03/01/2010

Important Notice to Members

The WAIPA Directorship for South America, of ProsperAr, Argentina, was selected to host the XVth WAIPA World Investment Conference (WIC10 - Buenos Aires). The chosen theme being "Sustainable Growth and Investment: Drafting a Plan for Action".

The Conference will be held from May 12th through May 14th. A "Save the Date" e-mail shall soon follow. A preliminary programme shall soon be available. The Permanent Secreriat - in anticipation of the General Assembly portion of WIC10 Bs. As. - wishes to once more encourage Members to familiarize with the WAIPA Statutes.  Important rules regarding the overall institutional framework of our Association, Regional Directorships are readily obtainable simply by reading the document.

Effective as of January 1st, 2010, the WAIPA Statutes have been conspicuously displayed for consultation.  The text is - to a large extent -  self-explanatory.  Should you however feel the need for assistance, please do not hesitate  to  promptly contact us in Geneva. 

Take a moment to familiarize with the Waipa Statutes.

Upcoming Events

WAIPA Events

The Dubai Foreign Investment Office with the support of the Department of Economic Development of Dubai is diligently working to organize and host on March 21st and 22nd, 2010, a Regional Meeting for the WAIPA MENA Chapter. The aim of the meeting is to provide for WAIPA Members in the Middle East and North Africa an opportunity to hear from fellow IPAs on matters such as IPAs and Policy Reform, IPAs and the Challenge of Overcoming Social & Cultural Barriers to FDI as well as IPAs and Availability of Data and the Problems of Gathering and Treating Information. A preliminary tentative program will soon be made available through an e-mail distribution with a link for on-line registration. . Meanwhile please visit www.dubaided.gov.ae or www.waipa.org for updates.

Invest in the DR, CEI-RD is organizing, along with PROESA, which holds the WAIPA Regional Directorship for the region a 2nd WAIPA Regional Meeting for Central America and the Caribbean. The event follows a 1st meeting of the Central America and Caribbean WAIPA Chapter which took place in San Salvador, El Salvador, late April, 2009. The topic for this WAIPA Regional Meeting is Investments in Infrastructure. A preliminary tentative program should soon be made available – by E-Mail distribution - to WAIPA Members generally and, in particular, for Member IPAs from the region. Members are however encouraged to check www.waipa.org for updates.

This second Regional Meeting for European IPAs is being organized by Invest in Spain, which holds the WAIPA Regional Directorship for the EU. The event should have an institutional portion in the afternoon and a training portion to be held in the morning of April 12th. The topic for this WAIPA Regional Meeting is Competitiveness and FDI in the EU. The event will take at the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade (Paseo de la Castellana 160). Attendance must be confirmed with Mr. Oscar Alvarez through the e-mail address oalvarez@investinspain.org. Please click here for the draft program.

In line with the initiatives already taken by other Regional Chapters of WAIPA, Cameroon Investment Promotion Agency will be hosting a WAIPA Africa Meeting in the format of a Regional Investment Conference, Yaoundé, Cameroon, on the 14th, 15th and 16th of April. Members from outside of the African region are welcome to attend as well. For registrations please click here. Please download the preliminary program.

For all other enquiries please e-mail yaounde@waipa.org.

Other Events

UNCTAD Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission April 26 – 30, 2010, Geneva, Switzerland

The second session of the Investment, Enterprise and Development Commission of UNCTAD will be held from 26 to 30 April 2010. This year’s session will address two main themes: (a) “Investment in the agricultural sector with a view to building productive capacities”, and (ii) “The role of States: efficiency in public investment for development – sharing best practices”.

For enquiries, please contact +41-22- 917 5751 or e-mail alexandre.dabbou@unctad.org.

Private Participation in Infrastructure Development and Finance International Law Institute Seminar – ILI August 23 – September 3, 2010, Washington D.C., U.S.

The seminar aims to provide participants with training in the design, negotiation, and financing of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure. This ILI seminar may also be of use to government officials. It should utilize case studies and mock negotiation to raise attention to critical issues in funding Public Private Partnerships. For information, please visit www.ili.org , contact ILI at +1-202-247-6006.

World Investment Forum II - UNCTAD September 6-9, 2010, Xiamen City, China

As a follow-on to the first World Investment Forum, which was held in Accra, Ghana, april of 2008, UNCTAD will be holding its second World Investment Forum during the China International Fair for Investment and Trade -CIFIT. The Forum’s Title “Investment For a Sustainable Development” already anticipates a discussion of ever greater relevance as the world advances towards a low-carbon society. The shift in paradigms governments and corporations will face as they tailor policies and investment strategies that adapt to these imperatives will be examined thoroughly in the Three-Day UNCTAD Forum.

For complete details and for early registration please visit www.unctad-worldinvestmentforum.org.

Publications and Others

Handbook for Promoting Foreign Direct Investment in Medium Size, Low-budget Cities in Emerging Markets

The Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), a project of the Earth Institute of Columbia University has recently published - along with the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC) a Handbook that seeks to assist medium-size, low-budget cities in creating their own capacity for investment promotion. Dr. Karl P. Sauvant, Co-Director of the MCI program and Executive Director of the VCC, observes that “Since all investment is, in the end, local, cities need their own investment promotion capacities.”

The handbook is aimed at small to medium sized cities in Africa, as well as in other emerging markets with little experience in attracting FDI and which are establishing an IPA for the first time.
The Investment Promotion Handbook is available on-line for download, free of charge.

Harnessing Globalization – the Promotion of Non-Traditional Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America Harnessing Globalization – the Promotion of Non-Traditional Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America

With this book, Roy Nelson, Professor or International Studies at Thunderbird School of Global Management Business addresses how governments can “harness globalization” to advance their own economic development. Focus is given on non-tradition forms of the high-technology and services sectors. Specific efforts of three different Latin American countries were compared and the author’s view on the relative success or failure of each of them was analyzed. The book was published by the Pennsylvania State University Press.

If you should not be able to easily obtain a copy, kindly e-mail the WAIPA Permanent Secretariat at info@waipa.org.

FDI from China, India and RSA into SSA

Authored by John Henley, Professor of International Management at the University of Edinburgh Business School, Mithat Kulur, Chief of the Investment Promotion Unit at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNIDO, et all, the article previewed examines Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI) from China, India and South Africa into Sub-Saharan Africa against a Theory of FDI, drawing comparisons and distinctions with North-based OFDI. A comparison of the characteristics and growth patterns of these South-based outflows into Sub-Saharan Africa, the respective stock and preferred sectors and destination of their investments is also covered.

Please click here for a preview of the article.