Foreign Direct Investment in the United States
 

Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Penny S. Pritzker 

Secretary 

ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS ADMINISTRATION 

Ken Arnold 

Acting Under Secretary for Economic Affairs 

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS 

Brian C. Moyer 

Director 

November 2015 www.bea.gov 
Contents 

Preface ................................................................................................................................................................ vi
 

Methodology ..................................................................................................................................................... M–1
 

Coverage ................................................................................................................................................................... M–5
 

Concepts and Definitions ........................................................................................................................................ M–6
 

Direct investment ..................................................................................................................................................... M–6
 

Determination of residency ..................................................................................................................................... M–7
 

The U.S. affiliate ....................................................................................................................................................... M–8
 

The foreign owners................................................................................................................................................... M–10
 

Accounting Principles .............................................................................................................................................. M–11
 

Fiscal-Year Reporting ............................................................................................................................................... M–12
 

Confidentiality ......................................................................................................................................................... M–13
 

Classification of Data ............................................................................................................................................... M–13
 

Industry classification .............................................................................................................................................. M–14
 

Country classification .............................................................................................................................................. M–19
 

Estimation and General Validity of the Data .......................................................................................................... M–21
 

Number of Affiliates................................................................................................................................................. M–27
 

Activities Data .......................................................................................................................................................... M–28
 

Balance sheets and income statements .................................................................................................................... M–28
 

Value added............................................................................................................................................................... M–29
 

Goods and services supplied .................................................................................................................................... M–30
 

Employment and compensation of employees ....................................................................................................... M–31
 

Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................. vii
 

U.S. trade in goods ................................................................................................................................................... M–32
 

Research and development ...................................................................................................................................... M–33
 

Direct Investment Position and Transactions Data................................................................................................ M–33
 

Foreign direct investment position in the United States ........................................................................................ M–34
 

Direct investment financial transactions ................................................................................................................ M–38
 

Direct investment income ........................................................................................................................................ M–42
 

General Notes to the Tables .............................................................................................................................................. M–45
 

Tables
 

Part I: All Affiliates ................................................................................................................................................... 1
 

Part II: Majority-Owned Affiliates .......................................................................................................................... 29
 

Footnotes to the Tables ............................................................................................................................................ 130
 

i
 

 

Part I: All Affiliates 

Group A. Selected Data 

I.A 1.	 Selected Data of Affiliates ............................................................................................................................. 1
 

I.A 2. 	 Selected Data of Affiliates by Industry of Affiliate ....................................................................................... 2
 

I.A 3. 	 Selected Data of Affiliates by Country of UBO ........................................................................................... 6
 

I.A 4. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million, Industry
 

of Affiliate by Employment Size Class .......................................................................................................... 8
 

I.A 5. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million, Country 


of UBO by Employment Size Class .............................................................................................................. 12
 

I.A 7. 	 Selected Data of Affiliates, by Country of UBO and Country of Foreign Parent ...................................... 14
 

I.A 9. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million That Have
 

Employment, State by Country of UBO ...................................................................................................... 15
 

Group B. Balance Sheet 

I.B 1. 	 Balance Sheet of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Account ...................................................................... 16
 

I.B 2. 	 Balance Sheet of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Account ........................................................................... 17
 

I.B 3. 	 Total Assets of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO............................................................ 18
 

Group C. Property, Plant, and Equipment 

I.C 3. 	 Gross Property, Plant, and Equipment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO................ 19
 

Group D. Income Statement 

I.D 3. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ...................................................................... 20
 

Group G. Employment 

I.G 3. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ......................................................... 21
 

I.G 17. 	 Employment of Affiliates by State ................................................................................................................ 22
 

Group J. Selected Direct Investment Position and Transactions Data 

I.J 1. Foreign Direct Investment Position in the United States on a Historical-Cost Basis, Industry of 


Affiliate by Account ....................................................................................................................................... 23
 

I.J 2.	 Foreign Direct Investment Position in the United States on a Historical-Cost Basis, Country of UBO 


by Account ..................................................................................................................................................... 24
 

I.J 3. 	 Direct Investment Financial Transactions, Industry of Affiliate by Component....................................... 25
 

I.J 4. 	 Direct Investment Financial Transactions, Country of UBO by Component ........................................... 26
 

I.J 5.	 Direct Investment Income, Industry of Affiliate by Component ............................................................... 27
 

I.J 6.	 Direct Investment Income, Country of UBO by Component .................................................................... 28
 

Part II: Majority-Owned Affiliates 

Group A. Selected Data 

II.A 1.	 Selected Data of Affiliates ............................................................................................................................. 29
 

II.A 2.	 Selected Data of Affiliates by Industry of Affiliate ....................................................................................... 30
 

II.A 3.	 Selected Data of Affiliates by Country of UBO ........................................................................................... 34
 

ii
II.A 4.	 Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million, Industry
 

of Affiliate by Employment Size Class .......................................................................................................... 36
 

II.A 5. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million, Country 


of UBO by Employment Size Class ............................................................................................................... 40
 

II.A 6. 	 Selected Data of Affiliates by Industry of UBO ............................................................................................ 42
 

II.A 7. 	 Selected Data of Affiliates, by Country of UBO and Country of Foreign Parent....................................... 43
 

II.A 8. 	 Sales and Employment of Affiliates, by Industry of Affiliate and Industry of Sales................................... 44
 

II.A 9. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million That Have
 

Employment, State by Country of UBO....................................................................................................... 48
 

Group B. Balance Sheet 

II.B 1. 	 Balance Sheet of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Account ....................................................................... 49
 

II.B 2. 	 Balance Sheet of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Account............................................................................ 50
 

II.B 3. 	 Total Assets of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ............................................................ 51
 

II.B 4. 	 Total Assets of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of Affiliate ............................................................ 52
 

II.B 5. 	 Total Assets of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Industry of UBO ............................................................ 53
 

II.B 6. 	 Total Assets of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of UBO................................................................. 54
 

II.B 7. 	 Owners’ Equity of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO...................................................... 55
 

Group C. Property, Plant, and Equipment 

II.C 1. 	 Gross Property, Plant, and Equipment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Type .................................... 56
 

II.C 2. 	 Gross Property, Plant, and Equipment of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Type ......................................... 57
 

II.C 3. 	 Gross Property, Plant, and Equipment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ................ 58
 

II.C 4. Opening and Closing Balances, and Change by Account, in Property, Plant, and Equipment of 


Affiliates.......................................................................................................................................................... 59
 

II.C 16. 	 Property, Plant, and Equipment Expenditures by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ... 60
 

II.C 17.	 Expenditures for Plant and Equipment by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO .............. 61
 

Group D. Income Statement 

II.D 1. 	 Income Statement of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Account ............................................................... 62
 

II.D 2.	 Income Statement of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Account .................................................................... 63
 

II.D 3. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ....................................................................... 64
 

II.D 4. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of Affiliate ....................................................................... 65
 

II.D 5. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Industry of UBO ....................................................................... 66
 

II.D 6. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of UBO ........................................................................... 67
 

II.D 7. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Industry of Sales by Industry of Affiliate ....................................................................... 68
 

II.D 8. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Industry of Sales by Country of UBO ............................................................................ 69
 

II.D 9. 	 Sales by Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of Sales ............................................................................ 70
 

II.D 10.	 U.S. Income Taxes of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ................................................. 71
 

II.D 11.	 Net Income of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ............................................................ 72
 

Group E. Goods and Services Supplied 

II.E 1. 	 Goods and Services Supplied by Affiliates by Industry of Affiliate ............................................................. 73
 

II.E 2. 	 Goods and Services Supplied by Affiliates by Country of UBO.................................................................. 74
 

II.E 3. 	 Goods Supplied by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO .................................................... 75
 

II.E 4. 	 Services Supplied by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO .................................................. 76
 

iii
Group F. Value Added 

II.F 1. 	 Value Added of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Component .................................................................. 77
 

II.F 2. 	 Value Added of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO .......................................................... 78
 

II.F 3. 	 Value Added of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of Affiliate .......................................................... 79
 

II.F 4. 	 Value Added of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Industry of UBO .......................................................... 80
 

II.F 5. 	 Value Added of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of UBO............................................................... 81
 

II.F 6. 	 Profit-Type Return of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ............................................... 82 
 

Group G. Employment and Compensation of Employees 

II.G 1. 	 Employment and Compensation of Employees of Affiliates by Industry of Affiliate ............................... 83
 

II.G 2. 	 Employment and Compensation of Employees of Affiliates by Country of UBO .................................... 84
 

II.G 3. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ......................................................... 85
 

II.G 4. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of Affiliate ......................................................... 86
 

II.G 5. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Industry of UBO ......................................................... 87
 

II.G 6. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of UBO .............................................................. 88
 

II.G 7. 	 Employment of Affiliates, State by Industry of Affiliate ............................................................................. 89
 

II.G 8. 	 Employment of Affiliates, State by Country of UBO .................................................................................. 90
 

II.G 9. 	 Employment of Affiliates, State by Industry of UBO .................................................................................. 91
 

II.G 10. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Industry of Sales by Industry of Affiliate .......................................................... 92
 

II.G 11. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Industry of Sales by Country of UBO .............................................................. 93
 

II.G 12. 	 Employment of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Industry of Sales .............................................................. 94
 

II.G 14. 	 Research and Development Employment of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ........... 95
 

II.G 15. 	 Compensation of Employees of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ............................... 96
 

II.G 16. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 Million That Have
 

Employment, State by Employment Size Class............................................................................................ 97
 

Group H. U.S. Trade in Goods 

II.H 1. 	 U.S. Trade in Goods of Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Transactor ........................................................ 98
 

II.H 2. 	 U.S. Trade in Goods of Affiliates, Country of UBO by Transactor ............................................................. 99
 

II.H 3. 	 U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ........................... 100
 

II.H 4. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates to the Foreign Parent Group, Industry of Affiliate by
 

Country of UBO ............................................................................................................................................ 101
 

II.H 5. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates to Foreigners Other Than the Foreign Parent Group,
 

Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ..................................................................................................... 102
 

II.H 6. 	 U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ........................... 103
 

II.H 7. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates by the Foreign Parent Group, Industry of Affiliate by
 

Country of UBO ............................................................................................................................................ 104
 

II.H 8. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates by Foreigners Other Than the Foreign Parent Group,
 

Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ..................................................................................................... 105
 

II.H 9. 	 U.S. Trade in Goods of Affiliates, Country of Destination or Origin by Transactor ................................. 106
 

II.H 10. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates, Country of Destination by Industry of Affiliate ................ 107
 

II.H 11. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates, Country of Destination by Country of UBO..................... 108
 

II.H 12. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates to the Foreign Parent Group, Country of Destination by
 

Industry of Affiliate ....................................................................................................................................... 109
 

II.H 13. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates to the Foreign Parent Group, Country of Destination by
 

Country of UBO ............................................................................................................................................ 110
 

II.H 14. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates to Foreigners Other Than the Foreign Parent Group,
 

Country of Destination by Industry of Affiliate .......................................................................................... 111
 

II.H 15. U.S. Exports of Goods Shipped by Affiliates to Foreigners Other Than the Foreign Parent Group,
 

Country of Destination by Country of UBO ............................................................................................... 112
 

iv
 

 

 

 

 

II.H 16. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates, Country of Origin by Industry of Affiliate ......................... 113
 

II.H 17. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates, Country of Origin by Country of UBO.............................. 114
 

II.H 18. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates by the Foreign Parent Group, Country of Origin by
 

Industry of Affiliate ....................................................................................................................................... 115
 

II.H 19. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates by the Foreign Parent Group, Country of Origin by
 

Country of UBO ............................................................................................................................................ 116
 

II.H 20. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates by Foreigners Other Than the Foreign Parent Group,
 

Country of Origin by Industry of Affiliate ................................................................................................... 117
 

II.H 21. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates by Foreigners Other Than the Foreign Parent Group,
 

Country of Origin by Country of UBO........................................................................................................ 118
 

II.H 22. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Transactor and Intended Use ....... 119
 

II.H 23. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates, Country of UBO by Transactor and Intended Use ............ 121
 

II.H 24. U.S. Imports of Goods Shipped to Affiliates, Goods for Further Manufacture, Industry of Affiliate by
 

Country of UBO ............................................................................................................................................ 123
 

Group I. Interest, Dividends, Taxes Other Than Income Taxes, and Research and Development 

Expenditures 

II.I 1. Interest, Dividends or Remitted Profits, and Taxes Other Than Income and Payroll Taxes, of Affiliates, 


by Industry of Affiliate................................................................................................................................... 124
 

II.I 2. Interest, Dividends or Remitted Profits, and Taxes Other Than Income and Payroll Taxes, of Affiliates, 


by Country of UBO ....................................................................................................................................... 125
 

II.I 3. Taxes Other Than Income and Payroll Taxes Paid by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO 126
 

II.I 4. 	 Research and Development Performed by and Funded by Affiliates, by Industry of Affiliate .................. 127
 

II.I 5. 	 Research and Development Performed by and Funded by Affiliates, by Country of UBO ....................... 128
 

II.I 6. 	 Research and Development Performed by Affiliates, Industry of Affiliate by Country of UBO ............... 129
 

v
 

Preface
 

This volume presents the results of the 2012 Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment that was conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis 

(BEA). Benchmark surveys are BEA’s most comprehensive surveys—in terms of 

both the number of companies covered and the amount of information gathered. 

The 2012 survey covered the foreign direct investment universe, which consists 

of all U.S. business enterprises owned 10 percent or more, directly or indirectly, 

by a foreign person. The last benchmark survey covered 2007. 

The survey collected detailed data on the activities of U.S. affiliates of foreign 

multinational enterprises in 2012. The data include balance sheets, income statements, goods and services supplied, taxes, employment and compensation of 

employees, U.S. trade in goods, research and development expenditures, and 

data used to calculate value added. The survey also collected data on transactions and positions between U.S. affiliates and their foreign parent companies 

that are the source data of the official estimates of direct investment that enter 

the U.S. national income and product accounts and the U.S. international investment position and international transactions (or balance of payments) accounts. 

The data from the survey are disaggregated in a number of ways, including by industry of U.S. affiliate, by country and industry of ultimate beneficial owner or 

foreign parent, and, for employment, by state. 

The data from the benchmark survey will be used as the primary basis for expanding to universe levels the data for nonbenchmark years that are collected in 

BEA’s quarterly and annual cutoff sample surveys, which cover a sample of U.S. 

affiliates above a size-exemption level. The quarterly surveys collect sample data 

on direct investment transactions between U.S. affiliates and their foreign parents, and the annual surveys collect sample data on the activities of U.S. affiliates. For both types of data, estimates for nonsample affiliates usually are 

derived by extrapolating forward their data from the benchmark survey on the 

basis of the year-to-year movements in the data reported by affiliates in the sample. 

Many of the items for which data were collected in the 2012 benchmark survey are also collected annually, but other items are collected only in benchmark 

survey years. These items include research and development expenditures broken down by source of funding, U.S. exports and imports of goods by country of 

destination and origin, and U.S. imports of goods by intended use. 

vi
Acknowledgments
 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis thanks the staffs of the U.S. companies that 

responded to the 2012 benchmark survey for their efforts in completing and filing reports and for their cooperation with BEA during the processing and review 

of the data. 

Sarahelen Thompson, Associate Director for International Economics provided 

general guidance for the survey project. Patricia E. Abaroa, Chief of the Direct Investment Division, directed the design of the benchmark survey report forms, the 

processing of the survey, and the analysis and publication of the results. 

The 2012 benchmark survey was conducted under the direction of Mark Xu. 

Jennifer Rodriguez and Christopher J. Stein supervised the processing of the survey. Diane I. Young supervised the computer programming for data estimation 

and tabulation. The following staff contributed to the processing and editing of 

the survey or to the related computer programming: George M. Bogachevsky, 

Kirsten Brew, Polly Y. Cheung, Constance T. Deve, Rita Ismaylov, Nazre Jamil, 

Neeta Kapoor, Julie A. Lampe, Qi Chen Lee, Da-Chin Lin, Kevin McCarthy, Demetria A. McCormick, Makia M. Riley, Gary Sowers, John R. Starnes, and Daniel K. 

Wakjira. 

William J. Zeile of the Research Branch of the Balance of Payments Division 

prepared the methodology and other text and coordinated the design of the tables for this publication. General guidance for writing the text was provided in 

the Balance of Payments Division by Raymond J. Mataloni Jr., Assistant Division 

Chief for Research and Analysis, and James J. Fetzer, Chief of the Research 

Branch. 

The Communications Division’s Kristina Maze coordinated the production of 

this publication and desktop published the tables. Danielle Helta edited and desktop published the text. Colby Johnson designed the cover and Tanya Shen posted 

this document on BEA’s Web site, www.bea.gov. 

vii
 

 

 

 

 

 

Methodology
 

The 2012 Benchmark Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States 

was conducted by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to obtain complete and 

accurate data on foreign direct investment in the United States for 2012. Reporting on the survey was mandatory under the International Investment and Trade 

in Services Survey Act.1 Benchmark surveys, which are conducted every 5 years, 

are BEA’s most comprehensive surveys of foreign direct investment, in terms of 

both coverage of companies and the amount of information collected; the last 

benchmark survey covered the year 2007.2 

This publication provides the final results of the 2012 benchmark survey in 108 

tables that present nearly all of the collected data. Two related types of statistics 

are presented for U.S. affiliates of foreign multinational enterprises: (1) statistics 

on activities data (formerly termed financial and operating data) and (2) statistics 

on direct investment position and transactions data. The activities data provide a 

variety of indicators of the overall operations of U.S. affiliates, including balance 

sheets and income statements; value added; goods and services supplied; taxes; 

property, plant, and equipment; employment and compensation of employees; 

U.S. trade in goods; and research and development activities. These data cover 

the entire operations of the U.S. affiliate regardless of the percentage of foreign 

ownership.3 

The direct investment position and transactions data cover transactions and 

positions between U.S. affiliates and their foreign parents and other members of 

their foreign parent groups. These data thus focus on the foreign parent’s share, 

or interest, in the affiliate rather than on the affiliate’s overall size or level of operations. Direct investment transactions data (formerly termed balance-of-payments data) include data on financial transactions between U.S. affiliates and 

their foreign parent groups and payments of income by U.S. affiliates to their foreign parent groups. In conjunction with the sample data collected in BEA’s quarterly surveys of foreign direct investment in the United States, the direct 

investment position and transactions data collected in the benchmark survey are 

the source of the official estimates of direct investment-related measures that 

are included in the U.S. national income and product accounts (NIPAs), the U.S. 

international transactions accounts, and the U.S. net international investment 

position. The direct investment financial transactions, income, and position data 

collected in the benchmark survey are presented in this publication on a historical-cost basis; prior to their inclusion in the international accounts and the NIPAs, 

they are adjusted to reflect current-period prices. 

