02/05/05

MENA-OECD Investment Steering Group Meeting held on 4 April 2005

The MENA-OECD Investment Programme seeks to mobilize investment—foreign, regional and domestic—as a driving force for growth, stability and prosperity throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This programme is part of the MENA-OECD Initiative on Governance and Investment for Development which was approved by the OECD Council on 10 November 2004. The MENA-OECD Investment Steering Group meeting, which took place on 4 April 2004 in OECD Headquarters, provided further guidance on the next steps up to the MENA Investment Ministerial meeting tentatively scheduled for November 2005, discussed the draft guidance on Country Teams and the National Investment Reform Agenda in the light of two country presentations (Egypt and Bahrain) and elaborated on the funding situation and a communications strategy.
The biggest challenge for MENA countries lies in strengthening the process of change, maintaining, supporting and tracking the progress of policy implementation as well as providing capacity-building assistance. The programme aims to help upgrade investment policy standards, attract more and better investment and support capacities for policy makers in the MENA region.

For further information, please see: http://www.oecd.org

La Baule World Investment Conference, 29-30 June 2005, La Baule city, France

The 2005 edition is focused on the theme: From Knowledge to Value. Every year, La Baule conference is opened by high-level official. In 2005, with Japan as the special guest country, H.E. Mr. Koizumi, the Prime Minister of Japan, will give the official opening address.
La Baule is a platform to bring together everyone who has an interest in the attractiveness and competitiveness of Europe - business executives as well as specialists, such as regional and national development agencies and representatives of EU member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament - to consider the issues involved and contribute to the development of national and EU strategies for the implementation of the Lisbon agenda. Once a year, during La Baule Conference, some 700 high-level international leaders meet and exchange views, experiences and good practices in order to achieve tangible results by reaching functional answers and decisions on win/win projects in the field. The conference is held in La Baule city in France Atlantique on the western coast of France.

For more information, please see: http://www.world-investment-conference.com

FIFTA of Mongolia, Launches New Information Web Site

Following a joint project with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Mongolia's investment promotion agency, the Foreign Investment and Foreign Trade Agency (FIFTA), has launched a Web site featuring updated sector profiles that highlight investment opportunities, information on the costs and conditions as well as the economic and legal environment in the country. Investors can obtain an application for establishing a company and subscribe to an e-newsletter to keep them abreast of news and events in the country. The work on the Web site was funded in part through a grant by the Development Gateway Foundation.
For more information, please see: http://www.investmongolia.com
Information available on: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/fdi

Reminder: Call for Papers, API – Coimbra University, Portugal: Foreign Direct Investment Prize

On the 11th of July 2003, the API – Coimbra University Foreign Direct Investment Prize was created under the auspices of a Cooperation Protocol signed between the Invest in Portugal Agency (API) and the University of Coimbra. It is aimed at rewarding papers on the theme of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the scope of Engineering, Sciences, Law and Economics, amongst others. The Prize is sponsored by BARCLAYS Bank, with a pecuniary value of 15.000€. The first edition of the Prize will take place during the ongoing year, with papers to be submitted between the 30th of April and 30th of October 2005. The jury is composed by a representative from the University of Coimbra, a representative from API – Invest in Portugal Agency and a personality of recognized merit to be invited by the previous two entities.

For further information please consult the Prize Regulations at: www.investinportugal.pt

Publications

JETRO Releases the Results of its Annual Survey of Foreign-affiliated Firms in Japan

According to the results of this survey carried out by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the majority of foreign-affiliated companies view the Japanese market favorably, and more than half of the respondents plan to expand their operations in Japan. This is one of the major findings of the survey reported in a news release by JETRO in April 2005.
As of September 2004, foreign-affiliated firms employed some 1.02 million workers in Japan, according to JETRO research. This figure represents only 2.4% of Japan’s total permanent workforce and is well behind that of other developed countries such as the US (5.5%) and Germany (5.4%). However, more foreign-affiliated firms are viewing Japan as a “gateway” to other markets in Asia, according to the survey report, which revealed that 20.1% of respondents decided to invest in Japan in order to establish a foothold in Asia for entering other markets in the region. Among these firms, 38% feel that conditions for Japan to serve as such a gateway have improved since they entered the Japanese market, while only 11.3% feel conditions in this respect have worsened.

For more information about the attitudes of foreign-affiliates in Japan, please contact:
Economic Research Department: http://www.jetro.go.jp
Information available on: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/fdi

Global Financial Stability IMF Report 2005, Market Developments and Issues, April 2005

This report published by the International Monetary Fund in April 2005 provides assessments of global financial markets and addresses emerging market financing in a global context. Chapter II of the report provides the latest trends and developments in emerging market financing.

For further information, please see: http://www.imf.org
Information available on: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/fdi

UNCTAD "International Investment Agreements: Key Issues", Volume I is published

This tree-set volume brings together the series of papers published by UNCTAD on key issues in international investment agreements. The series seeks to help developing countries to participate as effectively as possible in international investment rule making at the bilateral, regional, plurilateral and multilateral levels. Addressed to Government officials, corporate executives, representatives of non-governmental organizations, officials of international agencies and researchers, the series provides a balanced analysis of issues that may arise in discussions about, and negotiations of, international investment agreements.

For further information, please see: http://www.unctad.org