17/05/05

MOFCOM / WAIPA Workshop for African IPAs, from 23 May to 13 June 2005, Beijing, China

The workshop for African Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) will be held from May 23 to June 13, 2005 in Beijing, China, with a view to further promoting the development of international investment cause, strengthening the cooperation between Chinese and African investment promotion agencies and facilitating Sino-African joint development on investment collaboration. This workshop consists of 25 members, and is jointly held by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM) and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA). The contents of the workshop consist of training topics such as "China Investment Promotion Agencies and System" and "China-Africa Economy and Trade Cooperating Status and Prospect". During the program, participants will travel to cities such as Shanghai, for a study tour and to hold informal discussions with local IPAs. All the trainees will have the opportunity to observe large-scale investment promotion activities in China, visit the economic technological development zones, and publicize their respective investment climate and major investment projects.

For registration and further request, please contact: Mrs. Diliber and Mrs. Li Jing Miao, at:
Tel. +86 10 85226553 or +86 10 85226555,
Fax: +86 10 85 22 65 16,
E-mail: Diliber@fdi.gov.cn or lijingmiao@fdi.gov.cn

UNCTAD International Seminar : "Global Players from Emerging Markets: Brazil", 30 May 2005, São Paulo, Brazil

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from emerging markets is playing an increasing role in enhancing the competitiveness of emerging markets' firms and their integration into the global economy. It helps strengthen firms' competitiveness by providing access to strategic assets, technology, skills, natural resources and markets, and in improving their efficiency. The internationalization provides greater opportunities for South-South cooperation, as the bulk of the investment goes to other developing countries. More emerging markets are now paying closer attention in addressing their enterprise competitiveness through OFDI. In this regard, there is a need to exchange experience among them to analyze the impact of OFDI on corporate competitiveness and economic development, and to help emerging markets' governments formulate an appropriate framework to benefit from this phenomenon.
Against this background, Fundacão Dom Cabral of Brazil, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade of Brazil are jointly organising the above seminar to promote exchange of experiences among policy makers, executives and entrepreneurs on best Brazilian and international practices. Policy alternatives and support measures for enhancing the competitiveness of Brazilian enterprises, through outward FDI, will be discussed. Approximately 200 participants are expected to participate. More than half of them are expected to be from the corporate sector (including both large Brazilian firms and SMEs), many of them major global players.
The seminar has the following objectives:
• to document the extent of OFDI from developing countries, analyze its drivers and trends as well as its impact on enterprise competitiveness and economic development. Country cases such as China and Singapore will be presented;
• to identify and discuss policy options to strengthen Brazil's enabling framework for OFDI and to enhance the international competitiveness of its enterprises through such investment;
• to launch a project on "Global Players" from developing countries, to promote exchange of information and best practices through a network of companies under internationalization process; and
• to raise awareness of the public and private sector, and the Brazilian society on the interrelationship between OFDI from emerging markets and enterprise development and competitiveness.

For further information, please conctact: M. Kee Hwee Wee, UNCTAD, DITE, email: kee.hwee.wee@unctad.org

The Arab Academy 12th Annual International Conference, 29-31 May 2005, Amman, Jordan

The Arab Academy 12th Annual International Conference will examine the topic of "The Role of Banks, Financial and Economic Institutions in Promoting and Financing the Small and Medium Enterprises" on May 29-31, 2005 at Le Royal Hotel, Amman – The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The conference will discuss the main financial and economic issues faced by SMEs in the Arab countries and worldwide. The focus will be on the value-added by SMEs, their problems and prospects, with emphasis on promotion and financing. In response to the interests of the participants, sessions and paper presentations address the following issues: Arab, regional and international awareness of the significance of SMEs, the Government role in SME development, NGO's support of SMEs, the major roles played by banks and credit guarantee companies in SME financing, the rich experiences of SME promotion and finance in the Arab world and internationally, the role of incubators and business parks in SME promotion, the role of business women entrepreneurs in SME establishment and operation, the importance of human resources and entrepreneurship development. More than 50 Arab and global leaders and professional personalities, who are well-known for their significant contributions to the field of SMEs, will participate. Through constructive dialogue and open discussion, common orientations will be formulated and a set of recommendations will be drafted.
To know more about conference activities and register, please see:
www.aabfs.org/EB/Conf/Enhome.asp

