01/12/04

UNCTAD helps Bosnia and Herzegovina take steps towards developing a national 'Investment Promotion Strategy'

Within the framework of its ongoing technical cooperation project with the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the area of foreign direct investment promotion (FDI), UNCTAD has on 10 November 2004, successfully organized in Sarajevo, a high-level meeting to present its new Investment Promotion Strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina advisory report. The meeting was co-organized with the BiH's Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) who is UNCTAD's main project counterpart. The advisory report aims to assess BiH's potentials for attracting FDI and offers sector-specific strategies for targeting foreign investors. The UNCTAD delegation was led by Mr. Karl Sauvant, Director, Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development (DITE), and consisted of Mrs. Nazha Benabbes Taarji, Chief, Investment Promotion Section, Mr. Marko Stanovic, Regional Coordinator for Central and Eastern European countries and Mr. Charles Kovacs, UNCTAD consultant. The workshop was opened by BiH's Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), Mr. Adnan Terzic, and was attended by senior-level BiH government officials from the Federation of BiH and Republic of Srpska, including representatives of international and multilateral organizations present in Sarajevo.
One of the meeting highlights included the suggestion made by the representatives of the BiH government to establish a working group at the highest level of the government to further study recommendations made in the advisory report with a view to elaborating a national roadmap FDI promotion strategy. If implemented, this would be the first such initiative undertaken in the region.
The workshop was closely followed by the BiH media, including newspapers, radio and television, and in response to their high interest, a follow-up press conference was organized on the following day - 11 November 2004, at FIPA offices in Sarajevo. Simultaneous English-Bosnian translation was provided throughout the workshop.
Following the high-level meeting, UNCTAD organized in cooperation with FIPA, a workshop on Third Generation Investment Promotion and Investor Targeting held at FIPA offices from 11 to 12 November 2004. About 20 participants attended the two-day workshop, representing various BiH government agencies and ministries dealing with foreign investors in the country, such as FIPA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations and Regional Development Agencies. The workshop programme included sessions and presentations on: Image building in a post-conflict situation, Establishing a one-stop-shop service centre, Strategic planning for IPAs, Investor targeting and Corporate development support. The participants were overwhelmingly satisfied with the workshop pace and content, and have requested UNCTAD to organize a similar follow-up event in the future.

For more information, please contact : Marko Stanovic, at tel.: +41 22 907 4888, e-mail : marko.stanovic@unctad.org

Conference : Egypt Invest 2004, Cairo, Egypt, 24-25 November

The Egypt Invest 2004 conference on trade and investment, organized by the Egyptian Government in co-operation with Non-Governmental Organizations, Multilateral Donors, Business Associations, Embassies and Chambers of Commerce, with participation of the OECD, was held in Cairo, Egypt, on 24-25 November 2004. The conference aimed at increasing investment and export trade flows between Egypt and international markets and removing remaining trade barriers through constructive interactions among government officials, financial institutions, investors and members of the trade and business communities. The overall objective was to strengthen the economic development of Egypt by increasing the current level of export trade and the inflow of investment into the country, especially from the EU, Arab Countries and Asia. Egypt Invest 2004 was developed to enable foreign and local investors and venture capitalists to listen to experts and discuss with Government representatives, leading businessmen and entrepreneurs in Egypt the investment and trade climate in Egypt and the challenges ahead, especially new investment projects, export trade opportunities and the way to remove barriers to increased investment and trade.

For more information, please see : http://www.egyptinvest.com/en/forum/index.asp

7th Central European Initiative Summit Economic Forum, Portoroz, Slovenia, 24-26 November 2004
For the seventh year, the Central European Initiative (CEI) opened its doors to the business and financial community, focusing on the needs of entrepreneurs investing in central and eastern Europe. The event was co-organised with the Slovenian CEI Presidency and was sponsored by the Italian Government. The OECD Local Economic and Employment Development Programme was an active partner of this important event. The 7th CEI Summit Economic Forum (SEF) addressed four main areas of interest: the first one, Portoroz Business Conference, focused on competitiveness, social responsibility and economic growth; the second one, Infrastructure and Energy, focused on sustainable development for transport, municipal utilities, energy efficiency and renewable sources; the third one, the Financial Sector, focused on investment opportunities by country and sector, financing real estate and agriculture, privatisation programmes; and the last one, Entrepreneurship/ SMEs, focused on internationalization of the small business, specific needs of entrepreneurs in “target areas”, support services and local strategies for employment .
For more information, please see : http://www.oecd.org/document/56/0,2340,en_2649_34417_33242872_1_1_1_1,00.html

