Country analysis of outward direct investment (FO) return

Details about the country analysis of outward direct investment (form FO) return including deadlines, instructions, and contact details.

Key facts

Data to be reported:

Geographical breakdown of in non-resident subsidiaries and associates.

Who has to report:

Discretionary based on the level of direct investment abroad

Check who needs to submit returns

Data uses:
Frequency:

Quarterly

Coverage: Go to reporting criteria to find detailed calculations used to determine eligibility

Deadlines

Firms need to report figures as at the last calendar day of the reporting period.

Go to reporting criteria to download deadlines for all returns for all available years.

Reporting period Reporters impacted Deadline
(5pm UK time)
Concessionary deadline
(5pm UK time)

Deadlines for 2026 will be released in October 2025.

 

Instructions

Overview of reported data

This return captures reporting institutions’ inward foreign direct investment. It includes breakdowns by:

  • equity type – quoted, unquoted 
  • geographic residence of non-resident head office, parent, or company holding an associate interest
  • investment and reverse investment

In every return firms also need to include:

  • their company name
  • their legal entity identifier (LEI) or firm reference number (FRN)
  • the first day of the reporting period
  • the last day of the reporting period

Core documents

You can find detailed instructions in the documents below. 

Country analysis of outward direct investment (FO) specific documents

Document

Notes for FO reporters Last updated
BoE statistics data point model (DPM) 1.3.0 (ZIP)

A folder containing two documents for defining all statistical reporting: annotated templates and a data dictionary

The Table of Contents worksheet in the annotated templates shows reporting templates relating to form FO

24 Oct 2022
FO definitions (PDF)
Includes details of what’s in scope and definitions of FO specific terms 1 Feb 2015
BoE statistics validations 1.3.0 (XLSX)

Business validations for cross-checking data points within form FO and the suite of other statistical returns

View column O for a clearly worded description

24 Oct 2022

All statistical returns

Document Notes for all reporters Last updated
Classification of accounts guide (PDF)
Includes detailed guidance on how to classify counterparties plus country lists 24 Apr 2024
General notes and definitions (PDF) Includes an introduction to preparing returns and definitions of common terms 24 Apr 2024

Box codes and related documents

These documents were used as part of a previous reporting method (XML) and are no longer applicable to XBRL reporting. They are still available to help firms as we transition to the new ways of working.

This page was last updated 25 November 2024