FDI may have changed its look but its commitment to providing first-class news, reports, commentary and interviews on international investment – from La Paz and Quebec to Addis Ababa and Hong Kong – is as strong as ever, writes Courtney Fingar.

Regular readers will notice something different about this issue: everything in fact. You will find that fDi magazine has an entirely new look, from cover to cover, and we think you will agree that it is a change for the better.

Cityscape Dubai is strategically located in the heart of a region busy transforming itself into one of the world’s premier real estate domains. Rohan Marwaha explains.

Supply is gradually catching up with demand in the booming Gulf, as mega projects near completion. Eleanor Gillespie and Jon Marks report.

Developers the world over are converting old buildings or constructing new ones that offer a live/work mix, writes Andy Moore.

Bahrain is looking to its man-made islands to meet expanding real estate needs, writes Mark Ford.

Jordan’s commercial scene is undergoing major changes as the government looks to develop all parts of the kingdom and encourage investment from major players, says Nadine Marroushi.

Dramatic price increases in Amman’s residential property market have caused locals to look to other areas for more affordable options. The government and developers are seizing the opportunity, writes Nadine Marroushi.

With a shortage of top-end office space, Saudi Arabia has seen some rental appreciation, but a new phase of mega-developments is coming. Eleanor Gillespie reports.

Saudi Arabia’s booming residential market is expected to receive a further boost with the introduction of a new mortgage law, writes Eleanor Gillespie.

Retail and tourism developments are a key thread in Dubai’s plans to become a global-scale business and leisure hub, writes Mark Ford.

Interview with Hamad Abdulla Al Shamsi, CEO of International Capital Trading, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

with the economy booming, affordable residential property in the UAE is scarce, and even if demand slows the state has the means to shore up prices. Mark Ford reports.

The selling of all units in Al Fara’a Properties Le’ Grand Château puts the developer on track to be one of the first to deliver a project in Dubai’s Jumeirah Village.

Dubai and abu dhabi are forging ahead due to a new found spirit of co-operation. Stephen Timewell explains.

Both Ajman and Sharjah are on the verge of a property boom, offering some golden opportunities in the emerging emirates, writes Arti Kumria.

Dubai is the most expensive location in the middle east for office rents.

More locations are becoming acceptable for inward investment, suggest the results of an annual IBM study.

FDI flows are expected to increase in the next three years despite concerns about global financial instability and protectionism in some countries, said the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (Unctad).

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need a strong World Trade Organization (WTO), delegates declared at a public forum organised by the WTO in Geneva in early October.

In its semi-annual report, Privatization Barometer estimates that the total value of privatisations worldwide for the combined second half of 2006 and first half of 2007 neared $150 bn, the highest level since 2000. During the first half of 2007, Russia and China raised the most privatisation proceeds among emerging markets, followed by Turkey, which raised $1.85bn from the sale of Halkbank.

A Greek businessman’s fight with the Republic of Georgia over a thwarted pipeline project could have implications for a much larger legal battle being waged by the former owners of the Yukos Oil Corporation against the Russian Federation.

London and New York are the only two truly global financial centres, according to a benchmarking study commissioned by City of London officials.

Ceremony recognising achievements of political and business leaders around the world hosted by India for the first time.

Having set up in Newport, Wales, in 2004, International Rectifier is planning to ramp up the manufacture of its power management technology products. Karen Thuermer reports.

Intel’s $1bn semiconductor assembly facility in Vietnam, currently under construction, will be more than triple the size originally envisaged. Nick Freeman explains.

What to do when a foreign investment does not work out? Kieron O’Callaghan and Clare Connellan list the types of protection available and provide practical tips on how to limit the fallout.

Dallas logistical hub aims to serve as a primary pipeline for distribution of goods throughout the nation.

The Beacon Council, Miami-Dade County’s official economic development partnership, has announced the completion of six new projects, representing a combined $15.2m in new capital investment and 153 jobs over the next three years in Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Ontario Drive & Gear (ODG), has said it will build a 16,500 square-foot addition to its 40,000 square-foot gear division plant and administrative building in New Hamburg, Ontario. Construction is slated for completion in January 2008.

There has been a lot of notoriety about the growth and managers’ rewards associated with hedge and private equity funds, but relatively less attention has been paid to the even greater growth in sovereign-wealth funds – the assets that countries pile up.

São Paulo mayor Gilberto Kassab tells Jason Mitchell that new rules allowing public-private partnerships for the Brazilian city’s infrastructure projects offer foreign companies abundant opportunities to invest.

Hazel McCallion is proactive, pro-business and believes in building industry clusters. Karen Thuermer reports on the 86 year old Mississauga mayor , who is one of the longest serving mayors in Canada.

Quebec’s Cirque du Soleil shows that large sums can be made from investment in the arts, writes Courtney Fingar.

Does political hue matter to businesses? As Michigan acquires a new tax, Erika Morphy finds the stereotype of Democrat and Republican does not fit the reality.

Bolivia’s FDI flows, which had fallen in recent years, are picking up and in spite of tensions with foreign mining firms, terms have been agreed in many parts of the sector. Hugh O’Shaughnessy explains.