For the activities data, more detailed information was collected for majorityowned U.S. affiliates (that is, affiliates that are owned more than 50 percent by 

1. Public Law 472, 94th Cong., 90 stat. 2059, 22 U.S.C. 3101–3108, as amended.

2. See U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: Final 

Results From the 2007 Benchmark Survey (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, September 2011); an electronic version of this publication can be accessed on BEA’s Web site at

www.bea.gov.

3. To be classified as a U.S. affiliate, however, the foreign share of ownership in the enterprise

must be equal to 10 percent or more of the voting securities if the enterprise is incorporated or an

equivalent interest if the enterprise is unincorporated; see the definition of direct investment in the

section “Concepts and Definitions.” 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–1 
 

 

 

 

foreign direct investors) than for minority-owned U.S. affiliates in order to place 

more emphasis on companies that are unambiguously under foreign control. Because of the presumption of foreign control, majority ownership is viewed by 

many as the preferred basis for selecting firms for the analysis of the role of multinational enterprises in a host country’s economy.4 Majority ownership is also 

recommended as the primary basis for the compilation of statistics on the activities of foreign-owned firms by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 

Development’s (OECD) OECD Handbook on Economic Globalisation Indicators 

and by the international Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services, 

reflecting in part the emphasis placed on data for majority-owned affiliates by 

trade negotiators and other policymakers. 

In this publication, statistics for U.S. affiliates are presented separately for two 

affiliate groups: (1) all (majority-owned plus minority-owned) affiliates (Part I) 

and (2) majority-owned affiliates (Part II). As in the reports for the survey years 

2002–2011, most of the tables cover majority-owned affiliates (Part II), reflecting 

the more detailed information collected on their activities.5 A variety of table formats are used: some tables present statistics for several related data items, each 

of which is disaggregated by industry or by country of foreign owner; other tables 

present statistics for a single data item disaggregated by industry cross-classified 

by country, by country cross-classified by industry, or by state cross-classified by 

industry or by country. 

The activities data from the benchmark survey extend the series that begin 

with 1977 and that are derived from both annual and benchmark surveys. In addition, the benchmark survey data will be used in preparing annual statistics on 

U.S. affiliate activities in subsequent nonbenchmark years; these statistics are derived from sample data reported in BEA’s annual surveys of foreign direct investment in the United States combined with nonsample estimates based on forward 

extrapolations of the benchmark survey data. 

For the statistics on affiliate activities, the tabulations of the benchmark survey data in this report are comparable to the tabulations in the reports for 

2007–2011. In publications for benchmark survey years before 2007, most of the 

tabulations covered only nonbank affiliates because only a few items on affiliate 

operations were collected on the separate survey form for bank affiliates.6 For 

nonbenchmark survey years before 2007, bank affiliates were exempt from filing 

survey reports; therefore, all of the tabulated statistics on affiliate operations for 

those years covered only nonbank affiliates. 

4. See, for example, Robert E. Lipsey, “Foreign Direct Investment and the Operations of Multinational Firms: Concepts, History, and Data,” in Handbook of International Trade, ed. Kwan Choi and 

James Harrigan (Oxford, United Kingdom: Basil Blackwell, 2003).

5. In the benchmark and annual surveys covering years before 2002, the amount of information

collected for majority-owned and minority-owned affiliates was the same; therefore, most of the

tabulations in the data reports for those years covered all affiliates. 

6. Bank affiliates were defined to be affiliates classified in depository credit intermediation, which

comprises commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, bank holding companies, and

financial holding companies. 

M–2 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

Table 1 provides cross-references between the activities data tables in this report and the corresponding tables in the benchmark survey report for 2007 and 

in the annual reports for 2008–2011. As shown, some of the tables in this report 

have counterparts in the 2007 benchmark survey report but not in the annual 

survey reports for 2008–2011, in some cases because they cover items that are 

not collected in nonbenchmark survey years. In addition, several tables in the report for 2007 do not have counterparts in this report, because they presented 

Table 1. Comparison of Activities Data Tables in This Report With Those in the 2007 Benchmark Survey 

Report and in the Annual Survey Reports for 2008–2011—Continues 

Table in 2012 benchmark survey report Comparable table in 2007 

benchmark survey report Comparable table in 2008–2011 reports 

Part I. All Affiliates 

Group A. Selected Data 

I.A 1—I.A 5 I.A 1—I.A 5 I.A 1—I.A 5 

I.A 7 I.A 7 I.A 7 

I.A 9 I.A 9 I.A 9 

Group B. Balance Sheet 

I.B 1—I.B 3 I.B 1—I.B 3 I.B 1—I.B 3 

Group C. Gross Property, Plant, and Equipment 

I.C 3 I.C 3 I.C 3 

n.a.1 I.C 7 n.a. 

Group D. Income Statement 

I.D 3 I.D 3 I.D 3 

Group G. Employment 

I.G 3 I.F 3 I.F 3 

I.G 17 I.F 18 I.F 18 

Part II. Majority-Owned Affiliates 

Group A. Selected Data 

II.A 1—II.A 9 II.A 1—II.A 9 II.A 1—II.A 9 

Group B. Balance Sheet 

II.B 1–II.B 4 II.B 1–II.B 4 II.B 1–II.B 4 

II.B 5—II.B 7 II.B 5—II.B 7 n.a. 

Group C. Gross Property, Plant, and Equipment 

II.C 1—II.C 3 II.C 1—II.C 3 II.C 1—II.C 3 

II.C 4 n.a. II.C 4 

n.a.1 II.C 5—II.C 15 n.a. 

n.a. II.C 16—II.C 17 n.a. 

II.C 16—II.C 17 II.C 18—II.C 19 II.C 18—II.C 19 

Group D. Income Statement 

II.D 1—II.D 4 II.D 1—II.D 4 II.D 1—II.D 4 

II.D 5—II.D 6 II.D 5—II.D 6 n.a. 

II.D 7—II.D 8 II.D 7—II.D 8 II.D 7—II.D 8 

II.D 9 II.D 9 n.a. 

II.D 10—II.D 11 II.D 10—II.D 11 II.D 10—II.D 11 

Group E. Goods and Services Supplied 

II.E 1—II.E 4 II.D 12—II.D 15 II.D 12—II.D 15 

See the footnote at the end of the table. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–3 
 

 

 

 

 

data items that were discontinued from data collection after the 2007 benchmark survey.7 

For the statistics on the direct investment position and direct investment 

transactions, the tables presented in Part I, Group J, of this publication are comparable to the tables presented in Part I, Group I, of the 2007 benchmark survey 

final publication. 

The statistics in this publication are based on data collected at the enterprise—or company—level. Data presented at the establishment—or plant—level 

are also available for selected years as a result of a project to link BEA's enterprise 

data on foreign direct investment in the United States with more detailed Census 

Bureau establishment data for all U.S. companies.8 

7. As a result of restored funding for the collection of state-level detail on affiliate gross, property,

plant, and equipment and manufacturing employment, tables II.C 5 through II.C 15 and II.F 13 in

the 2007 benchmark survey report are scheduled for inclusion in the annual survey reports for

2014 and subsequent years.

8. Publications presenting the establishment data are available for 1987–92, 1997, and 2002; electronic files for these publications can be accessed on BEA’s Web site at www.bea.gov. The 1987,

1992, 1997, and 2002 publications cover establishments in both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing industries; the 1988–91 publications cover establishments in manufacturing industries only.

A forthcoming publication will present establishment data for 2007 for both manufacturing and

nonmanufacturing industries. 

Table 1. Comparison of Activities Data Tables in This Report With Those in the 2007 Benchmark Survey 

Report and in the Annual Survey Reports for 2008–2011—Table Ends 

Table in 2012 benchmark survey report Comparable table in 2007 

benchmark survey report Comparable table in 2008–2011 reports 

Group F. Value Added 

II.F 1—II.F 3 II.E 1—II.E 3 II.E 1—II.E 3 

II.F 4 II.E 4 n.a. 

II.F 5—II.F 6 II.E 5—II.E 6 II.E 5—II.E 6 

Group G. Employment and Compensation of Employees 

II.G 1—II.G 4 II.F 1—II.F 4 II.F 1—II.F 4 

II.G 5 II.F 5 n.a. 

II.G 6—II.G 8 II.F 6—II.F 8 II.F 6—II.F 8 

II.G 9 II.F 9 n.a. 

II.G 10—II.G 11 II.F 10—II.F 11 II.F 10—II.F 11 

II.G 12 II.F 12 n.a. 

n.a.1 II.F 13 n.a. 

n.a. II.F 14 n.a. 

II.G 14—II.G 16 II.F 15—II.F 17 II.F 15—II.F 17 

Group H. U.S. Trade in Goods 

II.H 1—II.H 4 II.G 1—II.G 4 II.G 1—II.G 4 

II.H 5 II.G 5 n.a. 

II.H 6—II.H 7 II.G 6—II.G 7 II.G 6—II.G 7 

II.H 8—II.H 24 II.G 8—II.G 24 n.a. 

Group I. Interest, Dividends, Taxes Other Than Income Taxes, and Research and Development Expenditures 

II.I 1—II.I 2 II.H 1—II.H 2 II.H 1—II.H 2 

II.I 3—II.I 5 II.H 3—II.H 5 n.a. 

II.I 6 II.H 6 II.H 6 

n.a. Not available but are being collected in the annual surveys for 2014 forward; these tables are 

1. Data for the tables in the 2007 benchmark survey publication were not scheduled for inclusion in the annual survey publications for 2014 and subsecollected in the 2012 benchmark survey or in the annual surveys for 2008–2011 quent years. 

M–4 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

Coverage
 

The benchmark survey covered nearly every U.S. business enterprise that was 

a U.S. affiliate of a foreign owner in 2012. A U.S. affiliate is a U.S. business enterprise in which a foreign owner holds, directly or indirectly, at least 10 percent of 

the voting securities if the enterprise is incorporated or an equivalent interest if 

the enterprise is unincorporated. 

For both the activities data and the direct investment position and transactions data, the statistics presented in this publication cover every U.S. business 

enterprise that was a U.S. affiliate at the end of its 2012 fiscal year. The coverage 

of the direct investment position and transactions data in this publication is thus 

consistent with that of the activities data. However, it differs from the coverage 

of these data in the U.S. international investment position and international 

transactions accounts, which for a given calendar year, include transactions for 

U.S. businesses that were U.S. affiliates at some time during the year but that 

were not affiliates at the end of the year, because the foreign parents’ interest in 

them was liquidated or sold during the year. 

Every U.S. affiliate was required to report in the benchmark survey for 2012. In 

order to minimize the reporting burden of small enterprises, affiliates that did 

not have total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) of more than $20 million were 

required to report only some basic identification information and a few items 

indicating affiliate size—including total assets, sales, net income, and employment—on an abbreviated version of the least detailed survey form, Form 

BE–12C. Affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income greater than $20 million 

but not greater than $60 million were required to file a complete version of Form 

BE–12C, which requested additional information on a few other measures of affiliate operations. Together, affiliates that filed Form BE–12C accounted for a very 

small share of the data for all affiliates in terms of value: they accounted for 0.3 

percent of the total assets, 0.9 percent of the sales, and 1.6 percent of the employment of all affiliates. 

Similarly, in the benchmark survey for 2007, nonbank affiliates that did not 

have total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) of more than $15 million were required to report only some basic identification information and a few items indicating affiliate size on an abbreviated version of the least detailed form, termed 

the “miniform,” and nonbank affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income 

greater than $15 million but not greater than $40 million were required to file a 

complete miniform.9 

In benchmark surveys for 2002 and earlier years, very small affiliates with total 

assets, sales, and net income (or loss) that were all below a given size threshold 

were not required to complete a benchmark survey report; instead, they were instructed to submit an exemption form with information on their total assets, 

9. Together, affiliates that filed the miniform accounted for 0.3 percent of the total assets, 0.9 per- cent of the sales, and 1.8 percent of the employment of affiliates. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–5 
 

sales, and net income. In the 2002 benchmark survey, the threshold for submitting an exemption form in lieu of a benchmark survey report was total assets, 

sales, and net income (or loss) of $10 million or less. In the benchmark survey for 

1997, the reporting exemption level was $3 million, and in the benchmark surveys for 1980, 1987, and 1992, the exemption level was $1 million. The data presented in the benchmark survey publications for 1997 and 2002 included 

estimates for exempt affiliates based on the information reported on the exemption form for their total assets, sales, and net income. In contrast, estimates for 

exempt affiliates were not included in the published data for affiliates for years 

before 1997. Because the aggregate data for affiliates below the respective exemption levels are so small, this difference has virtually no effect on the comparability of published data across years. 

Concepts and Definitions 

This section discusses the basic concepts and definitions used in the 2012 

benchmark survey. 

Direct investment 

Direct investment implies that a person resident in one country exercises control or a significant degree of influence over the management of a business enterprise resident in another country. For the United States, in accordance with 

international guidelines, ownership or control of 10 percent or more of an enterprise’s voting securities, or the equivalent, is considered evidence of having at 

least a significant degree of influence over management, with control being 

deemed to exist if the investor owns more than 50 percent of the voting securities.10 Thus, foreign direct investment in the United States is ownership or control, direct or indirect, by one foreign person of 10 percent or more of the voting 

securities of an incorporated U.S. business enterprise or an equivalent interest in 

an unincorporated U.S. business enterprise. Only foreign investment in the 

United States that is direct investment was covered by the 2012 benchmark survey. 

Direct investment in a U.S. business enterprise can result from direct or indirect ownership by a foreign person. In direct ownership, the foreign person itself 

holds the ownership interest in the U.S. business enterprise. In indirect ownership, one or more tiers of ownership exist in the United States between the U.S. 

business enterprise and the foreign person. For example, a U.S. business enterprise may be directly owned by another U.S. business enterprise that is, in turn, 

owned by the foreign person. A foreign person’s percentage of indirect voting 

ownership in a given U.S. business enterprise is equal to the direct voting ownership percentage of the foreign person in the first U.S. business enterprise in the 

10. See International Monetary Fund (IMF), Balance of Payments and International Investment 

Position Manual, 6th ed. (Washington, DC: IMF, 2009); and Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development (OECD), OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment, 4th ed. (Paris: 

OECD, 2008). 

M–6 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

ownership chain, times the first enterprise’s direct voting ownership percentage 

in the second U.S. business enterprise in the chain, times the corresponding percentages for all intervening enterprises in the chain, times the last intervening 

enterprise’s direct voting ownership percentage in the given U.S. business enterprise. If a foreign person has claims on a U.S. business enterprise through more 

than one ownership chain, the percentages of direct and indirect ownership in all 

chains are summed to determine the foreign person’s ownership percentage. 

Direct investment refers to ownership by a single person, not to the combined 

ownership by all the persons in a country. A “person” is broadly defined to include any individual, branch, partnership, associated group, association, estate, 

trust, corporation, or other organization (whether or not organized under the 

laws of any state) and any government (including a foreign government, the U.S. 

government, a state or local government, or any corporation, financial institution, or other entity or instrumentality thereof, including a government-sponsored agency). 

An associated group is treated in this definition as a single person. An associated group consists of two or more persons who exercise their voting privileges in 

a concerted manner—by the appearance of their actions, by agreement, or by an 

understanding—in order to influence the management of a business enterprise. 

The following are deemed associated groups: (1) members of the same family, (2) 

a business enterprise and one or more of its officers or directors, (3) members of 

a syndicate or joint venture, (4) a corporation and its domestic subsidiaries, and 

(5) the national and provincial levels of a foreign country’s government. Thus, direct investment is considered to exist as long as the combined ownership interest 

of all members of the group is at least 10 percent, even if no one member owns 

10 percent or more. The definition assumes, in effect, that the members’ influence over management is comparable to that of a single person with the same 

ownership interest. 

Investment by a foreign person of less than 10 percent in a U.S. business enterprise is not considered direct investment, even if another foreign person—of the 

same country or of another country—has an interest of at least 10 percent in the 

enterprise. Thus, if one foreign person owns 11 percent and another owns 9 percent, the 11 percent interest is included, but the 9 percent interest is excluded. 

However, if two or more foreign persons each hold an interest of at least 10 percent, each such interest is included. 

Determination of residency 

For purposes of the benchmark survey (and BEA’s other direct investment surveys), the “United States” means the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories and possessions. U.S. offshore 

oil and gas sites are also considered to be in the United States. 

“Foreign” means that which is situated outside the United States or which belongs to or is characteristic of a country other than the United States. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–7 
 

 

 

The country of residence, rather than the country of citizenship, of a person is 

used to determine whether a direct investor or the business enterprise owned by 

a direct investor is domestic (U.S.) or foreign. A U.S. person is any person who resides in or is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and a foreign person 

is any person who resides outside the United States or who is subject to the jurisdiction of a country other than the United States. 

A person is considered a resident of or subject to the jurisdiction of the country in which the person is located if the person resides or expects to reside in it 

for 1 year or more. Under this rule, individuals who reside or expect to reside outside their country of citizenship for less than 1 year are considered residents of 

their country of citizenship, whereas individuals who reside or expect to reside 

outside their country of citizenship for 1 year or more are considered residents of 

the country in which they are residing. 

