Follow the money: How FDI is redrawing the global economy

About this episode

This episode discusses the rising importance of foreign direct investment as a key indicator of competitive advantage in the global economy.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) used to sit in the background—important, but distant from day-to-day strategy. That’s no longer true. Today, massive capital commitments into areas like AI, semiconductors, and clean energy are signaling which industries will scale, where supply chains will land, and which regions will dominate. In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast , McKinsey Senior Partners Nick Leung and Olivia White explain to Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro why FDI has become a critical early indicator of competitive advantage—and what leaders should be watching now. Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw. See www.mckinsey.com/privacy-policy for privacy information

People in this episode

Host: Roberta Fusaro

Guests: Nick Leung, Olivia White

Topics covered

• foreign direct investment
• global economy
• competitive advantage
• capital commitments
• supply chains

Keywords

• foreign direct investment
• FDI
• global economy
• capital commitments
• AI
• semiconductors
• clean energy
• supply chains

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: McKinsey & Company, AI, semiconductors, clean energy

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