Foreign Investment Monitor
Governments are recasting FDI through a security lens – tightening screening, reviving golden shares and testing new tools. Explore what that means for deals around the world.
National security has become the dominant lens for global investment.
Sectors that governments once actively courted for foreign investment due to its economic benefits – from data and infrastructure to minerals, energy, advanced technology, and consumer electronics – are now subject to intensive screening on the basis of national security.
This edition of Foreign Investment Monitor examines how FDI policy is adapting as industrial strategy, geopolitics and economic resilience converge.
EVs now sit at the intersection of technology, infrastructure and data security – making them a new focal point for investment scrutiny.
From US Steel and Doliprane to Royal Mail , governments are reviving golden shares to retain control over strategic assets – signaling a broader move toward state participation in the market.
The UK aims to simplify its regime while tightening control of critical sectors, from semiconductors to water.
The FSR’s reach is testing how Europe can safeguard fair competition without deterring capital – a pivotal moment for cross-border M&A.
Hundreds of outdated national security agreements continue to burden investors. New regulatory powers offer a rare chance to streamline obligations and refocus on genuine security risks.
The EU’s screening framework is expanding fast but remains fragmented, as Brussels seeks coordination while Member States guard sovereignty.
Freshfields also co-edited Lexology’s In Depth: Foreign Investment Regulation, which explores the same global shift toward security-driven investment policy.
Across jurisdictions, a pattern is clear: investment policy is no longer only about market access but about strategic influence. Governments are learning to act like investors; investors, in turn, must learn to think like governments.