There are two exceptions to this rule. First, individuals (and their immediate 

families) who either own or are employed by a business enterprise in their country of citizenship and who are residing outside of that country for 1 year or more 

in order to conduct business for the enterprise are considered residents of their 

country of citizenship if they intend to return within a reasonable period of time. 

Second, individuals who reside outside their country of citizenship because they 

are government employees (such as diplomats, consular officials, and members 

of the armed forces and their immediate families) are considered residents of 

their country of citizenship regardless of their length of stay. 

The U.S. affiliate 

A U.S. affiliate is a U.S. business enterprise in which there is foreign direct investment. The affiliate is called a U.S. affiliate to denote that it is located in the 

United States. 

A business enterprise is any organization, association, branch, venture, or the 

ownership of real estate that exists for profitmaking purposes or to otherwise secure economic advantage. Therefore, by definition, a business enterprise excludes the ownership of real estate exclusively for personal use; a primary 

residence that is leased to others by an owner while outside the United States 

who intends to reoccupy it is considered real estate held for personal use and not 

a business enterprise. 

A business enterprise, and therefore an affiliate, may be either incorporated or 

unincorporated. Unincorporated affiliates primarily take the form of branches 

and partnerships. They may also include directly held commercial property. 

A U.S. affiliate that is a branch consists of operations or activities in the United 

States that a foreign person conducts in its own name rather than through an entity separately incorporated in the United States. By definition, a branch is wholly 

owned. 

M–8 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

In general, the U.S. operations or activities of a foreign person are considered 

to be a U.S. affiliate if they are legally or functionally separable from the foreign 

operations or activities of the foreign person. In most cases, it is clear whether 

the U.S. operations or activities constitute a U.S. affiliate. If an operation or activity is incorporated in the United States—as most are—it is always considered a 

U.S. affiliate. The situation is not always so clear with unincorporated U.S. operations or activities. Most are legally or functionally separable from those of the 

foreign person and thus are considered U.S. affiliates, but some are not clearly 

separable, and the determination of whether they constitute U.S. affiliates is 

made on a case-by-case basis, depending on the weight of evidence. The following characteristics would indicate that the unincorporated operation or activity 

probably is a U.S. affiliate: 

1. It is subject to U.S. income taxes. 

2. It has a substantial physical presence in the United States, as evidenced by 

plant and equipment or employees that are permanently located in the United 

States. 

3. It has separate financial records that allow the preparation of financial statements, including a balance sheet and income statement. (A mere record of disbursements to or receipts from the U.S. operation or activity would not 

constitute a “financial statement” for this purpose.) 

4. It takes title to the goods it sells and receives revenues from the sale, or it 

receives funds from customers for its own account for services it performs. 

The following characteristics would indicate that the unincorporated operation or activity probably is not a U.S. affiliate: 

1. It is not subject to U.S. income taxes. 

2. It has limited physical assets or few employees permanently located in the 

United States. 

3. It has no separate financial records that allow the preparation of financial 

statements. 

4. It conducts business in the United States only for the foreign person’s account, not for its own account. 

5. It engages only in sales promotion or public relations activities. 

6. Its expenses are paid by the foreign person. 

Consistent with these guidelines, the U.S. stations, ticket offices, and terminal 

or port facilities of a foreign airline or ship operator that provide services only to 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–9 
 

 

 

 

the airline’s or ship operator’s operations are not considered U.S. affiliates, because most of the revenues, such as passenger fares and freight charges, collected by these facilities are generated by the travel and transportation services 

rendered by the airline or ship operator of which they are a part, not by the activities of these facilities. However, if the facilities provide services to unaffiliated 

persons, they are considered U.S. affiliates. 

Each U.S. affiliate was required to report on a fully consolidated domestic 

(U.S.) basis. The full consolidation includes all U.S. business enterprises proceeding down each ownership chain whose voting securities are more than 50 percent owned by the U.S. business enterprise above. The consolidation excludes all 

other U.S. business enterprises and all foreign business enterprises owned by the 

U.S. affiliate. U.S. affiliates that are at least 10 percent indirectly owned by a foreign parent but are not consolidated into the report of another U.S. affiliate because they are not at least 50 percent owned by the U.S. business enterprise 

above are required to file a separate report. 

As an exception to this general consolidation rule, a U.S. affiliate in which a direct ownership interest was held by one foreign person and an indirect ownership interest was held by another foreign person was not permitted to be 

consolidated in the report of another U.S. affiliate—it must file a separate report; 

this rule ensured that data on transactions and positions of both owners could be 

obtained from the affiliate. 

The foreign owners 

The existence of direct investment in a U.S. affiliate is determined solely on the 

basis of the voting shares (or the equivalent) held by its foreign parent. To more 

completely describe the foreign ownership of a U.S. affiliate, however, reference 

must be made to two additional entities—the foreign parent group and the ultimate beneficial owner (UBO). All three concepts are necessary to identify fully 

the owners of U.S. affiliates. The foreign parent of a U.S. affiliate must be identified to establish that foreign direct investment does in fact exist. The UBO of each 

U.S. affiliate is identified to determine the person that ultimately owns or controls and therefore, ultimately derives the benefits from owning or controlling 

the U.S. affiliate.11 Members of the foreign parent group are identified to distinguish foreign persons that are affiliated with a U.S. affiliate from those that are 

not. 

The affiliate’s transactions with all these persons are included in the investment income and financial accounts of the U.S. international transactions accounts, and the direct investment positions in the affiliate that are held by all 

members of the foreign parent group, not just by its foreign parent, are included 

in the foreign direct investment position in the United States.12 

11. UBOs that are individuals were not required to be identified by name; however, their coun- tries of location were required.

12. Another type of transaction—trade in goods between affiliates and members of their foreign

parent groups—is also included in the U.S. international transactions accounts, but it is not shown

separately. Separate data on such trade, however, were obtained in the benchmark survey as part

of the U.S.-affiliate activities data; see the section “Activities Data.” 

M–10 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

A given U.S. affiliate may have more than one ownership chain above it if it is 

owned at least 10 percent by more than one foreign person. In such cases, the affiliate may have more than one foreign parent, UBO, and foreign parent group. 

A foreign parent is the first person outside the United States in a U.S. affiliate’s 

ownership chain that has a direct investment interest in the affiliate. By this definition, the foreign parent consists only of the first person outside the United 

States in the affiliate’s ownership chain; all other affiliated foreign persons are excluded. 

The ultimate beneficial owner of a U.S. affiliate is that person, proceeding up 

the affiliate’s ownership chain beginning with and including the foreign parent, 

that is not owned more than 50 percent by another person.13 The UBO excludes 

other affiliated persons. If the foreign parent is not owned more than 50 percent 

by another person, the foreign parent and the UBO are the same. Unlike the foreign parent, the UBO may be either a U.S. person or a foreign person (though 

most are foreign). 

Both the foreign parent and the UBO are “persons.” Thus, they may be business enterprises; religious, charitable, or other nonprofit organizations; individuals; governments; estates or trusts; associated groups; and so forth. In the case of 

a foreign estate, the estate, not its beneficiary, is considered the foreign parent or 

UBO. For the investments of a foreign trust, either the creator or the beneficiary 

of the trust may be considered the foreign parent or UBO, depending on the circumstances. The creator is considered the foreign parent or UBO if the creator is 

a corporation or other organization that designates its own shareholders or 

members as beneficiaries or if there is a reversionary interest—that is, the interest in the trust may later be returned to the creator. In all other cases, the beneficiary of the trust is considered the foreign parent or UBO. 

A foreign parent group consists of (1) the foreign parent, (2) any foreign person, proceeding up the foreign parent’s ownership chain, that owns more than 

50 percent of the person below it, up to and including the UBO, and (3) any foreign person, proceeding down the ownership chain(s) of each of these members, 

that is owned more than 50 percent by the person above it. 

Accounting Principles 

In most cases, data in the 2012 benchmark survey were required to be reported as they would have been for stockholders’ reports rather than for tax or 

other purposes. Thus, unless otherwise indicated by the survey instructions, survey reporters were asked to report using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The survey instructions departed from GAAP in cases where the 

departure would result in data that were conceptually or analytically more useful 

or appropriate for direct investment purposes. One major departure from GAAP 

was in the area of consolidation rules (see the preceding discussion of consolidated reporting for “The U.S. affiliate” in the section “Concepts and Definitions”). 

13. This definition is equivalent to the OECD’s definition of the “ultimate investor ”; see OECD 

Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment, 4th ed., Annex 10, p. 208. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–11 
 

Reporters that maintained their accounting records using international financial reporting standards (IFRS) or other reporting standards were asked to make 

adjustments, if feasible, to correct for any material differences between GAAP 

and the reporting standards used.14 

Fiscal-Year Reporting 

Data for U.S. affiliates were required to be filed on a fiscal-year basis. An affiliate’s 2012 fiscal year was defined to be the affiliate’s financial reporting year that 

ended in calendar year 2012. Because the fiscal-year data from the benchmark 

survey that are presented in this publication are not identical to the calendar year 

estimates that are needed for the U.S. international transactions accounts and in 

the foreign direct investment position in the United States, these data must be 

adjusted to a calendar year basis before they are entered into the international 

transactions and foreign direct investment position accounts. 

The extent of noncomparablity between the benchmark survey data presented here and the direct investment statistics presented in the international 

transactions and foreign direct investment position accounts depends on the 

number and size of, and volatility of the data for, the U.S. affiliates whose fiscal 

years do not correspond to the calendar year. Selected data for affiliates classified 

by the affiliates’ fiscal year ending date are shown in table 2. As indicated in the 

addendum to the table, affiliates whose fiscal year exactly corresponded to the 

calendar year 2012 accounted for most of the foreign direct investment position 

and direct investment income for all affiliates. 

Unlike the direct investment position and transactions data, activities data in 

all BEA surveys are consistently collected and published on a fiscal-year basis. 

14. A major difference between IFRS and GAAP is the more extensive use under IFRS of fair value

accounting—as opposed to valuation at historical cost—in valuing assets or liabilities. Fair value

accounting is the valuing of assets or liabilities at current market prices or fair market value rather

than at purchase prices (historical cost); see footnote 43. 

Table 2. Selected Data of U.S. Affiliates by Fiscal Year Ending Date 

[Millions of dollars, except as noted] 

Fiscal year ending date 

Total Jan. 1 to 

March 31 

April 1 to 

June 30 

July 1 to 

Sept. 30 

Oct. 1 to 

Dec. 31 

Addendum: 

Dec. 31 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 

Total assets .................................................................. 13,848,988 1,439,769 189,210 347,574 11,872,435 11,090,961 

Sales............................................................................ 4,191,727 568,442 119,960 168,156 3,335,169 3,286,023 

Net Income .................................................................. 156,881 17,144 592 5,584 133,561 131,369 

Compensation of employees ....................................... 518,771 60,202 14,220 36,678 407,670 398,528 

Thousands of employees ............................................. 6,458.1 877.9 219.0 607.1 4,754.2 4,617.4 

Expor ts of goods ......................................................... 359,961 54,388 11,390 16,976 277,208 274,049 

Impor ts of goods.......................................................... 672,883 153,329 10,027 25,209 484,319 480,624 

Foreign direct investment position in the United States 2,511,464 326,986 56,033 116,640 2,011,805 1,959,188 

Direct investment income ............................................ 155,570 18,289 6,284 6,417 124,580 123,832 

M–12 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

Confidentiality
 

Under the International Investment and Trade in Services Survey Act, the direct investment data collected by BEA from individual respondents are confidential; thus, they cannot be published in such a manner “that the person to whom 

the information relates can be specifically identified.” For this publication, each 

cell in a table was tested to determine whether the data it contained should be 

suppressed (not be shown) for confidentiality reasons. A “(D)” in a cell indicates 

that the data were suppressed to avoid the disclosure of information on an individual company. For employment data, a letter representing a size range is entered in lieu of a “(D).” 

The act further specifies that the data must be used for statistical and analytical purposes only; the use of an individual company’s data for tax, investigative, 

or regulatory purposes is prohibited. Access to the data is limited to officials and 

employees (including consultants and contractors and their employees) of government agencies designated by the President to perform functions under the 

act. In addition, as amended by the Foreign Direct Investment and International 

Financial Data Improvements Act of 1990, the act grants access to certain other 

government agencies for limited statistical purposes. For example, access is 

granted to the Census Bureau for the purpose of linking BEA’s enterprise-, or 

company-, level data for foreign direct investment to the Census Bureau’s establishment-, or plant-, level data for all U.S. companies to obtain more detailed data 

by industry and by state for the foreign-owned enterprises that report to BEA. A 

separate act, the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act 

of 2002 (Title V of Public Law 107–347), also authorizes the sharing of business 

confidential data (including BEA’s direct investment data) between BEA and the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics under specified conditions for statistical purposes. 

Private individuals may obtain access to the data only in the capacity of experts, consultants, or contractors whose services are procured by BEA, usually on 

a temporary or intermittent basis, for purposes of carrying out projects under the 

Survey Act—for example, to perform research on foreign direct investment. 

These individuals are subject to the same confidentiality requirements as regular 

employees of BEA or other government agencies performing functions under the 

act. 

Classification of Data 

Both the activities data and the direct investment position and transactions 

data from the benchmark survey can be classified by industry of affiliate, by 

country and industry of UBO, and by country and industry of foreign parent. In 

addition, the direct investment position and transactions data can be classified by 

country of each member of the foreign parent group. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–13 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Industry classification 

In the 2012 benchmark survey, each U.S. affiliate was classified by industry using the International Survey Industry (ISI) classification system, which was updated for the benchmark survey to reflect the 2012 revision to the North 

American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For almost all industries, the 

classifications under this system are identical to those in the NAICS-based ISI classification system used in the benchmark and annual surveys for 2007–2011, 

which was based on the 2007 version of NAICS.15 The only change is the reclassification of a few subindustry activities among detailed industries within the manufacturing, wholesale trade, and retail trade sectors. 

The 2012 NAICS-based ISI classification system includes 201 industries, the 

same number of industries as in the 2007 NAICS-based ISI system. For the most 

part, the ISI classifications are equivalent to NAICS four-digit industries; at its 

most detailed level, NAICS classifies industries at a six-digit level. The ISI classification system is less detailed than NAICS because it is designed for classifying enterprises rather than establishments (or plants). Because many direct investment 

enterprises are active in several industries, it is not meaningful to classify all their 

data in a single industry if that industry is defined too narrowly. A list and a description of the NAICS-based ISI codes (and their relationship to NAICS) are presented in the Guide to Industry Classifications for International Surveys, 2012 (see 

the appendix).16 

Each U.S. affiliate was classified by industry on the basis of its sales (or of its total income, for holding companies) in a three-step procedure. First, a given U.S. 

affiliate was classified in the NAICS sector that accounted for the largest percentage of its sales.17 Second, within the sector, the U.S. affiliate was classified in the 

three-digit subsector in which its sales were largest; a three-digit subsector consists of all four-digit industries that have the same first three digits in their 

four-digit ISI code. Third, within its three-digit subsector, the U.S. affiliate was 

classified in the four-digit industry in which its sales were largest. This procedure 

15. The ISI classification system used in the surveys for 2002–2006 was based on the 2002 version

of NAICS, and the classification system used in the surveys for 1997–2001 was based on the 1997

version of NAICS. In the surveys before 1997, the industry classification system was based on the

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). For a discussion of the differences between the NAICS-based

ISI classification system introduced in 1997 and the earlier SIC-based ISI classification system, see

the section on industry classification in the Methodology of Foreign Direct Investment in the United 

States: Final Results From the 1997 Benchmark Survey (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing 

Office, June 2001).

16. The Guide is also available on BEA’s Web site at www.bea.gov/surveys/iftcmat.htm.

17. The sectors used were agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting; mining; utilities; construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; information;

finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; educational services; health care and social assistance; arts, 

entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and other services. 

M–14 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

ensured that the U.S. affiliate was not assigned to a four-digit industry outside either its sector or its three-digit subsector.18 

Tables I.A 2 and II.A 2 present selected activities data for U.S. affiliates classified by industry of affiliate; each four-digit industry is shown separately and is 

grouped by the sector and subsector to which it belongs. (Table I.A 2 presents detailed industry data for all affiliates, and table II.A 2 presents detailed industry 

data for majority-owned affiliates.) Primarily because of confidentiality requirements, many of these four-digit industries are not shown in the other tables in 

this publication. However, each industry that is included, but not identified, in an 

industry group shown in the other tables may be ascertained by referring to tables I.A 2 and II.A 2. 

Each U.S. affiliate was classified in a single industry—the primary industry of 

the affiliate. As a result, any affiliate activities that take place in secondary industries are classified as activities in the primary industry. Because the benchmark 

survey data were collected on an enterprise basis, the reports for many affiliates 

reflect substantial activities in secondary industries. Information on the distribution of activities within each firm was obtained in the benchmark survey for two 

key items—sales and employment. Each majority-owned U.S. affiliate above a 

minimum size threshold was required to distribute its sales and its employment 

18. The following example illustrates the three-stage classification procedure. Suppose an affiliate’s sales were distributed as follows: 

Industry code Percentage of total sales 

3341.......5
 

3342......10
 

3344......15
 

3353......25
 

4236......45
 










 

30
 














 

55
 

where industry codes 3341, 3342, 3344, and 3353 are in the manufacturing sector and code 4236 is

in the wholesale trade sector. Because 55 percent of the affiliate’s sales were in manufacturing and

only 45 percent were in wholesale trade, the affiliate’s sector is manufacturing. Because the largest

share of its sales within manufacturing is in the three-digit subsector 334 (computers and electronic

products, which includes industry codes 3341, 3342, and 3344), the affiliate’s three-digit subsector

is 334. Finally, because its sales within subsector 334 were largest in industry 3344, the affiliate’s

four-digit industry is 3344 (semiconductors and other electronic components). Thus, the affiliate

was assigned to industry 3344, even though its sales in that industry were smaller than its sales in

either industry 4236 or industry 3353. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–15 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

among the four-digit industries in which it had sales.19 Data on affiliate sales distributed by industry of sales are presented in tables II.A 8, II.D 7, II.D 8, and II.D 9; 

data on affiliate employment distributed by industry of sales are presented in tables II.A 8, II.G 10, II.G 11, and II.G 12. 

