CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Various classifications have been made on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). For instance, FDI has been described as investment made so as to acquire a lasting management interest (for example, 10 percent of voting stock) and at least 10 percent of equity shares in an enterprise operating in another country other than that of the investor’s country (Mwillima, 2003). Policy makers believe that FDI produces positive effects on host economies. Some of these benefits are in the form of externalities and the adoption of foreign technology (Alfaro et. al, 2006). According Alfaro et. al, 2006, multinational enterprises (MNEs) diffuse technology and management know-how to domestic firms. When FDI is undertaken in high risk areas or new industries, economic rents are created accruing to old technologies and additional management styles. It has been theorized by development economists that the integration of developing countries with the global economy increased sharply in the 1990s with changes in their economic policies and lowering of barriers to trade and investment. Most countries strive to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) because of its acknowledged advantages as a tool of economic development. Africa and Nigeria in particular joined the rest of the world in seeking FDI as evidenced by the formation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), which ahs the attraction of foreign investment to Africa as a major component. FDI is assumed to benefit a poor country like Nigeria, not only by supplementary domestic investment, but also in terms of employment creation, transfer of technology, increased domestic competition and other positive externalities (Ayanwale, 2007).