDI inflows whilst the influence of lower stock market and banking sector development on FDI inflows was weak and less significant. Levels of private bond market development equal to or greater than the threshold level are found to have a positive but non-significant impact on FDI inflows whereas private bond market development levels less than the threshold has a weaker positive and non-significant influence on FDI inflows. On the contrary, public bond market development levels equal to or greater than the threshold level negatively influenced FDI inflows whilst levels of public bond market development less than the threshold positively but non-significantly attracted FDI inflows into emerging markets.