FDI figures show India narrowing the gap with China whose direct investment levels are flattening out.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, (UNCTAD), investing abroad is still a relatively recent phenomenon for many Asian firms, which tend to focus on intra-regional FDI.

A Chinese court has ordered a French company to pay $45m in damages to a Chinese company in a dispute over patents – the largest ever sum for an intellectual property case in China.

FDI inflows to Australia almost doubled in the year ending June 2007, to reach A$35bn ($31bn) -- a financial-year record for the country.

German automotive component manufacturer Behr is expanding its operations in China in order to meet projected demand growth of 40%, writes Lillie Guyer.

Benefiting from scarce supply and high demand for office units, developers and investors are swarming into the Malaysian commercial market, write Nadine Marroushi and Jon Marks.

Hong Kong’s booming property market will eventually hit a ceiling, requiring China to open up the mainland, says Sarah Walker.

Some 250 Fortune 500 companies are drawing on India’s R&D talent to develop new products and technologies,writes Premila Nazareth Satyanand.

Armed with generous incentives, and three new free zones, South Korea sets out to prove its commitment to foreign investment. Jules Stewart reports.

Incheon Free Economic Zone is part of South Korea’s plan to keep an important role in North-East Asia. Jules Stewart reports on its progress.

Gyeonggi Province is north-east Asia’s investment base camp.

Gunsan offers easy access to Korea’s major cities, excellent port facilities, corporate investor grants and above all, proximity to China, writes Jules Stewart.

Korea’s Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone is home to a growing band of global companies attracted in part by its one-stop, user-friendly financial service.

A KPMG study shows that European Commission proposals for a harmonised corporate tax system are welcome.

High tech is technology at the cutting edge. Think of high tech industries and you imagine people playing around with 3-D computer images or people with white lab coats and protective glasses concocting new formulae. In Europe, however, they also wear lumberjack shirts and safety helmets and mining boots.

US-based internet search company Google is on a hiring spree in Europe as it seeks to expand its employee base in the region to help it adapt its product suite to local markets.

Manchester has overtaken Birmingham in this year’s UK Cities Monitor business survey, which ranks the country’s major cities against a number of criteria that are considered essential for good business.

IN a breakfast meeting at Bercy, the finance ministry’s Paris headquarters, French finance minister Christine Lagarde talks to Courtney Fingar about the tax and labour reforms being pursued by the Sarkozy administration.

State-of-the-art office space construction in Birmingham, the UK’s second largest city, is attracting record investment from the likes of the Carlyle group, writes Karen Thuermer.

US and Canadian firms account for 33% of foreign investment in the Italian region of Lazio, which is looking with increased interest at the BRIC countries.

Euratlantic, a grouping of 13 regions in the western-most countries of Europe, is forging a common identity in order to attract US investment.

Wendy Atkins reports.

Spain’s Extremadura is centrally located on the Iberian Peninsula and its promotion agency, Sofiex , is helping to build on its reputation as an investment destination.

The UK’s Ebbsfleet International railway station in north Kent will provide faster access to The Thames Gateway, Europe’s biggest regeneration project, writes Peter Prowse.

Business council is swayed by Uganda’s literacy and skill levels in choosing site for high-tech park.

The latest addition to Dubai’s diverse cluster of free zones opened for business on September 6.

Staff shortages, coupled with inadequate equipment and rising costs, are hitting the Middle East’s hydrocarbons sector at a time when many of the region’s producer countries have laid out large-scale plans to ramp up production, the Financial Times has reported.

The Economist Intelligence Unit reports a record flow of FDI in 2007, with a whopping $1.474bn set to overshadow the 2000 record prior to the dot-com collapse. The bad news is that the emerging economies will attract a only third of that ($530bn), with north Africa and the Middle East accounting for less than 10%.

With FDI inflows into Egypt rising significantly, the country’s Minister of Investment talks to Silvia Pavoni about how hearing a few home truths about his country helped bring about this improvement.

Bahrain is continuing its drive to remain at the centre of the Gulf banking industry, while exploring other avenues to maintain the pace of growth, writes Eleanor Gillespie.

One of the big challenges for the Ethiopian Investment Agency is changing old views of a famine-ravaged country, its director-general tells Courtney Fingar.

With regional conflict relatively absent, west Africa is enjoying an FDI renaissance, with sportswear maker Puma leading the way, writes Michael Deibert.

Do advisers and financiers pressure their client companies to expand overseas too rapidly? The secrecy that surrounds these relationships means this is a difficult question to answer, writes Silvia Pavoni.

To be a good one, the relationship between a company and its banks and advisers has to be intimate. Corporates must expose their most secretive plans and discuss their most sensitive issues. And consultants must use all their acumen, experience and tireless work to craft the best solutions for their clients’ requests.

The need for data services and upgraded networks is driving worldwide demand for ICT. Karen Thuermer reports.

If information is king, then telecoms access through a global network infrastructure is key for multinational corporations to expand successfully around the world.

Why is Costa Rica performing so well in attracting and utilising FDI compared with Mexico? Antonios Kalyvas considers what difference location advantages make to FDI inflows.

US and UK erode India’s position at top of inward ICT investment rankings, while china’s new project tally shows significant decline.