联合国贸易发展委员会-数字战略的投资维度（英）

1#31 SEPTEMBER 2025Policy MonitorInvestmentThe investment dimension of digital strategiesPolicy MonitorInvestment#31 SEPTEMBER 2025HIGHLIGHTS Adoption of digital strategies is accelerating, but gaps persist in their integration with other policies. By 2024, 86 per cent of developing countries and 80 per cent of least developed countries (LDCs) had a national digital strategy, up from under 50 per cent and 25 per cent in 2017. Although recent strategies are more comprehensive, many lack alignment with broader development, investment, industrial and environmental policies. The investment promotion dimension remains limited. Many strategies address enabling conditions, such as regulatory frameworks and infrastructure, but explicit investment targets and promotion measures are rare: fewer than half mention foreign direct investment (FDI), and only 20 per cent refer to investment promotion agencies (IPAs). Environmental sustainability is insufficiently embedded. Despite the growing environmental footprint of the digital economy—including energy use, emissions, water consumption and electronic waste—only 55 per cent of developing countries’ strategies mention environmental sustainability, often in broad terms. This is notable given its growing importance for investment decisions, particularly in sectors such as data centres and semiconductors. Sector- and technology-specific strategies are scarce. Strategies for artificial intelligence (AI), data centres and semiconductors can boost investment attraction by clarifying priorities, regulatory needs and, in some cases, sustainability standards, thus offering concrete tools to mobilize investment. However, their adoption remains limited, particularly in developing countries. Regional digital strategies differ in investment focus and national uptake. These frameworks promote policy harmonization, interoperability and coordinated infrastructure development. However, uptake at national level is uneven, and so is their emphasis on investment. Aligning digital strategies with investment and sustainability objectives is key to investment attraction. Integrated frameworks linking digital, industrial, investment and environmental policies improve policy coherence and send clearer signals to investors, while supporting coordinated implementation.2#31 SEPTEMBER 2025Policy MonitorInvestmentIntroductionThe digital economy is expanding rapidly, creating new opportunities for economic growth and structural transformation worldwide. In developing countries, digitalization is increasingly recognized as a key driver of productivity, innovation and sustainable development. However, UNCTAD’s recent World Investment Report 2025 shows that investment in the digital economy remains highly concentrated: over 80 per cent of greenfield FDI in digital sectors flows to just 10 developing economies, mainly in Asia. Growth is also uneven across sectors. In 2024, international investment in digital services in developing c