News

 

World Investment Prospects to 2011: Foreign Direct Investment and the Challenge of Political Risk

The Columbia Program on International Investment and the Economist Intelligence Unit (a member of The Economist Group) released World Investment Prospects to 2011: Foreign Direct Investment and the Challenge of Political Risk on September 5, 2007.

 

The 245-page report contains the first authoritative data on FDI flows and stocks for 2006 and forecasts flows until 2011, with 2007 set for a new record. Data are provided globally, regionally and for 82 countries. The report contains various league tables. It also contains the results of a survey of more than 600 corporate executives concerning their investment intentions for the next five years and their perceptions of political risk.

 

World Investment Prospects to 2011 pays special attention to the rise of FDI protectionism and FDI regulatory risk, including especially in natural resources. The report is now available for download. More details regarding the report can be found here.

 

Launch of Emerging Market Global Players Project
The Columbia Program on International Investment (CPII), a joint venture between Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute at Columbia University, is pleased to announce the launch of the Emerging Market Global Players Project. This Project, a collaborative effort led by the CPII, brings together key researchers on foreign direct investment from leading institutions in emerging markets. The purpose is to generate annual lists that will identify and rank emerging market based multinational enterprises (MNEs) by the level of foreign assets they own. Each list, when published, will be accompanied by two to three pages of commentary on the data and the MNEs involved. The lists and their accompanying commentary should be of interest to a wide audience, including researchers, academics, bankers, investors, the media, and other MNEs because they provide information that is not readily available elsewhere.

 

More than a dozen ranking lists are scheduled to be published during the next few months, covering some 250 emerging market MNEs from: Brazil, China, Colombia, Hong Kong (China), Hungary, India, Israel, Republic of Korea, Russia, Slovenia, South Africa, Taiwan Province of China, and Turkey. The longer term goal is to establish an Emerging Market Global Players 500 ranking list. The lists will be published annually and released internationally in conjunction with CPII and the collaborating institutions.

 

There are a number of emerging markets that are not yet covered. If you are interested in covering any of them, please e-mail cpii@law.columbia.edu.

 

For additional information, please contact John Dilyard at jdilyard@stfranciscollege.edu or Karl P. Sauvant, Executive Director of the Columbia Program on International Investment, at karl.sauvant@law.columbia.edu.

 

Speech at the Academy for Global Economic Advancement

Karl P. Sauvant presented a speech on "Foreign direct investment: is there a backlash in the making?" at the University of Connecticut's Academy for Global Economic Advancement Annual Banquet on April 11, 2007.

 

Completion of the "backlash?" Panel at the WAIPA World Investment Conference 2007

The CPII co-organized, with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), a panel on Globalization and the new protectionism: is there a backlash against FDI in the making? at the WAIPA World Investment Conference which took place March 8-9, 2007, at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. For a list of the panelists, click >here.

In what was a well-attended session, the panelists and participants discussed various indications that a backlash against FDI might be in the making. In the end, there was agreement that while there is an increasing concern about FDI in a wide range of countries, at present these concerns do not amount to a backlash. However, it was emphasized that vigilance was necessary to ensure that the concerns among policy makers and stakeholders would not turn into problems that would affect the openness of the investment framework.

 

Meeting of Experts on FDI, Technology and Competitiveness

An invitation only meeting on FDI, Technology and Competitiveness, co-organized by UNCTAD and the University of Oxford, Department of International Development, Queen Elizabeth House, took place in Geneva on March 8-9, 2007. Karl P. Sauvant took part and presented his paper on FDI in emerging markets: how are they doing and what should they be doing? The meeting provided a stimulating discussion of these issues, which were designed to pertain to the research interests of the late Professor Sanjaya Lall, a noted development economist of the Queen Elizabeth House. A forthcoming volume of the papers will be published by the University of Oxford.

 

CPII provides input to the Liberia Advisory Project

As part of Columbia University's Liberia Advisory Project (headed by Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs and Dr. Macartan N. Humphreys), the CPII provides expert support to the Government of Liberia on strategies for attracting FDI to the country. The first priority was to support the National Investment Council (Liberia) in the preparation of an Investor's Guide to Liberia, for release at the Liberia Private Sector Investment Forum that took place February 15, 2007, in Washington, DC. The event was organized by The Corporate Council on Africa in co-sponsorship with the Government of Liberia, the International Finance Corporation, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

 

International Investment Roundtable in Abuja features Nigeria’s Millennium City

On January 15-16, 2007, the MCI and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) organized a panel for Akure, the capital of the State of Ondo, at the EIU’s Third Investment Roundtable for Nigeria. This was the first of what will be a series of Investment Roundtables in the countries that contain Millennium Cities,  and they will be organized jointly by the MCI in association with the EIU.

MCI Co-director Dr. Susan Blaustein and MCI Senior Investment Analyst Joerg Simon participated in the two-day forum, which was well-attended by a varied array of international investors keenly interested in knowing whether they can expect stability and continuity after this year’s hotly contested presidential elections.

