The rapid rise in the overseas investments of Indian and Chinese firms has attracted widespread attention in recent years. To a large extent, the growing internationalization of these emerging economies has been driven by a search for resources, technology and related assets.

What are the implications for foreign direct investment policy in both the source and the recipient countries? And how will the ongoing global financial crisis affect the continued expansion of multinationals from the two countries, which traditionally have relied on international markets to fund their investments?

The UNU Policy Brief “The Internationalization of Chinese and Indian Firms: Trends, Motivations and Policy Implications” addresses these question. This eight-page policy brief, by Suma Athreye (UNU-MERIT) and Sandeep Kapur (University of London), draws on ideas that emerged at a two-day UNU-MERIT workshop on that topic in September 2008.