In the first quarter of 2004, global cross-border investment increased strongly compared with the same quarter last year, according to the latest figures from IBM-PLI’s Global Investment Location Database.

Nigeria:

As a step to actualising Government Industrial Policy of economic restructuring and expansion for more effective and efficient performance, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Scheme was established by the Act 63 of 1992. The Calabar Free Trade Zone, which is functional and operational, is fully equipped with appropriate infrastructural facilities complimented with very generous incentives that are internationally competitive, and guarantees profitable business operation.

Some 30 participants to CAIRO 2004 organised by World Free Zone Convention spent a day touring some of the factories in Egypt’s free zones. First on the Agenda, at the Nasr City Public Free Zone just outside Cairo, was Leoni Wiring Systems (formerly Lucas) who make all the tresses for the UK manufactured Range Rover Freelander vehicles.

MIGA (Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) has adapted its Toolkit for Investment Promotion Agencies for use by free zones and free zone authorities. Full of practical advice, this methodology seeks to help investment organisations to position themselves to compete for FDI.

Humphrey Harrison, managing director of Horizon Strategies Ltd. London, explains how free zones are fitting into the fast growing industry of tourism.

Industry clusters bring benefits for regions and investors alike. If IPAs build and develop them carefully they will continue to attract FDI long into the future, says Christian HM Ketels, of Harvard Business School.

Ben Aris considers the likely impact of the Unified Economic Area for it largest participants – Ukraine and Russia.

Luiz Fernando Furlan, Brazil’s minister of state for development, industry and foreign trade, tells Brian Caplen that his country’s approach to trade is positive.

So what distinguishes the winners and losers among foreign investors willing to brave the chaotic world of Chinese business? Tim Clissold offers some pointers for potential investors.

The drive for global financial stability has seen many small nation finance centres change the structures used to promote their attractions. Martin Roche reports.

Hong Kong – a global financial centre and gateway to the largest market in the world, China – is committed to ensuring that the best international companies remain drawn to the city.

Stephen Timewell reports on how a major new financial centre, a strong regulatory environment and a plethora of projects are set to cement Bahrain’s reputation among its Gulf neighbours.

Despite frequent assertions to the contrary, Hong Kong’s hanging onto its crown as China’s top financial centre, says Louise do Rosario.

The surge in FDI in the financial sector in the 1990s has stengthened the economies of recipient nations. Acquired institutions have been transformed and bring benefits to the entire financial sector of emerging market countries.

The Richards Bay industrial development zone is ideally located to attract investment from manufacturers and its strategy for smaller enterprises will bring benefits for all, says James Eedes.

Situated on South Africa’s northeastern coast, the Richards Bay IDZ is proving to be a much sought-after investment destination.

Eastern Cape’s East London Industrial Development Zone is attracting attention from many firms eager to make use of its facilities and links to markets worldwide.

Having sunk millions into its construction, East London is hoping its industrial development zone will attract the attention of even more foreign investors.

From its origins as a temporary victualling post for ships of the Dutch East India Company in the 1650s, the Cape Town of today has developed into a flourishing and modern global city.

Cape Town may be South Africa’s top tourist destination but the Cape Town Partnership aims to put the city on foreign investors’ itinerary, too.

Although not new to biotech associated enterprises – witness the success of its wine and beer industries, the latter exemplified by SAB Miller, one of the world’s largest brewing companies – South Africa is now getting involved in the rapidly evolving so-called ‘third generation’ molecular biotechnologies. Cape Biotech is one of several trusts set up to boost this initiative. While newly established, it has already given the areas of human health and industrial bioprocessing a competitive advantage by identifying the right projects for funding support.

South Africa is looking to make up lost ground in the biotechnology sector. James Eedes reports on government initiatives to foster talent and capture investment.

A well-established textiles industry in Durban and the outlying areas is benefitting from AGOA and is a strategic industry for development purposes. James Eedes reports.

Durban is intent on attracting international contact centre and business process outsourcing operations to the city by offering a skilled workforce andstate-of-the-art infrastructure.

An information communications technology incubator has been set up in Durban as part of the city’s attempt to stem the loss of IT graduates and build a globally competitive ICT industry. James Eedes reports on progress.

Spurred on by the approach of the 2010 World Cup, Durban is planning a world-class transport hub to match. The proposed model will link air, road, rail and sea, reports James Eedes.

Having trounced Cape Town and Johannesburg on business travel, Durban is poised to reclaim its status as one of South Africa’s top tourist spots.

The property market in Durban is booming, with prices rising on the back of growing investment in new developments across the city. James Eedes reports on some of the most high-profile projects.

The more liberal automotive policy put in place in 1995 has paid off in terms of industry productivity. James Eedes reports on Durban’s growing automotive cluster.

Durban’s location and transport infrastructure offers foreign investors an ideal gateway into South Africa and the continent as a whole. James Eedes reports.

South Africa has much to recommend it so why have FDI inflows failed to take off? Jonathan Katzenellenbogen reports on what the country is doing to pull investors in and keep them there.

The US state of West Virginia is experiencing a new lease of life, thanks to a wave of investment into scientific research. Governor Bob Wise talks to Karen E Thuermer about his ambitions for the Mountain State.

Ashleigh Lezard talks to Erastus Mwencha, secretary general of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), about the importance of regional integration bodies and how they attract foreign investment into their member countries.

German company Metro Cash & Carry is responding to its success abroad with plans for a further 40 supermarkets annually for the next few years. CEO Thomas Hübner explains the company’s strategy to Jan F Wagner.

