By the Caribbean Journal staff

Net foreign direct investment in St Lucia has risen by 81.6 this year percent compared to 2011, the largest increase in the Caribbean this year, according to estimates from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Net foreign direct investment is defined as direct investment in a country’s economy after deduction of outward direct investment by residents of that country. It includes the reinvestment of profits.

Net FDI in St Lucia reached $138 million in 2012, up from $76 million in 2011. St Lucia was one of seven Caribbean countries that saw an increase in Net FDI in the period, along with Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago.

In terms of raw volume, the Dominican Republic saw the largest increase, with an increase of $1.4 billion. The Dominican Republic led the region with a total of $3.78 billion in Net FDI.

While Haiti’s Net FDI increased in 2010 and 2011, the country saw its number fall in 2012, from $181 million to $124 million. Haiti’s growth projections were lowered in 2012 due in part to the impact of a series of storms, but it’s not clear whether that had an impact on the country’s FDI.

St Kitts and Nevis suffered the largest drop-off in foreign investment, falling 51.4 percent to $69 million.

Jamaica and Barbados’ Net FDI for 2012 were not included in the report.

For all the data, see Caribbean Journal’s full table below.