With the reduction in official and market interest rates, investment abroad increased; owing to the less favourable outlook for profits, inward investment tended to slow down. In 1997 there was still a net inflow of 7 trillion lire, but in 1998 there was a net outflow of 18 trillion lire.
The proportion of foreign securities in Italians’ investment portfolios is still smaller than in other countries. The process of diversification is bound to continue. The volume of listed shares in the Italian market is comparatively small.