The data classified by industry of sales confirm that many affiliates had activities in more than one industry. In particular, the largest affiliates in terms of sales 

tended to report substantial sales in a number of secondary industries, including 

industries outside of the sector in which the affiliate was classified. Table 3 illustrates the degree to which sales by large majority-owned affiliates classified in 

manufacturing are diversified across industries; it indicates that the 100 largest 

majority-owned manufacturing affiliates (which together account for 71 percent 

of the total sales of all majority-owned affiliates classified in manufacturing) on 

average had sales in 4 industries, and that 29 percent of these affiliates’ sales 

were accounted for by four-digit industries other than the one in which the affiliate was classified.20 The table also shows that, on average, sales outside manufacturing accounted for 14 percent of the affiliates’ total sales. 

In addition, table 3 shows that industry diversification tends to increase with 

affiliate size. For example, in an examination of the 20 largest affiliates, the average number of industries in which affiliates had sales increases to 6 industries, 

and the average share of sales accounted for by industries other than the industry in which the affiliate was classified increases to 38 percent. Similar patterns of 

19. Specifically, large majority-owned U.S. affiliates (those with total assets, sales, or net income

greater than $300 million) had to specify their sales and employment in the 10 industries in which

their sales were largest; medium-sized majority-owned affiliates (those with assets, sales, or net

income greater than $60 million but not greater than $300 million) had to specify their sales in the

4 industries in which their sales were largest. For majority-owned affiliates, affiliate sales and

employment in all other industries are shown in the “unspecified” row in tables II.A 8, II.D 7, II.D 8,

II.G 10, and II.G 11. 

20. For 20 of these 100 affiliates, the industry in which the affiliate is classified accounts for less

than half of the affiliate’s total sales. 

Table 3. Industry Distribution of Sales by 100
 

Largest Majority-Owned Affiliates Classified in Manufacturing
 

Number of four-digit industries 

in which affiliate has sales 1 Percentage of affiliate sales accounted for by: Addendum: 

Percentage of 

affiliate sales 

accounted for by 

four-digit 

industries other 

than those in 

which the affiliate 

is classified 2 

All 

industries 

Manufacturing 

industries 

Other 

industries 

All 

industries 2 

Manufacturing industries 

Non-manufacturing 

industries 2 Total 

Four-digit 

industry in 

which the 

affiliate is 

classified 

Other 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) 

100 largest affiliates........... 

1–20................................... 

21–40................................. 

41–60................................. 

61–80................................. 

81–100............................... 

4.1 

6.0 

4.9 

3.3 

2.8 

3.5 

2.6 

3.2 

3.1 

2.5 

1.9 

2.5 

1.5 

2.9 

1.9 

0.8 

1.0 

1.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

85.6 

77.8 

80.2 

92.0 

91.2 

86.6 

71.2 

62.0 

65.6 

77.8 

82.3 

68.1 

14.4 

15.8 

14.7 

14.2 

8.9 

18.4 

14.4 

22.2 

19.8 

8.0 

8.8 

13.4 

28.8 

38.0 

34.4 

22.2 

17.7 

31.9 

1. On the benchmark survey form, large majority-owned affiliates (those with assets, sales, or net income greater than $300 million) were required to 

specify their sales in the 10 industries in which their sales were largest. To the extent that some affiliates had sales in more than 10 industries, there may 

be a slight downward bias in the average number of industries shown for a given group. 

2. For affiliates that had sales in more than 10 industries, includes sales in industries that were not identified on the benchmark survey form. 

M–16 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

industry diversification are displayed by large affiliates classified in industries outside manufacturing. 

As table 3 implies, the distribution of data by industry of affiliate differs from 

the distribution that would result if each of the affiliates’ lines of business were 

classified by industry. In table II.A 8, majority-owned U.S. affiliates’ sales and employment by industry of sales are compared with their sales and employment by 

industry of affiliate. Data by industry of sales cross-classified by industry of affiliate are shown in table II.D 7 for sales and table II.G 10 for employment. 

The distribution of affiliate data by industry of sales roughly approximates the 

distribution that would result if the data were reported and classified by industry 

of establishment because an affiliate that has an establishment in an industry 

usually also has sales in that industry. However, if two establishments of an affiliate are in different industries and if one of the establishments provides all of its 

output to the other one, the affiliate will not have sales in the industry of the first 

establishment.21 Thus, the data by industry of sales approximate data by industry 

of establishment, which provide more precise and more detailed information on 

the activities of the affiliates. In addition, establishment data can be related directly to measures of economic activity by all establishments in the United States. 

Partly for these reasons, BEA plans to publish establishment data for U.S. affiliates for 2012 as part of a project that links the enterprise data from the benchmark survey to the establishment data from the Census Bureau’s 2012 economic 

census.22 

The foreign parent and UBO of each affiliate were also classified by industry; 

however, because a breakdown was not obtained for each industry in which the 

foreign parent or UBO had sales, the categories used were much less detailed 

than those used for affiliates. In the benchmark survey, an affiliate had to assign 

its foreign parent and UBO to 1 of 32 broad NAICS-based categories. These categories are shown in table 4, which presents selected data for majority-owned affiliates classified by industry of foreign parent. Selected data for majority-owned 

affiliates classified by industry of UBO are presented in table II.A 6. Data by industry of affiliate cross-classified by industry of UBO are shown in tables II.B 5, II.D 5, 

II.F 4, and II.G 5. 

The industry classification of an affiliate’s foreign parent may differ from that 

of its UBO. The foreign parent consists only of the first foreign person in the affiliate’s ownership chain, and its industry of classification reflects only the activities 

of that first foreign person. In contrast, the UBO’s industry reflects its fully consolidated worldwide activities, including the activities of both U.S. and foreign entities in the ownership chain below it. 

21. For example, if an affiliate operates both a metal mine and a metal manufacturing plant and if

the entire output of the mine is used by the manufacturing plant, all of the affiliate’s sales will be in

metal manufacturing, and none will be in metal mining. When the mining employees are distrib- uted by industry of sales, they are classified in manufacturing. In contrast, when they are distrib- uted by industry of establishment, they are classified in mining.

22. Establishment data from the link project were published previously for 1987–92, 1997, and

2002; for further information, see footnote 8. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–17 
 

A distribution of sales by industry was not obtained for UBOs or foreign parents. For affiliates that had more than one UBO or foreign parent, each UBO or 

foreign parent was classified. In the tables that show data disaggregated by industry of UBO or foreign parent, all data for these affiliates are shown in the industry of the UBO or foreign parent with the largest ownership share. 

Table 4. Selected Data of Majority-Owned U.S. Affiliates by Industry of Foreign Parent 

Millions of dollars 

Thousands 

Total of employees 

assets 

Gross 

proper ty, plant, 

and equipment 

Sales Compensation 

of employees 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) 

All industries .................................................. 12,789,675 1,832,592 3,778,717 467,538 5,889.0 

Government and government-related entities ....... 651,180 115,369 209,199 9,327 106.0 

Government and government-owned enterprises ... 633,194 (D) 204,831 8,454 92.4 

Pension funds—government run ............................. 17,986 (D) 4,367 873 13.6 

Individuals, estates, and trusts ............................... 539,784 188,871 370,021 52,978 823.4 

Pension funds—privately run ................................... 6,757 1,898 2,179 508 7.2 

Estates, trusts, and nonprofit organizations ............ 4,584 4,010 5,850 937 17.6 

Individuals ............................................................... 528,443 182,963 361,991 51,533 798.6 

Manufacturing ........................................................... 2,363,284 850,100 1,766,116 191,751 2,140.0 

Food ........................................................................ 125,635 40,880 127,097 14,320 215.6 

Beverages and tobacco products ............................ 157,649 12,517 31,984 2,494 31.5 

Petroleum and coal products................................... 260,415 174,222 193,289 7,461 39.8 

Chemicals ............................................................... 489,595 121,160 284,724 36,777 308.4 

Pharmaceuticals and medicines .......................... 335,513 48,940 148,544 23,327 160.5 

Other.................................................................... 154,081 72,220 136,180 13,450 147.9 

Nonmetallic mineral products .................................. 83,010 56,738 41,857 9,021 111.6 

Primary and fabricated metals ................................ 72,438 36,383 76,219 9,016 113.8 

Machinery ............................................................... 156,720 23,354 106,134 18,076 201.3 

Computers and electronic products ........................ 177,850 42,111 232,894 27,144 255.6 

Electrical equipment, appliances, and components 103,450 20,334 66,073 10,224 132.1 

Transpor tation equipment........................................ 608,692 267,575 489,025 36,777 473.1 

Motor vehicles, bodies and trailers, and parts ..... 561,907 257,744 454,386 28,395 383.5 

Other.................................................................... 46,785 9,832 34,639 8,382 89.6 

Other manufacturing ............................................... 127,830 54,825 116,821 20,442 257.4 

Wholesale and retail trade ....................................... 172,595 64,827 443,115 21,251 497.0 

Information ................................................................ 331,563 50,874 80,489 16,517 160.1 

Finance and insurance............................................. 7,762,444 97,621 370,923 70,092 462.0 

Depository institutions and bank holding 

companies ........................................................... 5,377,990 40,437 151,451 37,526 218.9 

Finance (except depository institutions) .................. 817,935 37,307 69,294 15,550 129.9 

Insurance ................................................................ 1,566,519 19,877 150,177 17,016 113.1 

Real estate................................................................. 54,770 49,283 9,921 945 13.0 

Professional, scientific, and technical services .... 142,783 12,349 82,405 26,801 249.5 

Other industries ........................................................ 771,272 403,299 446,529 77,876 1,437.9 

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting ................ 7,156 2,463 6,550 806 9.4 

Mining...................................................................... 272,464 183,196 176,628 8,304 50.8 

Utilities..................................................................... 107,199 82,779 33,527 3,700 34.9 

Construction ............................................................ 41,596 9,246 42,231 7,358 75.0 

Transpor tation and warehousing ............................. 97,803 65,639 55,527 10,802 252.1 

Holding companies.................................................. 0 0 0 0 0.0 

Other services ......................................................... 245,054 59,976 132,066 46,906 1,015.7 

M–18 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

Country classification 

In the benchmark survey, the UBO and the foreign parent of a U.S. affiliate 

were each classified by country. For affiliates that had more than one UBO or foreign parent, each UBO or foreign parent was classified; for most of the tables in 

this publication, the data for a given affiliate were then classified by the country 

of the UBO or the foreign parent that had the largest ownership share in the affiliate. 

For most affiliates, the country of the UBO is the country of the foreign parent. 

Of the 5,684 U.S. affiliates above the size threshold for which number counts are 

tabulated, the country of the UBO and that of the foreign parent are the same for 

4,433 affiliates. Together, these affiliates account for 75 percent or more of the 

total assets, sales, and employment of all affiliates. 

Table 5 shows, for major investing countries, the number of affiliates by country of UBO (in columns 1–3) and by country of foreign parent (in columns 4–6). 

For a given UBO country, the table shows the number of affiliates for which the 

affiliate’s country of foreign parent is identical to or differs from its country of 

UBO. For most of the countries shown, the country of foreign parent is the same 

as the country of UBO for the vast majority of affiliates. However, for some UBO 

countries—most notably, Hong Kong and a number of countries in the Middle 

East—the country of foreign parent of most affiliates differs from that of their 

UBO. For these countries, the tabular totals shown when data are distributed by 

country of UBO are much higher than those shown when data are distributed by 

country of foreign parent. Table 5 also shows, for a given country of foreign parent, the number of affiliates for which the affiliate’s country of UBO is identical to 

or differs from its country of foreign parent. For some foreign-parent countries—most notably Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and a number of countries in 

Other Western Hemisphere—the country of UBO of most affiliates differs from 

that of their foreign parent. For most of these countries, totals shown when data 

are distributed by country of foreign parent are substantially higher than those 

shown when data are distributed by country of UBO. Tables I.A 7 and II.A 7 compare data for selected items by country of UBO and by country of foreign parent 

for U.S. affiliates. 

Most of the data in the tables that are disaggregated by country in this publication are classified by country of UBO. Classification by country of UBO usually is 

used for activities data because the country that ultimately owns or controls a 

U.S. affiliate and that therefore derives benefits from owning or controlling the 

affiliate generally is considered most important for analyzing these data. Except 

for the data in table 6 (which provides data on several different classification 

bases), all direct investment position and transactions data in this publication are 

also classified by country of UBO so that both types of data presented will be 

classified on the same basis. In contrast, the data in the U.S. international transactions accounts and in the foreign direct investment position in the United 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–19 
 

 

Table 5. Number of Affiliates With Assets, Sales, or Net Income (or Loss) Greater Than $20 

Million by Selected Country of UBO and Country of Foreign Parent and by Whether or Not 

the Country of Foreign Parent is the Same as the Country of UBO 

By country of UBO By country of foreign parent 

Total 

Affiliates whose country 

of foreign parent is: 

Total 

Affiliates whose country 

of UBO is: 

Country of 

foreign parent 

Another 

country 

Country 

of UBO 

Another 

country 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 

All countries 1.......................................... 5,684 4,433 1,251 5,684 4,433 1,251 

Canada................................................................ 

Europe 

568 546 22 622 546 76 

Belgium ............................................................ 61 37 24 59 37 22 

Denmark .......................................................... 45 44 1 51 44 7 

Finland ............................................................. 32 28 4 29 28 1 

France .............................................................. 311 248 63 281 248 33 

Germany .......................................................... 521 467 54 519 467 52 

Ireland .............................................................. 41 24 17 43 24 19 

Italy................................................................... 175 125 50 138 125 13 

Luxembourg ..................................................... 33 15 18 133 15 118 

Netherlands ...................................................... 129 106 23 291 106 185 

Spain ................................................................ 92 74 18 92 74 18 

Sweden ............................................................ 83 67 16 84 67 17 

Switzerland....................................................... 236 179 57 235 179 56 

United Kingdom................................................ 

Latin America and Other Western Hemisphere 

South and Central America .............................. 

572 419 153 548 419 129 

Brazil............................................................. 47 23 24 24 23 1 

Mexico .......................................................... 85 63 22 70 63 7 

Venezuela ..................................................... 

Other Western Hemisphere ............................. 

14 13 1 13 13 0 

Bermuda ....................................................... 58 28 30 69 28 41 

United Kingdom Islands, Caribbean ............. 

Africa 

43 30 13 275 30 245 

South Africa ..................................................... 

Middle East 

11 2 9 2 2 0 

Israel ................................................................ 62 49 13 57 49 8 

Kuwait............................................................... 13 5 8 5 5 0 

Saudi Arabia..................................................... 54 10 44 10 10 0 

United Arab Emirates ....................................... 

Asia and Pacific 

57 9 48 10 9 1 

Australia ........................................................... 155 143 12 146 143 3 

China ................................................................ 70 46 24 50 46 4 

Hong Kong ....................................................... 69 16 53 33 16 17 

India ................................................................. 70 42 28 44 42 2 

Japan ............................................................... 1,208 1,171 37 1,183 1,171 12 

Korea, Republic of ............................................ 90 88 2 88 88 0 

Singapore ......................................................... 38 25 13 40 25 15 

Taiwan .............................................................. 96 65 31 67 65 2 

United States...................................................... 184 .................... 184 .................. ..................... ................... 

1. The totals on this line are for all affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) greater than $20 million. Thus, for a given column, the total 

affiliate count on this line exceeds the sum of the affiliate counts for the selected countries shown. 

NOTE. This table covers all affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income greater than $20 million that were required to repor t in the benchmark survey. 

M–20 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

States are usually classified by the country of each member of the foreign parent 

group with which there are transactions or positions.23 

Tables I.A 3 and II.A 3 present selected activities data for U.S. affiliates by each 

country in which a UBO was incorporated in 2012. Table 6 shows data for all affiliates on the direct investment position and on direct investment income by each 

country in which a UBO was incorporated. Primarily because of confidentiality requirements, many countries could not be shown in the other tables in this publication. However, each country included, but not identified, in a geographic group 

shown in the other tables may be ascertained by referring to table I.A 3, table II.A 

3, or table 6. 

Three tables—tables 6, I.A 7, and II.A 7—show data by country of foreign parent. Table 6 shows the direct investment position and direct investment income 

by country of foreign parent and by country of each member of the foreign parent group, in addition to by country of UBO. As mentioned above, tables I.A 7 and 

II.A 7 compare a few key activities data items classified by country of UBO and by 

country of foreign parent. 

Estimation and General Validity of the Data 

Every U.S. affiliate was required to report in the benchmark survey for 2012. 

The specific survey form used for reporting depended on the affiliate’s size and 

share of foreign ownership. Following a change introduced in the 2008 Annual 

Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States, each of the survey 

forms covered U.S. affiliates in all industries, including banking. In previous 

benchmark surveys, bank affiliates reported on a separate bank form that was 

less detailed than the forms filed by nonbank affiliates; before the 2008 annual 

survey, bank affiliates were exempt from filing annual reports in nonbenchmark 

survey years. 

The amount of information on U.S. affiliate activities collected in the 2012 

benchmark survey varied by affiliate size and whether or not the affiliate was majority owned by foreign direct investors. Form BE–12A, which requested the most 

detailed information, was filed only by majority-owned affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) of more than $300 million.24 Smaller majorityowned affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) between $60 million and $300 million filed Form BE–12B, and very small majority-owned affiliates 

with total assets, sales, and net income (or loss) of $60 million or less filed Form 

23. However, the detailed tables on the direct investment position and transactions data published annually in the September issue of the SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS do include one table that 

presents data on the foreign direct investment position in the United States and foreign direct

investment income by country of UBO as well as by country of each member of the foreign parent

group. Statistics on the direct investment position and direct investment income by country of UBO

are also available on BEA’s Web site. 