Azerbaijani Economic Conference : "Investment Opportunities in Azerbaijan 2004" London, United Kingdom, 14 December 2004

His Excellency Farhad Aliyev, Minister of Economic Development of the Azerbaijan Republic, and His Excellency Rafael Ibrahimov, the Ambassador of the Azerbaijan Republic to the United Kingdom, will host a major Azerbaijan business conference in association with the Azerbaijan Investment Promotion and Advisory Foundation (AIPAF), in London, United Kingdom, on 14 December 2004. The aim is to address the development of the non-oil and gas sectors of the Azerbaijan economy, the wealth of potential investment opportunities and the ways in which oil revenues can assist and indeed act as a catalyst to achieve this important objective.
Alongside the participation of HE Minister Aliyev, the conference will feature presentations from senior government and business leaders in Azerbaijan and the United Kingdom. Invited speakers will include senior representatives from the Ministry of Telecommunications and IT, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Tourism, the State Oil Fund and the National Bank of Azerbaijan, among others. Featured topics will include the Azerbaijan Government's "open door" and "national treatment" policies for international investors and the systems of assistance now available, as well as details on the opportunities arising from the privatisation of state-owned enterprises. HE Farhad Aliyev himself will provide delegates with details of specific investment projects. The conference is being organised by Caspian Events in association with the Ministry of Economic Development and the AIPAF.

For more information, please see : http://www.miga.org or http://www.azerinvest.com/eng/news/azecconf.php

UNCTAD Expert Meeting on the Impact of FDI on Development, Geneva, 24–26 January 2005
The Expert Meeting on the Impact of FDI on Development, convened in accordance with the decision taken by the Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues at its eighth session, will be held from 24 to 26 January 2005, at the Palais des Nations, Geneva. The Meeting will discuss key issues related to the globalization of research and development and its implications for developing countries. Special attention will be paid to the development potential of the globalization of research and development, its impact on technology transfer, and the benefits and costs of attracting research-and-development-related FDI to developing countries. The Meeting will identify policies and practices in both home and host countries that influence the allocation of research and development by Transnational Corporations (TNCs) and its economic impact.
For more information, please see: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=3312&lang=1

PUBLICATIONS

An IMF Working paper : "FDI and Regional Trade Agreements : The Market Size Effect Revisited"
This paper by Florence Jaumotte investigates whether the market size of a regional trade agreement (RTA) is a determinant of FDI received by countries participating in the RTA. This hypothesis is tested on a sample of 71 developing countries during the period 1980–99. Evidence is found that the RTA market size had a positive impact on the FDI received by member countries, even more so in the 1990s when such agreements were revived and became more widespread.

For more information, please see : http://topics.developmentgateway.org/fdi

An OECD Booklet : "Public Sector Transparency and The International Investor"
This booklet begins with a general consideration of the benefits of public sector transparency for society at large. It argues that the investment community’s efforts to improve investors’ access to information reinforce broader efforts to enhance public sector transparency and effectiveness. The second section describes transparency enhancing policies towards investors in OECD countries, as well as transparency provisions in recent international investment treaties. The third section proposes a framework to assist both OECD and non-OECD governments’ efforts to enhance transparency and to serve as a basis for experience sharing among public officials. Far from imposing a “one-size-fits-all” approach to transparency, transparency arrangements necessarily reflect national culture, history and values, and availability of resources and skills. At the same time, public authorities can learn from each other’s regulatory experiences, such as how others have dealt with the emergence of new communication technologies.

For more information, please see : http://topics.developmentgateway.org/fdi or http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/36/42/18546790.pdf