Ask people in the business world what they think Germans do well, and they will probably mention things like cars, engineered goods, chemicals and beer. But there is another type of business that one German company does so well that it dominates it worldwide. The business is wholesaling to members of the food industry, including restaurant managers, caterers and hoteliers. The company is Metro Cash & Carry, a subsidiary of Metro AG, Germany’s largest retailer.

Malaysia has always been open to FDI but it needs to continue improving its product to stay competitive. Central bank governor Tan Sri Dato Zeti Akhtar Aziz (pictured) explains recent developments to fDi editor Brian Caplen.

A string of international companies, including Prudential and Manulife, have been caught in Indonesia’s legal spider wed. Peter Janssen reports from Jakarta.

Outsourcing to India is all the rage but companies should be careful that they don’t land themselves with double taxation, says Naresh Makhijani.

As the tendency towards dual-career families increases, countries that forbid expatriate spouses from working may be turning away foreign investment, writes Ashleigh Lezard.

Albuquerque and the state of New Mexico have succeeded in attracting small plane manufacturers and the sector looks set to soar, says Karen E Thuermer.

The aerospace industry is growing strongly in the US state of Arizona, aided by partnerships and collaboration between big companies, academia, R&D institutions and government initiatives. Karen E Thuermer reports.

Farnborough Air Show, the world’s largest commercial aerospace show, takes place in the UK next month. This is an annual event where the world’s aerospace industry gathers together with aircraft manufacturers showcasing the latest models and trends, hoping to secure long-term supply contracts with airline executives.

Airbus and Boeing are both preparing for take off with their new aircraft and the arch rivals are providing a lift for the entire commercial aerospace sector. Karen E Thuermer reports on the worldwide impact for manufacturers, suppliers and researchers.

In the sedate surroundings of the Chateau de la Hulpe in Brussels, fDi hosted the magazine’s Personality of the Year 2004 awards in May. The overall winner was Brazilian president Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, whose award was collected by Brazil’s Ambassador in Brussels Jeronimo Moscardo. The award was presented by Bernard Hanin, managing director of Wallonia’s Office for Foreign Investors (OFI). The others were presented by fDi editor Brian Caplen.

With European businesses facing growing pressure on costs, India is being touted as one of the best places in the world in which to invest. Any amount of information on how to set up business in India from a legal and tax point of view is available. What is not so widely documented, however, is the current state of privacy standards in India and its effect on the Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

Tony Khindria discusses data protection regulations in India.

Many large corporations and institutions have chosen external, third-party providers to perform real estate services over the past decade with cost reduction as the key objective. Particularly when corporate revenues are flat or decreasing, outsourcing is a proven and viable option to reduce expenses. This is the main conclusion of a study by Ernst & Young Real Estate Advisory Services among 400 real estate professionals at the world’s largest corporations.

There have been relatively few major new automotive investment decisions in the past two months. With the exception of Kia Motor’s decision to build a second big plant in Jiangsu province, even China has seemed relatively quiet. However, several car companies have revealed plans to expand and upgrade their existing capacity around the world.

In line with the overall recovery in FDI flows worldwide, analysis of IBM-PLI’s Global Investment Location Database (GILD) has shown that investment projects announced in the ICT sector increased by almost 10% during the first quarter of 2004 compared with Q1 2003. The increase seems to have been fuelled by high growth markets in Asia, the ongoing trend for outsourcing or near/offshoring of business activities and the anticipated growth in worldwide IT spending in general.

As economic development agencies mingled with leading players from the world’s biotech industry in San Francisco in June for the world’s largest biotechnology event, BIO 2004, news came of a sharp decline in international FDI projects in the life sciences sector in Q1 2004.

All signs are that FDI flows are on the rise again, underpinned by the economic recovery. This would end the largest downturn in FDI flows during the past 50 years or so. At least, this is what a series of surveys undertaken by UNCTAD tells us: during the first few months of 2004, TNCs, locational experts and IPAs were asked, in three separate surveys, how they see the future. Across all three groups, the message is the same: 2004 will be a better year than 2003, and 2005-2007 will be even better (http://www.UNCTAD.org/fdiprospects). It is perhaps not surprising that IPAs are particularly optimistic but four-fifths of TNC executives and locational experts also expect an improvement in the investment climate over the next few years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that he intends to sign the Kyoto Protocol. The move came during the EU – Russia summit at the end of May, when the EU backed Russia’s bid to join the WTO. Mr Putin said: “The EU has met us half way in talks over the WTO and that cannot but affect positively our position on the Kyoto Protocol.” His statement has surprised many people, coming in stark contrast to other recent Russian announcements on the protocol. The government in April claimed that the protocol would “stifle economic growth”, and said Russia would never sign, further endangering chances of the agreement coming into operation.

May 1, 2004 brought new reasons for our US clients to re-consider Europe in the context of their overall globalisation plans – in fact, 10 new reasons as the EU added eight former Iron Curtain nations plus Cyprus and Malta. With 450 million people, the 25-nation EU is now half again larger than the US. In Brussels some 100,000 pages of EU rules (as well as future pages) will now need to be translated into 20 languages. But, in the world of commerce, English-speakers have had a stroke of good fortune — the dominant as well as emerging second (and business) language for this enormous market is English.

Scottish Development International (SDI), the international arm of Scotland’s economic development agency, has launched a new web-based service to link UK, European and global companies to Scottish companies.

“Executives are bullish about a recovery in foreign direct investment, especially in developing countries,” say the World Investor Prospects survey carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The survey shows that 77% of companies plan to increase their total level of FDI in the next five years. Asian companies are the most bullish in their investment plans while companies in the eurozone and the US remain slightly more conservative over expansion.

Bilateral trade between major emerging market countries and more constructive thinking on agriculture from the US and Europe will change world trade patterns and have an important impact on investment.