24. The size threshold for reporting on the most detailed form, previously termed the “long form,”

had been $175 million in the 2007 benchmark survey; it was raised in order to reduce the burden

on respondents. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–21 
 

Table 6. Foreign Direct Investment Position in the United States and Direct Investment Income by
 

Country of UBO, of Foreign Parent and of Each Member of the Foreign Parent Group—Continues
 

By country of UBO By country of foreign parent By country of each member 

of the foreign parent group 

Position Income Position Income Position Income 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 

All countries .................................. 

Canada...................................................... 

Europe ...................................................... Belgium .................................................. 

Denmark ................................................ 

Finland ................................................... 

France .................................................... 

Germany ................................................ Ireland .................................................... 

Italy......................................................... 

Netherlands ............................................ 

Spain ...................................................... 

Sweden .................................................. 

Switzerland............................................. 

United Kingdom...................................... 

Other ...................................................... 

Armenia .............................................. 

Austria................................................. 

Azerbaijan ........................................... 

Belarus ............................................... 

Bosnia and Herzegovina..................... Bulgaria .............................................. 

Croatia ................................................ 

Cyprus ................................................ 

Czech Republic................................... Estonia ................................................ 

Georgia ............................................... 

Gibraltar .............................................. 

Greece ................................................ Greenland ........................................... Hungary .............................................. 

Iceland ................................................ 

Liechtenstein ...................................... 

Lithuania ............................................. 

Luxembourg ........................................ 

Malta ................................................... 

Moldova .............................................. 

Monaco ............................................... 

Norway................................................ 

Poland ................................................. 

Portugal .............................................. 

Romania ............................................. 

Russia................................................. 

Slovakia .............................................. 

Slovenia .............................................. 

Turkey ................................................. 

Ukraine ............................................... 

Uzbekistan .......................................... 

Latin America and Other Western 

Hemisphere........................................... South and Central America .................... Brazil................................................... 

Mexico ................................................ 

Venezuela ........................................... Other................................................... 

Argentina ......................................... Belize .............................................. 

Bolivia.............................................. 

Chile ................................................ Colombia ......................................... Costa Rica....................................... 

Ecuador ........................................... 

El Salvador ...................................... Guatemala....................................... 

Guyana............................................ 

Honduras......................................... Nicaragua ........................................ Panama ........................................... Peru ................................................. 

Uruguay........................................... 

2,511,464 

249,871 

1,570,309 

30,596 

9,766 

10,862 

219,586 

250,959 

86,993 

33,845 

114,696 

52,260 

32,646 

111,417 

568,209 

48,475 

(*) 

2,800 

(*) 

2 

(*) 

(*) 

3 

(D) 

2 

–4 

1 

(D) 

414 

5 

(D) 

369 

458 

(*) 

12,531 

5 

4 

(D) 

17,778 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

6,323 

(*) 

(D) 

974 

1 

(*) 

85,192 

51,280 

16,450 

26,280 

4,721 

3,830 

511 

(D) 

8 

–730 

2,083 

64 

76 

(D) 

15 

1 

2 

(D) 

805 

(D) 

215 

155,570 

13,011 

108,164 

2,761 

688 

217 

16,417 

19,874 

4,086 

2,854 

9,965 

1,773 

2,358 

11,837 

34,656 

677 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

0 

(*) 

1 

–26 

(*) 

–1 

(D) 

(*) 

–80 

2 

–1 

30 

50 

(*) 

–239 

2 

(*) 

(D) 

943 

(D) 

–140 

(*) 

–98 

–1 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

5,662 

2,977 

308 

2,055 

(D) 

(D) 

–73 

1 

1 

(D) 

–223 

(D) 

–6 

4 

1 

(*) 

(*) 

(D) 

–100 

(D) 

32 

2,511,464 

253,094 

1,688,993 

40,938 

10,038 

(D) 

205,145 

200,628 

(D) 

22,430 

283,818 

48,445 

(D) 

87,242 

530,896 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

2 

(*) 

(*) 

3 

(D) 

2 

–4 

0 

(D) 

(D) 

2 

(D) 

(D) 

437 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

2 

(D) 

(D) 

215 

1 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

(*) 

118,213 

24,212 

2,392 

(D) 

(D) 

3,104 

(D) 

15 

0 

(D) 

(D) 

17 

(D) 

(D) 

13 

0 

(*) 

5 

1,171 

(D) 

(D) 

155,570 

14,764 

111,936 

2,529 

(D) 

126 

15,276 

15,365 

(D) 

(D) 

27,218 

1,185 

2,056 

10,824 

26,319 

6,266 

(*) 

493 

(*) 

(*) 

0 

(*) 

1 

32 

(*) 

–1 

0 

(D) 

–141 

(*) 

(D) 

59 

20 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

–22 

(*) 

(D) 

–1 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

8,614 

3,528 

132 

(D) 

(D) 

4 

(D) 

–2 

0 

37 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

3 

1 

0 

(*) 

(D) 

109 

(D) 

(D) 

2,511,464 

255,450 

1,689,771 

40,375 

10,038 

9,986 

203,943 

198,711 

12,415 

22,463 

287,506 

48,430 

48,135 

80,826 

537,431 

189,512 

(*) 

5,695 

(*) 

2 

(*) 

(*) 

3 

(D) 

2 

–4 

0 

733 

(D) 

2 

8,788 

(D) 

445 

(*) 

141,814 

(D) 

0 

2 

18,670 

1,965 

215 

1 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

(*) 

116,131 

23,840 

2,392 

13,972 

4,608 

2,867 

(D) 

15 

0 

–740 

(D) 

22 

(D) 

(D) 

11 

0 

(*) 

5 

1,171 

(D) 

213 

155,570 

15,136 

111,715 

2,454 

741 

126 

15,332 

15,350 

1,576 

2,355 

27,252 

1,187 

2,130 

12,472 

24,590 

6,150 

(*) 

509 

(*) 

(*) 

0 

(*) 

1 

(D) 

(*) 

–1 

0 

(D) 

–141 

(*) 

496 

59 

21 

(*) 

4,132 

(D) 

0 

(*) 

938 

82 

–22 

(*) 

(D) 

–1 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

8,534 

3,527 

132 

2,445 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

–2 

0 

38 

–69 

(*) 

1 

3 

1 

0 

(*) 

(*) 

109 

(D) 

38 

NOTE. See “General Notes to the Tables” on page M–45. 

M–22 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

BE–12C. On Form BE–12C, the full survey form was filed by affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income greater than $20 million but not greater than $60 million, and an abbreviated form was filed by affiliates with total assets, sales, and 

net income of $20 million or less.25 For those majority-owned affiliates not required to file Form BE–12A (that is, affiliates that filed Form BE–12B or Form 

25. In the 2007 benchmark survey, an intermediate length form, termed the “short form,” was

filed by majority-owned affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income between $40 million and

$175 million, and the least detailed form, termed the “miniform,” was filed by majority-owned affiliates with total assets, sales, and net income of $40 million or less—a full miniform was filed by

affiliates with assets, sales, or net income greater than $15 million but not greater than $40 million,

and an abbreviated miniform was filed by affiliates with total assets, sales, and net income of $15

million or less. 

Table 6. Foreign Direct Investment Position in the United States and Direct Investment Income by 

Country of UBO, of Foreign Parent and of Each Member of the Foreign Parent Group—Continues 

By country of UBO By country of foreign parent By country of each member 

of the foreign parent group 

Position Income Position Income Position Income 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 

Other Western Hemisphere ................... Bermuda ............................................. 

United Kingdom Islands, Caribbean ... 

Other................................................... 

Anguilla ........................................... Aruba .............................................. 

Bahamas ......................................... Barbados ......................................... Cuba................................................ Curacao........................................... 

Dominican Republic ........................ French Islands, Caribbean .............. Grenada .......................................... Jamaica ........................................... 

Netherlands Islands, Caribbean ...... 

St. Kitts and Nevis ........................... Trinidad and Tobago ........................ United Kingdom Islands, Atlantic .... 

Africa ........................................................ 

South Africa ........................................... 

Other ...................................................... 

Angola ................................................ 

Congo (Brazzaville) ............................ 

Egypt .................................................. 

Ghana ................................................. 

Guinea ................................................ 

Kenya .................................................. 

Liberia ................................................. 

Libya ................................................... 

Malawi................................................. 

Mauritius ............................................. 

Morocco .............................................. 

Niger ................................................... 

Nigeria ................................................ 

Seychelles .......................................... 

Somalia ............................................... 

Sudan ................................................. 

Middle East............................................... Israel ...................................................... 

Saudi Arabia........................................... United Arab Emirates ............................. Other ...................................................... Bahrain ............................................... 

Iran ..................................................... 

Jordan................................................. 

Kuwait ................................................. Lebanon.............................................. Oman .................................................. 

Qatar................................................... 

Syria ................................................... 

33,912 

17,137 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

211 

27 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

3 

(*) 

2 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

2,926 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

2 

3 

1 

(D) 

(*) 

17 

(*) 

(*) 

13 

–24 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

0 

(*) 

62,689 

27,694 

(D) 

21,040 

(D) 

1,023 

(*) 

(D) 

1,222 

186 

–2 

(D) 

7 

2,686 

1,229 

–281 

1,737 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

5 

(*) 

(D) 

3 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

0 

8 

–5 

433 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

–3 

–1 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

1 

2 

(*) 

(D) 

1 

(*) 

(D) 

0 

0 

(*) 

–59 

911 

–63 

–635 

–272 

–15 

0 

–7 

–233 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

94,001 

(D) 

64,222 

(D) 

(D) 

10 

(D) 

426 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

10 

(*) 

15 

5 

3 

26 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

–3 

0 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

0 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

(D) 

10,101 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

807 

(D) 

–2 

(D) 

0 

5,087 

1,316 

3,587 

183 

6 

(*) 

–36 

–20 

(D) 

235 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(D) 

1 

2 

(D) 

–7 

363 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

–1 

0 

(D) 

0 

(D) 

0 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

–86 

198 

–232 

(D) 

(D) 

–44 

0 

(D) 

(D) 

–1 

(*) 

(D) 

0 

92,291 

(D) 

64,761 

(D) 

(D) 

10 

1,924 

426 

(*) 

5,818 

(D) 

1 

10 

(*) 

15 

5 

3 

26 

4,515 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

–3 

0 

(D) 

(*) 

659 

0 

(*) 

2,248 

(D) 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

19,858 

10,106 

(D) 

1,628 

(D) 

–91 

(*) 

(D) 

807 

(D) 

–2 

(D) 

0 

5,007 

1,200 

3,628 

179 

6 

(*) 

–35 

–20 

(*) 

229 

3 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

1 

2 

(*) 

–7 

341 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

–1 

0 

(D) 

0 

33 

0 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

(*) 

–86 

199 

–232 

3 

–55 

–44 

0 

(D) 

23 

–1 

(*) 

(D) 

0 

NOTE. See “General Notes to the Tables” on page M–45. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–23 
 

BE–12C), BEA imputed the items that are only on BE–12A so the published results 

could be presented in the same detail for all majority-owned affiliates.26 Thus, for 

every data item in the tables for majority-owned affiliates, the statistics presented cover the known universe of majority-owned U.S. affiliates. 

Form BE–12B also was filed by minority-owned affiliates (that is, by affiliates 

that were owned 50 percent or less by foreign direct investors) with total assets, 

sales, or net income (or loss) of more than $60 million; because the imputations 

of items that are only on Form BE–12A are not prepared for these affiliates, the 

published results for all affiliates cover only the items that are on Form BE–12B. 

(Some items on Form BE–12B were collected only for majority-owned affiliates; 

these items are not included in the data tabulated for all affiliates.) Smaller minority-owned affiliates (those with total assets, sales, and net income of $60 million or less) filed Form BE–12C; for these affiliates, BEA imputed the items that 

were collected on Form BE–12B but not on Form BE–12C. For every item in the 

tables for all (majority-owned plus minority-owned) affiliates, the statistics presented cover the known universe of all U.S. affiliates. 

26. For a given majority-owned affiliate that filed Form BE–12B or Form BE–12C, items collected

only on Form BE–12A generally were estimated on the basis of relationships among data items for a

comparable panel of Form BE–12A affiliates. 

Table 6. Foreign Direct Investment Position in the United States and Direct Investment Income by 

Country of UBO, of Foreign Parent and of Each Member of the Foreign Parent Group—Table Ends 

By country of UBO By country of foreign parent By country of each member 

of the foreign parent group 

Position Income Position Income Position Income 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) 

Asia and Pacific ....................................... Australia ................................................. 

China ...................................................... 

Hong Kong ............................................. India ....................................................... 

Japan ..................................................... Korea, Republic of .................................. 

Singapore ............................................... Taiwan .................................................... 

Other ...................................................... 

Afghanistan......................................... Bangladesh......................................... Brunei ................................................. Burma ................................................. 

Cambodia ........................................... 

French Islands, Pacific ........................ Indonesia ............................................ Malaysia.............................................. 

Marshall Islands.................................. Micronesia .......................................... New Zealand....................................... 

Pakistan .............................................. 

Papua New Guinea ............................. Philippines .......................................... 

Samoa ................................................ 

Sri Lanka ............................................ Thailand .............................................. 

United Kingdom Islands, Pacific ......... 

Vanuatu............................................... 

Vietnam .............................................. 

United States............................................ 

Addenda: 

European Union (27) .............................. OPEC ..................................................... 

447,864 

60,382 

16,067 

8,148 

11,111 

293,792 

26,711 

18,240 

8,399 

5,014 

(D) 

2 

745 

4 

(*) 

(*) 

714 

1,347 

0 

0 

1,386 

(D) 

2 

104 

(*) 

(*) 

473 

0 

(D) 

(*) 

92,612 

1,432,550 

38,728 

20,917 

4,241 

280 

(D) 

549 

11,401 

2,561 

632 

832 

(D) 

1 

(*) 

1 

–4 

(*) 

0 

40 

–48 

0 

0 

–6 

–5 

(*) 

(D) 

(*) 

(*) 

1 

0 

(*) 

(*) 

7,441 

95,415 

–39 

426,458 

58,134 

(D) 

10,275 

5,927 

290,687 

(D) 

18,429 

5,316 

(D) 

(D) 

2 

0 

4 

(*) 

(*) 

397 

821 

(D) 

1 

931 

(D) 

2 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

296 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

..................... 

1,573,354 

14,681 

19,979 

3,968 

(D) 

264 

351 

11,298 

2,545 

732 

(D) 

23 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

–4 

(D) 

0 

16 

–34 

3 

0 

26 

2 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

–2 

5 

(D) 

(D) 

..................... 

(D) 

702 

425,740 

58,334 

7,974 

10,305 

5,927 

291,433 

26,495 

16,766 

5,309 

3,197 

(D) 

2 

0 

4 

(*) 

(*) 

397 

821 

(D) 

1 

928 

(D) 

2 

91 

(D) 

(*) 

296 

(D) 

(D) 

(*) 

..................... 

1,580,604 

14,681 

19,930 

3,995 

278 

264 

351 

11,310 

2,541 

645 

521 

25 

(D) 

(D) 

0 

–4 

(D) 

0 

16 

–34 

3 

0 

27 

2 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

(D) 

–2 

4 

(D) 

(D) 

..................... 

98,201 

702 

NOTE. See “General Notes to the Tables” on page M–45. 

M–24 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

For both majority-owned and minority-owned affiliates, the statistics include 

imputations for affiliates that failed to report in the benchmark survey but for 

which BEA had a basis for estimation, usually from data reported in other BEA 

surveys. The statistics do not include estimates for affiliates unknown to BEA. 

Direct investment position and international transactions data were collected 

for affiliates on Forms BE–12A and BE–12B. For small affiliates that filed Form 

BE–12C, the direct investment position and international transactions data were 

imputed from the information reported on affiliate activities. For every item in 

the tables for the direct investment position and transactions data, the statistics 

cover the known universe of all U.S. affiliates. 

In the 2012 benchmark survey, a total of 1,500 affiliates filed Form BE–12A 

and a total of 1,400 affiliates filed Form BE–12B (table 7). In terms of value, these 

2,900 affiliates accounted for 94 percent of the affiliate universe for total assets, 

Table 7. Selected Data for All U.S. Affiliates and for Majority-Owned U.S. Affiliates 


Distinguished by Reporting Status and Form Filed
 

Number 

of affiliates 

Millions of dollars 

Thousands 

of 

employees 

Percentage of total 

Assets Sales Total 

assets Sales 

Thousands 

of 

employees 

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) 

All U.S. affiliates, total ................................................. ................. 13,848,988 4,191,727 6,458.1 100.0 100.0 100.0 

All U.S. affiliates with assets, sales or net income 

greater than $20 million........................................... 5,684 13,819,148 4,169,532 6,387.2 99.8 99.5 98.9 

Affiliates that repor ted on a detailed survey form 1 2,900 13,035,748 3,672,679 5,191.0 94.1 87.6 80.4 

Affiliates that filed on Form BE–12A .................... 1,500 11,899,222 3,177,962 4,447.7 85.9 75.8 68.9 

Affiliates that filed on Form BE–12B .................... 1,400 1,136,526 494,717 743.4 8.2 11.8 11.5 

Affiliates that failed to file reports and for which 

repor ts were estimated ........................................ 1,762 754,357 471,010 1,128.3 5.4 11.2 17.5 

Affiliates that filed the full version of form BE–12C 1,022 29,043 25,844 67.9 0.2 0.6 1.1 

Affiliates that filed an abbreviated version of form 

BE–12C 2 ................................................................ 8,562 15,588 10,896 35.6 0.1 0.3 0.6 

Estimates for very small affiliates that did not file a 

repor t for 2012 but filed an abbreviated form or a 

size-based exemption claim in an earlier survey ..... 7,690 14,253 11,299 35.3 0.1 0.3 0.5 

Majority-owned U.S. affiliates, total............................. ................. 12,789,675 3,778,717 5,889.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 

Majority-owned U.S. affiliates with assets, sales or 

net income greater than $20 million ........................ 5,081 12,760,499 3,756,841 5,820.2 99.8 99.4 98.8 

Affiliates that repor ted on a detailed survey form 1 2,608 12,028,572 3,286,977 4,695.0 94.0 87.0 79.7 

Affiliates that filed on Form BE–12A .................... 1,498 11,898,519 3,177,375 4,447.5 93.0 84.1 75.5 

Affiliates that filed on Form BE–12B .................... 1,110 130,053 109,603 247.5 1.0 2.9 4.2 

Affiliates that failed to file reports and for which 

repor ts were estimated ........................................ 1,566 706,081 446,782 1,064.1 5.5 11.8 18.1 

Affiliates that filed the full version of form BE–12C 907 25,846 23,081 61.1 0.2 0.6 1.0 

Affiliates that filed an abbreviated version of form 

BE–12C 2 ................................................................ 8,558 15,557 10,883 35.5 0.1 0.3 0.6 

Estimates for very small affiliates that did not file a 

repor t for 2012 but filed an abbreviated form or a 

size-based exemption claim in an earlier survey ..... 7,621 13,619 10,993 33.2 0.1 0.3 0.6 

1. Excludes small affiliates that filed on Form BE–12C. 

2. Affiliates with assets, sales, or net income (or loss) less than $20 million. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–25 
 

 

 

 

88 percent of the universe for sales, and 80 percent of the universe for employment.27 A total of 1,022 affiliates filed the full version of Form BE–12C; these affiliates accounted for about 1 percent or less of the affiliate universe for total 

assets, sales, and employment. Estimates were made for 1,762 affiliates that did 

not file a benchmark survey report even though they met the criteria for filing either a full Form BE–12C or a longer survey form; according to these estimates, 

such affiliates accounted for 5 percent of the affiliate universe for total assets, 11 

percent of the universe for sales, and 18 percent of the universe for employment. 

