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According to UNCTAD, "fragility of the global economy, policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks" led to an 8-percent global decline in foreign investment in 2014. Investments totaled $1.26 trillion (1.11 trillion euros) in the whole year.

Meanwhile, investments to developed countries fell by 14 percent to an estimated $511 billion, thanks mainly to the dip in investment to the US.

China recorded inflows of $128 billion, followed by $111 billion in Hong Kong, which is a leading hub for international corporations, and the US with $86 billion. Flows to the European Union (EU) reached an estimated US$267 billion - a fat 13 percent increase on 2013.

Although investments into Germany and France fell last year, this was actually a sign of strength, said Jörg Weber, the head of UNCTAD's investment policy department. "Subsidiary companies paid back big loans to their foreign parent companies," he told news agency DPA.

UNCTAD released a fairly pessimistic statement with its report. "A solid FDI [foreign direct investment] rise remains distant," it read. "A subdued global economic outlook, volatility in currency and commodity markets and elevated geopolitical risks will negatively influence FDI flows."

But it added that the prospect of growth in the United States and the "demand-boosting effects" of lower oil prices as well as quantitative easing in the eurozone will likely boost FDI flows.

bk/hg (dpa)