The Carthage Investment Forum, 16-17 June 2005, Tunis, Tunisia

In organizing the 7th edition of the Carthage Investment Forum, the objective of the Ministry of Development and International Cooperation and FIPA Tunisia, is to better acquaint Tunisia's investment environment and its business opportunities, to worldwide investors.
This Forum will allow potential investors to be more informed about Tunisia's economic performance and its foreign investment trends, to have data on large projects planned for the coming years as investment opportunities and to assess the experience of foreign companies already operating in Tunisia. Foreign corporations having investment programs and seeking appropriate sites, Tunisian and foreign financial and economic institutions and organizations supporting direct investment and people involved in investment and foreign investment in particular (consultants, experts) are expected to attend the event. The programme of the forum consists of plenary sessions with presentations on the Tunisian economy - on the role of the private sector, the investment environment and opportunities in Tunisia and testimonies from foreign companies operating in Tunisia - and in sector-specific workshops led by senior officials from the Tunisian administration on such industries as electronic, mechanical, automotive components, information technologies, agriculture, food, packaging, pharmaceuticals, plastic, rubber, chemicals, textiles, garments, leather, shoes and tourism, as well as success stories presented by foreign companies operating in Tunisia.

Registration and participation in the Forum are free of charge.

For further information please see: http://www.investintunisia.com

UNCTAD / WAIPA Training Workshop on IPA Policy Advocacy, 11 to 13 July 2005, Nairobi, Kenya

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) are organizing a training workshop on Policy Advocacy for IPAs from Africa, to be held on 11 to 13 July 2005, at the Fairview Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. This workshop is a component of a project executed by UNCTAD, and sponsored by the United Nations Development Account. The objective of the workshop is to familiarize investment promotion professionals with the basic concepts of policy advocacy, the tools that IPAs can apply to advocate for changes in investment laws, regulations and policies and the strategic deployment of those tools to effect changes in the investment environment. The workshop begins with an introduction to understanding how policy is made within a country, then discusses how an IPA can systematically collect and organize feedback concerning the policy environment from its investor clientele, and finally examines how IPAs can use their unique position to effect positive changes in the policy environment. The workshop is structured in a way that would enable participants to develop a policy advocacy strategy for their IPA at the end of the training course. The workshop curriculum addresses mainly IPA managers and senior officials involved in policy advocacy, including senior staff of the IPA’s executive office, spokespersons and external relations officers. UNCTAD staff members and consultants will conduct this three-day workshop.

Participation at the UNCTAD/WAIPA workshop is free of charge, but each participant will be expected to cover his/her own travel and hotel expenses. A sponsorship is, however, available for IPAs from the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), covering direct economy class airfare to and from Nairobi and four (4) days per diem (at the prevailing UN rate for Nairobi) to cover lodging and meals.

Further information shall be posted shortly on the WAIPA website. Registration forms, including for the sponsorship, are available from the WAIPA Secretariat: Fax: +41-22-907-0197, E-mail: Isa-Beatrice.Abel@unctad.org

Corrigendum
La Baule World Investment Conference
In our last WAIPA Mailing, published the 2nd of May 2005, we communicated that La Baule World Investment Conference shall be held in La Baule city on the western coast of France. Confusion has been made regarding the date of the event and the web link. The correct date is from 30 June to 1 July 2005 (instead of 29-30 June 2005) and the correct Internet address is: http://www.labaule2005.org WAIPA regrets any confusion that may have occurred.