For these affiliates, BEA had a report in another direct investment survey that 

could serve as a basis for the estimation.28 

Very small affiliates—those with total assets, sales, and net income (or loss) of 

$20 million or less—were asked to file an abbreviated version of Form BE–12C. A 

total of 8,562 abbreviated forms were filed. In addition, imputations were made 

for 7,690 very small affiliates that did not file a benchmark survey report for 2012 

but had filed either an abbreviated miniform in the 2007 benchmark survey or a 

size-based exemption claim in another survey. Together, these very small affiliates accounted for about 1 percent or less of the affiliate universe for total assets, 

sales, and employment.29 

For majority-owned affiliates, the Form BE–12A was filed by a total of 1,498 affiliates. Although these affiliates accounted for only 29 percent of all majorityowned affiliates above the size threshold for reporting on the full version of Form 

BE–12C or on a more detailed form, they accounted for 93 percent of the majority-owned affiliate universe for total assets and for 84 percent of the majorityowned affiliate universe for sales. For employment, their share of the majorityowned universe was 76 percent. 

The data reported by U.S. affiliates had to pass a substantial number of computerized edit checks. Where possible, the data for an affiliate were reviewed for 

their consistency with related data for the affiliate from other parts of the report 

form, with data provided in related report forms, with comparable data reported 

by other affiliates, and with comparable data from outside sources. As a result of 

this edit and review process, a number of changes were made to the reported 

data, usually after consultation with the reporting affiliate. In some cases, usually 

involving small affiliates, imputations based on industry averages or other information were substituted for missing or erroneously reported data. 

For some items—such as those pertaining to trade by country of origin or destination and employment by industry of sales or by state—affiliates had difficulty 

in supplying the required information because the data were not easily accessible 

or were unavailable from their standard accounting records. In these cases, affiliates often made estimates, the quality of which is difficult to assess. 

27. Data on total assets, sales, and employment were collected on the abbreviated version of

Form BE–12C as well as on the more detailed survey forms.

28. Affiliates that had filed an annual survey report for 2010 or 2011 accounted for about threefourths of the estimated data on total assets, sales, and employment for affiliates that did not file a

benchmark survey report for 2012.

29. About 45 percent of these affiliates were in real estate. For affiliates in real estate, the share of

total assets accounted for by these very small affiliates was 6 percent, much larger than their 0.2

percent share for affiliates in all industries combined. 

M–26 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

Number of Affiliates
 

Several tables in this publication present the number (by industry, country, or 

state) of affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) greater than $20 

million, the minimum size threshold for reporting in the 2012 benchmark survey 

using the full version of Form BE–12C or a more detailed survey form. These 

number counts are not comparable with the affiliate number counts shown in 

previous benchmark and annual publications, which were based on lower size 

thresholds. In the publications for 2007–2011, the number counts were based on 

the $15 million size threshold used to require reporting in the 2007 benchmark 

survey using a full version of the survey’s least detailed form (the “miniform”) or 

a more detailed form. In the publications for earlier years, the counts were based 

on size thresholds used to require the submission of a benchmark survey report.30 

The affiliate number counts shown in the tables of this publication—except for 

table 7—exclude very small affiliates; that is, they exclude affiliates with total assets, sales, and net income of $20 million or less. These very small affiliates consist of affiliates that were only required to file an abbreviated version of Form 

BE–12C. For the 2012 benchmark survey, the abbreviated version of Form 

BE–12C was filed by 8,562 affiliates, and estimates from abbreviated miniform filings in the 2007 benchmark survey or from exemption claims filed in other surveys were made for an additional 7,690 affiliates. The total number of very small 

affiliates may be considerably higher than the sum of these two counts, as some 

very small affiliates may be unknown to BEA. In terms of value, the effect of any 

omission of affiliates below the $20 million threshold on the benchmark survey 

data is likely negligible, as the known affiliates below this threshold account for 

only a tiny percentage of the data for all affiliates (table 7). However, the number 

of very small affiliates that were not counted could be substantial. 

The published figures on the number of affiliates with total assets, sales, or net 

income (or loss) greater than $20 million may also be subject to some imprecision because some affiliates that were required to file a report did not do so. Because of limited resources, BEA’s efforts to ensure compliance with reporting 

requirements focused mainly on large affiliates. As a result, some smaller affiliates that were not aware of the reporting requirements and that were not on 

BEA’s mailing list may not have filed reports. Although the omission of these affiliates from the benchmark survey results probably has not significantly affected 

the aggregate value of the various data items collected, it likely caused an understatement of the number of affiliates. 

30. As discussed in the section on coverage, the threshold for reporting in the 2002 benchmark

survey was total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) greater than $10 million; smaller affiliates

were asked to file a size-based exemption form instead. For the 1997 benchmark survey, the

exemption level was $3 million, and for earlier benchmark surveys, the exemption level was $1 million. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–27 
 

 

 

 

Even an exact count of U.S. affiliates would be difficult to interpret because 

each report covers a fully consolidated U.S. business enterprise, which may consist of multiple companies. The number of fully consolidated enterprises varies 

according to the degree of consolidation used and the differences in the organizational structure of the company. Several tables in this publication (for example, 

table I.A 1) show the number of companies consolidated in the affiliates’ reports 

in addition to the number of affiliates. Because the report for one affiliate may 

cover multiple companies, the total number of companies consolidated is substantially higher than the total number of affiliates—33,914 companies, compared with 5,684 affiliates above the $20 million threshold for filing at least the 

full version of Form BE–12C. For majority-owned affiliates, the comparable figures are 30,922 companies and 5,081 affiliates. 

This publication includes affiliate number counts by state for all affiliates with 

employment (table I.A 9) and for majority-owned affiliates with employment (tables II.A 9 and II.G 16). For a given state, an affiliate is counted even if it only has 

a few employees in the state. For example, sales offices often account for a substantial portion of the total number of affiliates in a state; these offices often 

have fewer than 10 employees. The significance of such small operations in a particular state can be ascertained from table II.G 16, which shows the number of affiliates with employment disaggregated by size class. 

Activities Data 

Activities data focus on the overall operations of U.S. affiliates. Among the 

items covered by these data are the following: balance sheets and income statements; value added; goods and services supplied; taxes; property, plant, and 

equipment; employment and compensation of employees; U.S. trade in goods; 

and research and development activities. 

The activities data for U.S. affiliates are not adjusted for the ownership share 

of the foreign direct investors. Thus, for example, the employment data include 

all the employees of each affiliate, including affiliates in which the foreign investor’s ownership share is less than 100 percent. 

Most of the concepts and definitions used in reporting the activities data can 

be found in the instructions of the survey forms in the appendix. The following 

discussion focuses on the concepts, definitions, and statistical issues that require 

further explanation or that are not covered in the forms. 

Balance sheets and income statements 

U.S. affiliates’ balance sheets and income statements are required to be reported as they would have been for stockholders’ reports if they were required—preferably according to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.31 

Therefore, any major changes in GAAP will affect the affiliate data. 

31. As noted in the section “Accounting Principles,” the accounting records of some U.S. affiliates

are based on international financial reporting standards (IFRS) rather than GAAP. 

M–28 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For most affiliates, the income statement includes all types of income, both ordinary and extraordinary. However, for some affiliates, such as those in insurance, GAAP requires certain unrealized gains and losses to be carried directly to 

owners’ equity in the balance sheet rather than to be recorded on the income 

statement. 

Under GAAP, depreciation and depletion charges are used to distribute the 

cost of an asset over that asset’s estimated useful life. For example, affiliates engaged in extracting natural resources report net income after the deduction of 

book depletion—that is, those expenses representing the periodic chargeoff of 

the actual cost of natural resources. Tax or percentage depletion is not deducted. 

Val u e ad ded 

Value added is an economic accounting measure of the production of goods 

and services. A U.S. affiliate’s value added measures the value of its production 

net of any intermediate inputs produced by others; it thus measures the affiliate’s contribution to U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). 

For a U.S. affiliate, as for any firm, value added can be measured as its gross 

output less its intermediate inputs (purchased goods and services used in production). Alternatively, it can be measured as the sum of the costs incurred (except 

for intermediate inputs) and the profits earned in production. The costs fall into 

four major categories: compensation of employees, net interest paid, taxes on 

production and imports, and the capital consumption allowance.32 The estimates 

presented in this publication were calculated as the sum of costs and profits. 

Value added is generally preferred to sales or other measures used to assess 

the direct economic impact of affiliates on the entire U.S. economy and on individual industries. Value added permits a more focused analysis of the impact of 

affiliates because it measures only the affiliates’ own contribution to economic 

output, whereas sales do not distinguish between the affiliates’ own contribution 

and the value of output embodied in inputs purchased from other companies. In 

addition, value added estimates measure the contribution to the economy by affiliates during a specific period. In contrast, some of the sales in a given period 

may represent production from earlier periods. 

32. In the U.S. national income and product accounts, two measures of depreciation, or capital

consumption, are used—the capital consumption allowance and consumption of fixed capital. The 

capital consumption allowance (CCA) consists of depreciation charges, which are based largely on

tax returns, and allowances for accidental damage to fixed capital. Consumption of fixed capital

consists of CCA plus an adjustment to place depreciation on an economic basis that uses economic

service lives, depreciation that follows a geometric pattern, and replacement-cost valuation.

For U.S. affiliates, the only measure of capital consumption available from BEA’s survey data is the

book value of depreciation, reported on a basis consistent with GAAP. Because this measure does

not provide for replacement-cost valuation, it is termed the “capital consumption allowance” in this

publication (see table II.F 1).

The basis used to measure depreciation has no effect on the measurement of total value added;

any differences between the measures of depreciation, which is a cost of production, have equal

and offsetting effects on the profit-type-return component. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–29 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goods and services supplied 

For majority-owned affiliates, the 2012 benchmark survey collected affiliate 

sales (or gross operating revenues) disaggregated into goods, services, and investment income. Services were further disaggregated into sales to U.S. persons 

and sales to foreign persons. Supplemental information collected in the benchmark survey for affiliate activities in the banking, insurance, and wholesale and 

retail trade industries was used to adjust the reported data on sales of goods and 

services to produce statistics on goods and services supplied, BEA’s featured measures of the output of goods and services provided by U.S. affiliates.33 

For purposes of distributing sales into goods, services, and investment income, 

“goods” are generally defined to be economic outputs that are tangible, and “services” are generally defined to be economic outputs that are intangible.34 Information on investment income was collected primarily to ensure that, if 

investment income was included in total sales (or gross operating revenues), it 

would not be included in sales of services. In finance and insurance, affiliates include investment income in sales because it is generated by a primary activity of 

the affiliate. In other industries, most affiliates consider investment income an incidental revenue source and include it in the income statement in an “other income” category rather than in sales. 

For most industries, goods and services supplied by affiliates are equal to the 

reported values of affiliate sales of goods and services. Adjustments to these reported sales values are made for bank affiliates and for affiliates with activities in 

insurance or in wholesale or retail trade to better measure their output.35 For 

banks, services supplied includes explicit fees and commissions and an estimate 

of the value of implicit charges for services provided by banks (often referred to 

33. Statistics on services supplied though U.S. affiliates are presented together with statistics on

services supplied through foreign affiliates and on trade in services in annual articles in the SURVEY OF 

CURRENT BUSINESS; for the most recent presentation, see Alexis N. Grimm and Charu S. Krishnan, “U.S.

International Services: Trade in Services in 2014 and Services Supplied Through Affiliates in 2013,”

SURVEY 95 (October 2015). Statistics on services supplied through U.S. affiliates beginning with the

year 2002 are available in BEA’s interactive international services tables. In BEA’s benchmark and

annual data publications on foreign direct investment in the United States, statistics on goods and

services supplied replace statistics on goods and services sales as BEA’s featured measures of goods

and services provided by affiliates beginning with the benchmark survey year 2007.

34. Tangible outputs are typically associated with establishments in the following six NAICS sectors: agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (except support activities for agriculture and forestry); mining (except support activities); construction; manufacturing; wholesale trade; and retail

trade. Intangible outputs are typically associated with establishments in the 14 other NAICS 

sectors—utilities; transportation and warehousing; information; finance and insurance; real estate

and rental and leasing; professional, scientific, and technical services; management of companies

and enterprises; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services;

educational services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; other services (except public administration); and public administration—and with establishments that provide support activities for agriculture and forestry and for

mining.

35. See Obie G. Whichard and Maria Borga, “Selected Issues in the Measurement of International

Services,” SURVEY 82 (June 2002): 36–56. 

M–30 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

as financial intermediation services indirectly measured).36 For insurance, services supplied consists of BEA’s estimate of premiums remaining after provision 

for expected or “normal” losses and a measure of premium supplements, which 

represent income earned on funds insurers hold on policymakers’ behalf. For 

wholesalers and retailers, services supplied includes an estimate of the distributive services affiliates provide by selling or arranging for the sales of goods; this 

estimate of distributive services is subtracted from the reported value of sales of 

goods to produce a measure of goods supplied that includes only the value of the 

goods resold. These adjustments to reported sales of goods and services affect 

the distribution of sales between goods and services supplied but do not affect 

the total value of sales. 

Employment and compensation of employees 

In the benchmark survey, affiliates were requested to report employment as 

the number of full-time and part-time employees on the payroll at the end of fiscal year 2012. However, a count taken during the year was accepted if it was a 

reasonable proxy for the end-of-year number. In addition, if employment at the 

end of the year was unusually high or low because of temporary factors, such as 

seasonal variations or a strike, a number reflecting normal operations was requested. 

For majority-owned affiliates, employment is classified both by industry of affiliate and by industry of sales. The classification by industry of sales is based on 

information supplied by each affiliate above a minimum size threshold on employment in the four-digit industries in which it had sales.37 

Data were collected on employment and compensation of employees covering 

affiliates’ total U.S. operations. In addition, the data on affiliate employment 

were broken down by state. 

Although the data on employment and compensation of employees from the 

benchmark survey can be used to compute rates of compensation per employee 

and wages and salaries per employee, these rates may not accurately reflect the 

compensation rates normally paid by affiliates (and, thus, are not shown in this 

publication). The computed rates may be distorted by the inclusion of part time 

employees because part time employees are counted the same as full time employees or by data that cover only part of the year—for example, data for an affiliate that was newly established during the year.38 

36. The implicit service charges reduce the rate paid to depositors, who forego some interest in

exchange for services, and increase the rates charged to borrowers. These implicitly priced services

include processing of checks and electronic payments, disbursing or transferring funds when and

where needed, protecting deposited funds, bookkeeping, bill payment, check cashing, investment

services, screening and monitoring borrowers, and loan underwriting. See Kyle K. Hood, “Alternative Measures of Implicitly Priced Financial Services of Savings Institutions and Credit Unions,” SURVEY 91 (November 2013): 27–35.

37. See footnote 19. 

38. Employee compensation rates are better measured by hourly wage rates, which do not suffer

from these shortcomings. Data on hourly wage rates for foreign-owned manufacturing establishments for 1988–92, 1997, and 2002 are available from the BEA-Census Bureau data link project; for

further information, see footnote 8. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–31 
 

 

 

 

U.S. trade in goods 

The concepts and definitions underlying the data collected in the benchmark 

survey on U.S. trade in goods of U.S. affiliates are nearly identical to those used 

for the data on total U.S. trade in goods compiled by the Census Bureau. The 

trade data are particularly difficult for affiliates to report, but BEA’s review of the 

reported data indicates that most of the data conform well to Census Bureau 

concepts and definitions. However, because of certain reporting issues, the affiliate trade data are not completely comparable with the Census Bureau trade 

data. In the benchmark survey, data on U.S. trade in goods were requested to be 

reported on a “shipped” basis—that is, on the basis of when, where, and to (or 

by) whom the goods were shipped—in order for them to be comparable with official U.S. trade data. However, most affiliates keep their accounting records on a 

“charged” basis—that is, on the basis of when, where, and to (or by) whom the 

goods were charged. The two bases are usually the same, but they can differ substantially. For example, if a U.S. affiliate buys goods from country A and sells 

them to country B and if the goods are shipped directly from country A to country B, the affiliate’s books would show a purchase from country A and a sale to 

country B. Because the goods never entered or left the United States, on a 

shipped basis, they would not be recorded as either U.S. imports or U.S. exports. 

However, if the affiliate’s trade data were reported on a charged basis, the purchase would appear as a U.S. import, and the sale would appear as a U.S. export. 

