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.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) used to sit in the background&mdash;important, but distant from day-to-day strategy. That&rsquo;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 <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/mckinsey-podcast">The McKinsey Podcast</a>, McKinsey Senior Partners <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/nick-leung">Nick Leung</a> and <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/our-people/olivia-white">Olivia White</a> explain to Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro why FDI has become a critical early indicator of competitive advantage&mdash;and what leaders should be watching now.
Theme music composed, performed, and produced by Joy Ngiaw.

The McKinsey Podcast, our new flagship podcast series, takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

The McKinsey Podcast features conversations with experts from global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, focusing on the issues that matter most in business and management.

The McKinsey Podcast

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey & Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.

Our flagship series The McKinsey Podcast takes you inside our global firm, and features conversations with experts on issues that matter most in business and management. McKinsey &amp; Company is a management-consulting firm that helps businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations realize their most important goals. Topics covered in this series include strategy, technology, leadership, marketing, operations, organization, and the role of business in society.