On the basis of its review, BEA believes most affiliates reported on a shipped, 

rather than on a charged, basis. However, some affiliates had difficulty obtaining 

data on a shipped basis, which usually requires using shipping department invoices rather than accounting records. If BEA determined that the data were reported on a charged basis and that these data were likely to differ materially from 

data reported on a shipped basis, it required revised reports to be filed. However, 

some cases of erroneous reporting were probably not identified. 

In addition, the data on trade by U.S. affiliates that are collected by BEA are on 

a fiscal-year basis, whereas the data on total U.S. trade in goods that are collected by the Census Bureau are on a calendar-year basis. In the 2012 benchmark 

survey, affiliates whose fiscal year exactly corresponded to the calendar year 

2012 accounted for 76 percent of the total exports and for 71 percent of the total 

imports of goods reported for all U.S. affiliates (table 2). 

Additional differences between the BEA trade data and the Census Bureau 

trade data may have resulted simply because the data come from different 

sources: the BEA data are based on company records, whereas the Census Bureau data are compiled from export and import documents filed by shippers with 

the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection on individual transactions. The 

timing, valuation, origin or destination, shipper, and product involved in a given 

transaction may be recorded differently on company records than on these export and import documents. 

In the 2012 benchmark survey, as in previous benchmark surveys, exports 

shipped by majority-owned U.S. affiliates were disaggregated by country of destination, and imports shipped to majority-owned U.S. affiliates were disaggregated 

M–32 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

by country of origin. To reduce the reporting burden on U.S. affiliates, breakdowns of trade in goods by country of destination or origin are collected only in 

benchmark survey years. 

In the 2012 benchmark survey—as in the benchmark surveys for 1980, 1992, 

1997, 2002, and 2007—imports shipped to majority-owned U.S. affiliates were 

disaggregated by intended use into three categories: capital equipment, goods 

for resale without further manufacture, and goods for further manufacture. 

However, in the 1987 benchmark survey, data on capital equipment and goods 

for further manufacture were collected as a single category. 

Research and development 

The 2012 benchmark survey collected data on two technology-related 

items—research and development (R&D) expenditures and the number of employees engaged in R&D-related activities. 

As in previous benchmark surveys, the 2012 benchmark survey data on R&D 

expenditures were collected on two bases: R&D performed by the affiliate 

(whether the R&D was for its own use or for use by others) and R&D funded by 

the affiliate (whether the R&D was performed internally or by others). R&D performed can be used to gauge the technological capabilities of affiliates. R&D 

funded views R&D from the perspective of the costs of production and can be 

used as an indicator of affiliates’ use of technology; this basis is consistent with 

guidelines of the Financial Accounting Standards Board for accounting for the 

costs of R&D. 

R&D performed by affiliates is the only basis on which data on affiliate R&D expenditures have been collected in BEA’s annual surveys of affiliate operations 

since the survey for 1998. Before the 1997 benchmark survey, the sole basis for 

collecting R&D expenditure data in the annual surveys was R&D funded by affiliates. 

Data on the number of employees associated with R&D activities have been 

collected in the annual surveys since the 1993 survey. They were previously collected only in the benchmark surveys for 1980 and 1992. A detailed description 

of what is considered an R&D employee is available in the survey instructions in 

the appendix. 

Direct Investment Position and Transactions Data 

Direct investment position and transactions data measure the U.S. affiliate’s 

positions and transactions with its foreign parent and other members of its foreign parent group.39 In contrast, affiliate activities data provide measures of the 

U.S. affiliate’s overall operations, including its transactions and positions with all 

persons. For example, the direct investment position in an affiliate is equal to its 

39. In this publication, the direct investment position and transactions data are presented according to the directional principle, which focuses on the direction of the direct investment relationship.

For a discussion of the directional principle and its contrast with the asset and liability presentation

of direct investment data, see IMF, Balance of Payments and International Investment Position 

Manual, 6th ed., pp. 107–109. See also Marilyn Ibarra-Caton and Raymond J. Mataloni, “Direct

Investment Positions for 2013: Country and Industry Detail,” SURVEY 94 (July 2014). 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–33 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

foreign parent group’s equity in, and net outstanding loans to, its U.S. affiliate; a 

U.S. affiliate’s total assets, in contrast, are equal to the sum of (1) the total owners’ equity in the affiliate held both by members of the foreign parent group and 

by all other persons and (2) the total liabilities owed by the affiliate both to members of the foreign parent group and to all other persons.40 

In the benchmark survey, data for the direct investment position and transactions items for affiliates were obtained in part III of Form BE–12A and in part III of 

BE–12B (see the appendix). 

For foreign direct investment in the United States, two major items appear in 

the U.S. international transactions accounts: direct investment financial transactions and direct investment income. Two adjustments are made to the direct investment transactions data before they are entered into the U.S. international 

accounts. First, the two items are adjusted to reflect current-period prices.41 Second, the data from the benchmark survey are adjusted from a fiscal-year basis to 

a calendar-year basis. As discussed in the section on fiscal year reporting, the direct investment position and transactions data collected in the 2012 benchmark 

survey are on a fiscal-year basis. Thus, before the data are incorporated into the 

U.S. international transactions accounts and the investment position, which are 

on a calendar-year basis, they are adjusted from a fiscal-year basis to a calendaryear basis. The adjusted data for 2012 are extrapolated forward to derive universe estimates for calendar years after 2012 on the basis of sample data 

collected in BEA’s quarterly surveys for those years.42 

Foreign direct investment position in the United States 

The foreign direct investment position in the United States at historical cost is 

equal to the net book value of the foreign parent groups’ equity in and net outstanding loans to their U.S. affiliates. The position may be viewed as the cumulative financing provided in the form of equity or debt by foreign parent groups to 

U.S. affiliates. 

40. To illustrate, suppose that an affiliate is owned 80 percent by its foreign parent and that the

affiliate has total owners’ equity of $50 million and total liabilities of $100 million, of which $20 million is owed to the parent. In this case, the affiliate’s total assets would be $150 million (total owners’ equity of $50 million plus total liabilities of $100 million), and the parents’ position in the

affiliate would be $60 million (80 percent of the $50 million of owners’ equity plus the $20 million

of intercompany debt).

41. The adjustments are made only at the global level; the source data needed to adjust the estimates by detailed country and industry are not available.

The adjustments are accomplished in three steps. First, a capital consumption adjustment is made

to convert depreciation charges from a historical-cost basis to a current- (or replacement-) cost

basis. Second, earnings are raised by the amount of charges for the depletion of natural resources

because these charges are not treated as production costs in economic accounting. Third, expenses

for mineral exploration and development are reallocated across periods to ensure that they are

written off over their economic lives rather than all at once. 

42. As noted in the section on coverage, the universe estimates in the U.S. international transactions accounts include transactions for affiliates that were liquidated or sold during a given calendar year. In contrast, the direct investment transactions data collected in the 2012 benchmark

survey and presented in this publication do not cover transactions for enterprises that were no longer U.S. affiliates at the end of the 2012 fiscal year. In the benchmark survey publications for 1992

and 1997, the direct investment transactions data and the beginning-of-year direct investment

position data included estimates for affiliates that were liquidated or sold during the benchmark

survey year, using data from other surveys. In this publication, as in the benchmark survey publication for 2002 and 2007, the direct investment transactions and direct investment position data are

not adjusted to include such estimates, in order to preserve consistency in coverage with the activities data. 

M–34 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The direct investment position data presented in this publication are valued at 

historical cost and are not adjusted to current value. Thus, they largely reflect 

prices at the time of investment rather than prices of the current period. Because 

historical cost is the basis used for valuation in company accounting records in 

the United States, it is generally the only basis on which companies can report 

data in BEA’s direct investment surveys.43 It is also the only basis on which detailed estimates of the position are available by country, by industry, and by account. However, BEA does provide aggregate estimates of the position valued in 

current-period prices.44 

Direct investment equity positions in U.S. affiliates are, by definition, held only 

by foreign parents. Foreign parents may also have direct debt positions with U.S. 

affiliates.45 For other members of the foreign parent groups, only direct debt positions are included in the direct investment position. 

Foreign parents’ equity in incorporated affiliates can be broken down into foreign parents’ holdings of capital stock in, and other capital contributions to, their 

U.S. affiliates and foreign parents’ equity in the retained earnings of their U.S. affiliates. Capital stock consists of all the stock of the affiliates—both common and 

preferred and voting and nonvoting. Other capital contributions by foreign parents, also referred to as the “foreign parents’ equity in additional paid-in capital,” 

consist of the invested and contributed capital that is not included in capital 

stock, such as cash contributions, the amount paid for stock in excess of its par or 

stated value, and the capitalization of intercompany accounts (conversions of 

debt to equity) that do not result in the issuance of capital stock. Foreign parents’ 

equity in retained earnings is the foreign parents’ shares of the cumulative undistributed earnings of their incorporated U.S. affiliates. Unincorporated affiliates 

are wholly owned by their foreign parent and do not disaggregate equity into 

subcategories. 

43. In recent years, however, use of fair value accounting—under which assets and liabilities are

valued at current market prices or fair market value rather than at historical cost—has become

more prevalent among companies reporting in BEA’s direct investment surveys. This shift reflects

changes to GAAP and a growing number of respondents using other accounting standards, such as

IFRS. 

GAAP is shifting to allow or require more types of assets and liabilities to be recorded at fair value.

In the past, most data reported on BEA’s surveys was valued at historical cost and use of fair value

accounting was very limited (it was primarily used to record debt and equity securities held for

trading purposes). GAAP now allows more types of financial assets and liabilities to be recorded at

fair value and requires business combinations to be recorded at fair value. IFRS goes further than

GAAP by allowing fixed assets to be recorded at fair value. As a result, many companies have balance sheets that include both fair value and historical cost valuations. 

The growing use of fair value accounting in the survey data has implications for BEA’s measure of

the direct investment position as financial data previously reported on BEA’s surveys at historical

cost are replaced by data reported at fair value. Information collected in recent years on BEA’s

Annual Survey of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States indicates that while relatively few

affiliates use fair value accounting to prepare their balance sheets, those that do record a significant portion of their assets and liabilities at fair value. The impact on the positions is difficult to

assess because respondents that use fair value accounting are not generally able to provide historical cost valuations for comparison. However, BEA believes that to date the impact on the positions

at historical cost has been immaterial and that its featured measure of the direct investment position—the market-value measure that appears in the net international investment position—continues to be an accurate and consistent measure of direct investment. BEA will continue to assess the 

extent and impact of fair value accounting and other accounting practices on its statistics and will

change its methodologies if it determines that such changes would improve their accuracy and consistency. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–35 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreign parent groups’ net outstanding loans to their U.S. affiliates, also referred to as the “debt instruments” position, consist of trade accounts and trade 

notes payable, other current liabilities, and long-term debt owed by the affiliates 

to their foreign parents or other members of their foreign parent groups, net of 

similar items due to the affiliates from their foreign parents or other members of 

their foreign parent groups. 

The debt instruments position includes the value of capital leases and of operating leases of more than 1 year between U.S. affiliates and their foreign parent 

groups. The value of property leased to a U.S. affiliate by its foreign parent group 

is included in affiliates’ payables, and the value of property leased by a U.S. affiliate to the foreign parent group is included in affiliates’ receivables. Under a capital lease, it is assumed that the title to the leased property will be transferred to 

the lessee at the termination of the lease, similar to an installment sale. Operating leases have terms significantly shorter than the expected useful life of the 

tangible property being leased, and the leased property is usually returned to the 

lessor at the termination of the lease. For capital leases, the value of the leased 

property is calculated according to GAAP; under GAAP, the lessee records either 

the present value of the future lease payments or the fair market value, whichever is lower, and the lessor records the present value of future lease receipts. 

For operating leases of more than 1 year, which are carried only on the balance 

sheet of the lessor, the value recorded is the original cost of the leased property 

less the accumulated depreciation. 

For U.S. affiliates that are depository institutions, the foreign direct investment 

position is defined to include only their foreign parents’ equity investment in 

them; this treatment, which was introduced with the position statistics for 2007, 

follows the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments and International Investment 

Position Manual, issued by the International Monetary Fund, which recommends 

that all debt between affiliated depository institutions be removed from direct 

investment and be included in other investment accounts.46 Similarly, the direct 

investment transactions that enter the U.S. international transactions accounts 

for these affiliates exclude all debt investment and associated interest. 

For nonbank U.S. affiliates that are primarily engaged in financial intermediation, the direct investment position and associated direct investment financial 

44. Estimates of the U.S. direct investment position on an asset/liability basis measured at market

value are published each quarter in an article on the U.S. international investment position in the

SURVEY OF CURRENT BUSINESS. In addition, position estimates measured at market value and at current

cost are presented in table 2.1 of BEA’s international investment position tables. For a discussion of

concepts and estimating procedures, see J. Steven Landefeld and Ann M. Lawson, “Valuation of the

U.S. Net International Investment Position,” SURVEY 71 (May 1991): 40–49.

45. The foreign parent group can have debt positions, but not equity positions, in U.S. affiliates

that they indirectly own through another U.S. affiliate.

46. Prior to 2007, permanent debt investment, which was defined as debt investment that was

deemed to represent a lasting interest in the institution, was included in the direct investment position along with equity investment; this treatment was consistent with the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual. All other transactions and positions—mainly claims and liabilities arising

from the parents’ and affiliates’ normal banking business—were excluded from the direct invest- ment accounts and included with other banking claims and liabilities. 

M–36 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

flows exclude intercompany debt transactions.47 This treatment, which was introduced in the U.S. international transactions accounts for 1994, is similar to the 

more recent treatment of debt investment for affiliates that are depository institutions.48 

A foreign parent and its U.S. affiliate may have a two-way financial relationship—each may have debt or equity investment in the other. Thus, a foreign parent may have investment in a U.S. affiliate that, in turn, has investment in the 

parent as a result of the affiliate’s lending funds to or acquiring voting securities 

or other equity interest in the parent. In addition, the other members of the foreign parent group may have debt investment in a U.S. affiliate, and a U.S. affiliate 

may have debt or equity investment in them. In the debt-instruments portion of 

the position, affiliates’ receivables from their foreign parent groups (reverse debt 

investment) are netted against affiliates’ payables to their foreign parent 

groups.49 Equity investment by U.S. affiliates in members of their foreign parent 

groups is included in the U.S. direct investment position abroad if the affiliate’s 

ownership is 10 percent or more and in the “portfolio investment” component of 

U.S. assets if the affiliate’s ownership is less than 10 percent. 

The direct investment position at the end of the year is equal to the position at 

the end of the previous year plus the change in the position during the year (table 8). The change during the year is the sum of direct investment financial transactions (defined below) and valuation adjustments. Valuation adjustments are 

47. For this purpose, a nonbank affiliate that is primarily engaged in financial intermediation is

defined to be an affiliate classified in finance (except depository institutions or insurance) whose

foreign parent (or—in the case of an affiliate whose foreign parent is a holding company—whose

UBO) is either (1) a foreign depository institution or (2) a company in other finance (excluding insur- ance).

48. See the section on “reclassification of intercompany debt and associated interest transactions

with financial intermediaries” in Christopher L. Bach, “U.S. International Transactions: Revised Esti- mates for 1986–97,” SURVEY 78 (July 1998): 52–53.

49. In the extremely rare case in which a U.S. affiliate and its foreign parent own 10 percent or

more of each other, a U.S. affiliate’s debt investment in the foreign parent group is not netted

against the group’s debt investment in it. To avoid double-counting, the foreign parent group’s debt

investment in the affiliate is included in the foreign direct investment position in the United States,

and the affiliate’s debt investment in the foreign parent is included in the U.S. direct investment

position abroad. 

Table 8. Change in the Historical-Cost Foreign Direct Investment Position 

in the United States by Account, 2012 

[Millions of dollars] 

Position at yearend 2011 ....................................................................................................................... 2,047,307 

Change in position ................................................................................................................................. 464,158 

Direct investment financial transactions without current-cost adjustment .......................................... 222,086 

Equity other than reinvestment of earnings .................................................................................... 112,943 

Increases..................................................................................................................................... 170,524 

Decreases ................................................................................................................................... 57,581 

Reinvestment of earnings without current-cost adjustment ............................................................ 78,036 

Debt instruments ............................................................................................................................ 31,107 

Increases in U.S. affiliates’ payables ........................................................................................... 83,779 

Increases in U.S. affiliates’ receivables ....................................................................................... 52,673 

Valuation adjustment .......................................................................................................................... 242,072 

Of which: 

Capital gains and losses, including translation adjustments ....................................................... –1,967 

Position at yearend 2012 ....................................................................................................................... 2,511,464 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–37 
 

 

 

 

 

broadly defined to include all changes in the position other than financial transactions. They primarily reflect differences between the transactions values, 

which are used to record direct investment financial flows, and the book values 

on U.S. affiliates’ books, which are used to record the position and, hence, 

changes in the position. For example, valuation adjustments include differences 

between the sale value and the book value of affiliates that are sold by foreign 

parents and differences between the purchase price and the book value of affiliates that are acquired by foreign parents.50 They also include currency-translation 

adjustments—that is, the gains and losses that arise because of changes in the 

exchange rates used in translating affiliates’ foreign-currency-denominated assets and liabilities into U.S. dollars—and other capital gains and losses, such as 

revaluations of assets that result from mergers and acquisitions. 

Direct investment financial transactions 

Direct investment financial transactions arise from transactions that change 

U.S. affiliate claims (assets) and obligations (liabilities) toward their foreign parents or other members of their foreign parent groups. Direct investment financial 

transactions consist of equity other than reinvestment of earnings, reinvestment 

of earnings, and debt instruments. This section first defines these components 

and then discusses the coverage, measurement, and presentation of direct investment financial transactions. 

Equity other than reinvestment of earnings. Equity other than reinvestment of 

earnings is the net of increases and decreases in foreign parent equity in their 

U.S. affiliates. It excludes changes in equity that result from the reinvestment of 

earnings, which are recorded as a separate component of direct investment financial transactions. Increases in equity other than reinvestment of earnings result from the foreign parents’ establishment of new U.S. affiliates, from initial 

acquisitions of a 10 percent or more ownership interest in existing U.S. business, 

from acquisitions of additional ownership interests in existing U.S. affiliates, and 

from capital contributions to U.S. affiliates. Decreases in equity other than reinvestment of earnings result from liquidations of U.S. affiliates, from partial or total sales of ownership interests in U.S. affiliates, and from the return of capital 

contributions. Decreases also include liquidating dividends, which are a return of 

capital to foreign parents. Decreases in equity other than reinvestment of earnings are netted against increases to derive net transactions in equity other than 

reinvestment of earnings. 

Increases and decreases in equity other than reinvestment of earnings are recorded at transactions values. In most cases, transactions values may be obtained 

from the books of the U.S. affiliates. However, in some cases, such as when a foreign parent purchases or sells capital stock in the affiliate from or to an unaffiliated third party, the transactions value may be obtained only from the parent’s 

50. For the current-price estimates of the foreign direct investment position entered in the U.S.

international investment position, the corresponding adjustments would reflect differences 

between the transactions values and the estimated current values of the affiliates. 

M–38 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

 

books. In addition, transactions values on foreign parents’ books reflect the actual cost of ownership interests in affiliates that are acquired or sold by foreign 

parents, including any premium or discount; such values may differ from the 

book values recorded on the affiliates’ books. 

Reinvestment of earnings. Reinvestment of earnings of U.S. affiliates equals total earnings less distributed earnings. Earnings are foreign parents’ shares in the 

net income of their U.S. affiliates after provision for U.S. income taxes; earnings 

are from the books of the U.S. affiliate.51 A foreign parent’s share in earnings is 

based on its directly held equity interest in the U.S. affiliate. The earnings and reinvestment of earnings estimates in this publication are not adjusted to reflect 

current-period prices because the source data needed to adjust the estimates by 

detailed country and industry are not available. 

Reinvestment of earnings is shown as a separate component of direct investment financial transactions in recognition of the fact that the earnings of a U.S. 

affiliate are income to the foreign parent, and generate an entry in the direct investment income account, whether they are reinvested in the affiliate or remitted to the parent.52 However, because reinvested earnings are not actually 

transferred to the foreign parent but increase the parent’s investment in its affiliate, an entry of equal magnitude, but opposite direction, is made in the direct investment financial account, offsetting the “reinvested earnings” entry made in 

direct investment income payments. 

For incorporated U.S. affiliates, distributed earnings are dividends on common 

and preferred stock held by foreign parents. Distributions can be paid out of current or past earnings. Dividends exclude stock and liquidating dividends. Stock 

dividends are excluded because they are a capitalization of retained earnings—a 

substitution of one type of equity (capital stock) for another (retained earnings); 

they reduce the amount of retained earnings available for distribution but leave 

total owners’ equity unchanged. Thus, stock dividends do not give rise to entries 

in the international transactions accounts.53 Liquidating dividends are excluded 

because they are a return of capital rather than a remittance of earnings (liquidating dividends are included as decreases in equity in the direct investment financial transactions). For unincorporated affiliates, distributed earnings are 

earnings distributed to foreign parents out of current or past earnings. 

Distributed earnings, like total earnings, are based on the books of the U.S. affiliate. Because they are on an accrual basis, they are reported as of the date that 

they are either paid to foreign parents or entered into intercompany accounts 

with the foreign parents. Distributed earnings are included whether they are paid 

in cash, through debt creation, or in kind. 

51. As discussed in the next section, “Direct investment income,” earnings exclude capital gains

and losses, whether or not such gains and losses are included in net income for income statement 

purposes.

52. See the next section, “Direct investment income.” 

53. “Stock dividends” are used here to refer to essentially the same concept that is discussed in

IMF, Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, 6th ed. (see footnote 11)

under the heading of “bonus shares.” BEA has retained its terminology because it conforms to what

U.S. firms understand by the term “stock dividends.” 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–39 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Debt instruments. Debt instrument transactions result from changes during 

the year in net outstanding loans between foreign parents (or other members of 

the foreign parent group) and their U.S. affiliates, including loans by foreign parent group members to affiliates and loans by affiliates to foreign parent group 

members. The change for a given period is derived by subtracting the U.S. affiliate’s net outstanding debt balance with its foreign parent group (that is, affiliate 

payables less affiliate receivables) at the end of the previous period from the net 

outstanding balance at the end of the current period. 

When a member of a foreign parent group lends funds to a U.S. affiliate, the 

balance of the affiliate’s payables (amounts owed) to the foreign parent group increases; subsequently, when the affiliate repays the principal owed to a member 

of the foreign parent group, the balance of the affiliate’s payables to the group is 

reduced. Similarly, when a member of the foreign parent group borrows funds 

from a U.S. affiliate, the balance of the affiliate’s receivables (amounts due) from 

the group increases; subsequently, when the member of the group repays the 

principal owed to the affiliate, the balance of the affiliate’s receivables from the 

group is reduced.54 

Increases in U.S. affiliates’ payables to or reductions in U.S. affiliates’ receivables from their foreign parent groups result in increases in U.S. affiliates’ net liabilities and give rise to inflows in debt instruments. Reductions in U.S. affiliates’ 

payables to or increases in U.S. affiliates’ receivables from their foreign parent 

groups result in decreases in U.S. affiliates’ net liabilities and give rise to outflows 

in debt instruments. 

Not all debt instrument transactions reflect actual flows of funds. For example, 

when distributed earnings or interest from a U.S. affiliate accrue to a foreign parent group, the full amount is included as an income payment on foreign direct investment in the United States. If part of that amount is not actually transferred to 

the foreign parent group, the amount not transferred is entered into debt instruments as an increase in the U.S. affiliate’s payables to its foreign parent group. 

Transactions in debt instruments include changes in the value of capital—or financial—leases and operating leases of more than 1 year between foreign parent 

groups and their U.S. affiliates. When property is leased by a U.S. affiliate from its 

foreign parent group, the value of the leased property is recorded as a liability of 

the U.S. affiliate because it increases its payables (a debt instruments inflow). The 

subsequent payment of principal on a capital lease, or the component of payments under an operating lease that reflects depreciation, is a return of capital 

and is recorded as a reduction in the U.S. affiliate’s liabilities because it reduces 

its payables (a debt instruments outflow). Similarly, when property is leased by a 

U.S. affiliate to its foreign parent group, the value of the leased property is recorded as an asset of the U.S. affiliate because it increases its receivables (a debt 

instruments outflow). The subsequent payment of principal on a capital lease, or 

54. Following the recommendations in IMF, Balance of Payments and International Investment 

Position Manual, 6th ed., all debt transactions between affiliated bank or finance companies

(excluding insurance companies) are excluded from intercompany debt inflows. 

M–40 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

the component of payments on an operating lease that reflects depreciation, is a 

return of capital and is recorded as a reduction in the U.S. affiliate’s assets because it reduces its receivables (a debt instruments inflow). 

Coverage, measurement, and presentation. Equity and debt instrument investment mainly result from transactions between foreign parents (or, in the case of 

debt instrument investment, other foreign parent group members) and their U.S. 

affiliates. However, some investment may result from transactions between foreign parents and unaffiliated U.S. persons; for example, direct investment equity 

investment results from a transaction between a foreign parent and an unaffiliated U.S. person when the parent purchases an affiliate’s capital stock from the 

unaffiliated person. 

In general, direct investment financial transactions exclude financing among 

members of a foreign parent group or between the members of the group and 

other foreigners, because foreign-to-foreign transactions are not international 

transactions of the United States. Thus, if a foreign parent purchases additional 

capital stock in a U.S. affiliate from another foreign person, the foreign parent’s 

ownership interest in the U.S. affiliate will increase, but no equity investment is 

recorded, because the transaction occurs entirely outside the United States. In 

addition, there is no net increase in foreign claims on the United States; instead, 

the foreign parent’s claims have merely been substituted for the claims of the 

other foreign person.55 

However, if the foreign parent’s original interest only represented a less-than10-percent investment interest and if the combined interests qualify as a direct 

investment as a result of the purchase of an additional interest, a direct investment financial inflow equal to the value of the additional interest is recorded. In 

addition, a valuation adjustment is made to the direct investment position to 

bring the original interest into the position. If a foreign parent’s interest in an affiliate falls below 10 percent, a direct investment financial outflow is recorded 

and a valuation adjustment is made to extinguish the remaining direct investment interest. (In both cases, offsetting adjustments would be made to the “equity and investment fund shares” component of U.S. portfolio investment 

liabilities, so that the reclassification would not affect the overall U.S. international investment position.) 

Equity and debt instrument investment can be disaggregated into several subaccounts. Equity other than reinvestment of earnings, which is recorded as a net 

amount, can be disaggregated to show increases and decreases in equity. Debt 

instrument transactions are disaggregated to show both the flows resulting from 

changes in U.S. affiliates’ payables and the flows resulting from changes in U.S. affiliates’ receivables. Certain transactions may affect two or more of these subaccounts simultaneously and by offsetting amounts. Such transactions are “grossed 

up;” that is, the inflows and the offsetting outflows are recorded in the affected 

55. If this exchange involves more than one country, offsetting valuation adjustments are made to

the direct investment position, reducing the position of the seller’s country and increasing the posi- tion of the purchaser’s country. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–41 
 

 

 

 

subaccounts rather than being netted to zero and not recorded in any subaccount. However, because such gross flows are offsetting, they have no effect on 

net financial transactions. For example, the capitalization of debt instruments, 

which brings about a decrease in debt instrument investment (an outflow) and 

an offsetting increase in equity investment (an inflow), results in gross, but not 

net, transactions. 

Direct investment income 

Direct investment income is the return on the foreign direct investment position in the United States; that is, it is the foreign parents’ return on their equity 

and debt investments in their U.S. affiliates plus the return of other members of 

the foreign parent groups on their debt investments in their U.S. affiliates. Direct 

investment income consists of earnings (that is, the foreign parent share in the 

net income of their U.S. affiliates) plus interest on intercompany accounts of U.S. 

affiliates with their foreign parent groups (interest is defined as the interest paid 

by U.S. affiliates to their foreign parent groups net of the interest received by U.S. 

affiliates from their foreign parent groups). Earnings are the foreign parents’ return on their equity investment, and interest is the foreign parent groups’ return 

on their debt investment in U.S. affiliates. Table 9 shows direct investment income and the relationships among its components for all U.S. affiliates from the 

2012 benchmark survey. 

Table 9. Direct Investment Income and Its Components 

Direct investment income ...................................................................................................................... 155,570 

Income on equity ............................................................................................................................... 133,689 

Dividends and withdrawals ............................................................................................................. 55,654 

Reinvested earnings ....................................................................................................................... 78,036 

Interest ............................................................................................................................................... 21,881 

U.S. affiliates’ payments ................................................................................................................. 24,637 

U.S. affiliates’ receipts .................................................................................................................... 2,756 

Direct investment income is reported as accrued. Direct investment income 

and earnings exclude currency-translation adjustments and other capital gains 

and losses, whether or not such gains and losses are included in net income for 

income statement purposes. This treatment is intended to make income and 

earnings correspond more closely to the current operating performance of affiliates as recommended by international guidelines for the compilation of balanceof-payments accounts. 

Direct investment income is measured before deduction (that is, gross) of all 

U.S. and foreign withholding taxes.56 This treatment views taxes as being levied 

upon the recipient of the distributed earnings or interest and thus as being paid 

56. Withholding taxes are taxes withheld at the source on income or other funds that are distributed or remitted. 

M–42 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

 

 

 

 

across borders, even though, as an administrative convenience, the taxes actually 

were paid by the firm whose disbursements gave rise to them. Thus, U.S. withholding taxes on dividends and withdrawals and on interest received by the foreign parent group are recorded as if they were paid by the foreign parent group, 

not by the U.S. affiliate. Similarly, foreign withholding taxes on interest payments 

by the foreign parent group are recorded as if they were paid by the U.S. affiliate, 

not by the foreign parent group. Counterentries for these taxes are made in the 

U.S. international transactions accounts under “secondary income (current transfer) payments and receipts.” 

Income on equity. Direct investment income on equity represents the foreign 

parents’ shares in the net income of their U.S. affiliates, after provision for income taxes. A parent’s share in net income is based on its directly held equity interest in the affiliate; a parent’s directly held debt in the affiliate is not considered 

in determining the parent’s share because debt is not an indication of ownership. 

The two major components of direct investment income on equity are dividends 

and withdrawals and reinvested earnings. 

Dividends and withdrawals are distributed earnings allocated to the owners of 

a business for placing funds at the disposal of the business. For incorporated affiliates, they represent the payment of dividends to the owners of equity; they 

are the returns to the shareholders or owners. In addition to dividends from corporations, withdrawals from unincorporated affiliates are included in income on 

equity. From an economic point of view, the withdrawal of such income is equivalent to the distribution of corporate income through dividends. 

Reinvestment of earnings is the earnings that remain after distributions have 

been made to the owners of the U.S. affiliate. They represent the net savings of 

the affiliate in the period. Because reinvested earnings, or net savings, represent 

an addition to the owners’ capital, an offsetting entry of equal magnitude is 

made in the direct investment component of the financial account. The offsetting 

entry is presented as reinvestment of earnings and is listed separately along with 

other transactions in equity and debt instruments as components of the owners’ 

investment in the enterprise. 

Interest. Interest is recorded on a net basis as interest paid or credited to foreign parents and other members of the foreign parent groups on debt owed to 

them by U.S. affiliates less interest received from, or credited by, foreign parents 

and other members of the foreign parent groups on debt owed by them to U.S. 

affiliates.57 Interest receipts are netted against interest payments because in the 

57. For U.S. affiliates that are depository institutions (commercial banks, savings and loan institutions, and credit unions) and for nonbank affiliates that are primarily engaged in financial intermediation, all interest on intercompany debt is excluded from direct investment income payments.

The treatment of interest for these affiliates parallels the treatment of their debt transactions with

their foreign parent groups, as described in the section “Foreign direct investment position in the

United States.” 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey M–43 
 

 

 

 

 

debt instruments component of the direct investment position, debt owed by 

foreign parent groups to U.S. affiliates is netted against debt owed by U.S. affiliates to foreign parent groups. Like other components of direct investment income, interest is reported as accrued. It includes interest paid through debt 

creation or in kind as well as interest paid in cash. 

Interest includes net interest payments on capital leases between U.S. affiliates and their foreign parent groups because the outstanding capitalized value of 

such leases is included in the debt instruments component of the direct investment position.58 

58. Although the value of operating leases of more than 1 year is also included in the intercompany debt position, payments of net rent (which covers interest, administrative expenses, and

profit) on such leases are recorded as charges for the use of tangible property (part of the direct

investment “other private services” account) rather than as interest. 

M–44 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey 
 

General Notes to the Tables
 

●	 A “U.S. affiliate” is a U.S. business enterprise in which a single foreign person owns or controls, directly or indirectly, 10 percent or more of the voting 

securities if the enterprise is incorporated or an equivalent interest if the 

enterprise is unincorporated. “Person” is broadly defined to include any 

individual, corporation, branch, partnership, associated group, association, 

estate, trust, or other organization and any government (including any corporation, institution, or other entity or instrumentality of government). A 

“foreign” person is any person resident outside the United States—that is, 

outside the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

Puerto Rico, and all U.S. territories and possessions. 

●	 A “majority-owned U.S. affiliate” is a U.S. affiliate that is owned more than 

50 percent by foreign direct investors. 

●	 A “foreign parent” is the first person outside the United States in a U.S. affiliate’s ownership chain that has a direct investment interest in the affiliate. 

●	 An “ultimate beneficial owner” (UBO) is that person, proceeding up a U.S. 

affiliate’s ownership chain, beginning with and including the foreign parent, 

that is not owned more than 50 percent by another person. 

●	 A “foreign parent group” consists of (1) the foreign parent, (2) any foreign 

person, proceeding up the foreign parent’s ownership chain, that owns 

more than 50 percent of the person below it, up to and including the UBO, 

and (3) any foreign person, proceeding down the ownership chain(s) of 

each of these members, that is owned more than 50 percent by the person 

above it. 

●	 The statistics in this report cover the universe of U.S. affiliates of foreign 

multinational enterprises. The one exception is number counts of U.S. affiliates, which cover affiliates with total assets, sales, or net income (or loss) 

greater than $20 million. 

●	 The statistics are on a fiscal-year basis. The fiscal year of an affiliate is 

defined as the financial reporting year that ended in the calendar year. 

Unless otherwise specified, all balances are as of the close of fiscal year 

2012. 

●	 To ascertain the subindustries in an industry grouping, see tables I.A 2 and 

II.A 2. 

●	 To ascertain the countries in a geographical area, see tables I.A 3 and II.A 3. 

●	 The European Union (27) comprises Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the 

Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, 

Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the 

United Kingdom. 

FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey	 M–45 
 

 

●	 OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Its members are 

Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. 

●	 The “United Kingdom Islands, Caribbean” includes British Virgin Islands, 

Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands. 

●	 In the tables in which the data are disaggregated by state, “other U.S. areas” 

consists of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. offshore oil 

and gas sites, and all other outlying U.S. areas; the “foreign” category consists of the employees of U.S. affiliates working abroad for more than 1 

year. 

●	 In the tables in which the data are disaggregated by the industry of the ultimate beneficial owner, the industry “government and government-related 

entities” consists of foreign governments, government-owned or government-sponsored agencies, quasi-government organizations, and government-run pension funds. 

●	 An asterisk “(*)” indicates a nonzero value between –$500,000 and 

$500,000 or fewer than 50 employees. 

●	 Detail may not add to the total, because of rounding. 

●	 A “(D)” indicates that the data have been suppressed to avoid the disclosure 

of data of individual companies. For employment cells that have been suppressed, a letter in the data cell indicates an employment size range; the 

ranges are indicated at the bottom of the tables. 

●	 See the footnotes following the last table. 

M–46 FDIUS: Final Results From the 2012 Benchmark Survey