Photo: Akure Panel at the Third International Business Roundtable for Nigeria

The prognosis, according to the EIU’s lead analyst on Nigeria, David Cowan, is that continued political stability and progress with Nigeria’s ongoing reform process are likely. In his speech, President Olesegun Obasanjo, who initiated the wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign and reform process, was also very optimistic about Nigeria’s reform agenda and the prospects for business and investment this year and in the years to come.

The Akure panel, chaired by the EIU’s Prathiba Thaker, featured a video-taped speech by Earth Institute Director Dr. Jeffrey D. Sachs and a discussion of the MCI by Dr. Blaustein, followed by presentations on Akure and the State of Ondo by Chief Abraham Olabode Dada Sunmonu, the State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, and Chief Ralph Alabi, CEO of Guinness Nigeria LTD, who also hails from Akure. The panel presentations were completed by MCI consultant Umesh Menon, who went to Akure, in close cooperation with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Authority, to analyze investment opportunities through the MCI’s partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The governor of Ondo State, Olesegun Agagu, is bullish on investment in Ondo State, which is building a free economic zone with a deep container port and has tremendous agricultural potential, as well as vast untapped resources in bitumen, kaolin, granite and other valuable minerals. Following Mr. Menon’s presentation, the panel entertained questions from the audience, which seemed gratified that a Nigerian city was being showcased at this important international meeting.

A delegation of senior chiefs and leaders of Ondo State, including Governor Agagu and several of Akure’s most talented entrepreneurs, attended the session in search of international technical and/or financial partners.

Going forward, the international firm KPMG will follow up on the UNIDO analyses to carry out commercial due diligence on the identified investment areas and opportunities. An MCI investment promotion specialist will be based in Akure to help facilitate this work, to explore potential farm-to-market linkages and to spur business enterprise development both in Akure and throughout Ondo State.

 

Karl P. Sauvant is honored by the European International Business Academy

The European International Business Academy (EIBA) honored Karl P. Sauvant with its 2006 Distinguished EIBA Honorary Fellow of the Year Award at its 32nd Annual Conference in Fribourg, Switzerland, December 7-9, 2006.  Established in 2005, this award is granted upon a decision by the EIBA Fellows in recognition of an individual’s contribution to the field of international business.

 

Mali hosts first Investment Forum

Dr. Susan M. Blaustein, Co-Director of the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), attended the Mali government's first Investment Forum in Bamako in November, 2006, held in association with the Africa Business Roundtable Annual Meetings. Some 600 investors and entrepreneurs came, from as far away as Australia and Malaysia, to hear of promising opportunities for investment in Mali in sectors ranging from handicrafts to gold.

 

While in Bamako, Dr. Blaustein met with leading entrepreneurs, the city’s seven mayors, the Minister of Investment Promotion, the UNDP and the Millennium Challenge Corporation Resident Country Director for Mali. The discussion encompassed investment possibilities, how best to address certain obstacles to investment, and how to capitalize on the $461m development agreement with the US government, signed on November 13, 2006. The funding is provided over five years to upgrade Bamako’s airport, build an attached export processing zone and develop a vast irrigation project on the River Niger, in the area of Segou, the MCI’s other Malian Millennium City. The MCI is working closely in Bamako with the Dutch aid agency, SNV, whose staffers strategized with Dr. Blaustein on how best to help the city’s neighborhoods develop plans to upgrade their central markets, which are at the center of daily life and serve as an excellent entry point for initiatives in health, sanitation, water, energy and IT.

 

Dr. Blaustein also visited the Millennium City of Segou, where she met with the Governor and Mayor of Segou to talk about urban development plans for the city. In addition, she had a dialogue with several dozen Segou entrepreneurs regarding their aspirations to expand their businesses and the challenges they face to do so. A forum for investment is now planned for February 2, 2007, in association with the MCI and the Festival sur le Niger, an international cultural event that brings thousands of tourists and music lovers to Segou to sample Malian talent and wares.

 

OECD Global Forum on International Investment, Istanbul

Dr. Karl P. Sauvant participated in the OECD Global Forum on International Investment, Istanbul, November 6-7, 2006, speaking about global FDI trends to 2010 and the implications of these trends for host countries. The Global Forum consisted of the OECD/Turkey Investment Roundtable; the presentation by countries of their investment climate and policies; steps to apply the OECD Policy Framework for Investment; and experiences regarding international investor participation in infrastructure projects.

 

The First Annual Columbia Conference on International Investment is held

A large group of academics, business leaders and students met at Columbia University on October 24-25, 2006, to participate in the International Conference on the Rise of Transnational Corporations from Emerging Markets: Threat or Opportunity? This event was organized by the Columbia Program on International Investment, Fundação Dom Cabral (Brazil) and the Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in the United Nations Development Programme.

For more information (including the Conference program) please go to our Past Events page.

Also, please read an article on the Conference by the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

 

Executive Forum of the International Trade Centre, Berlin, September 27 – 30, 2006

A number of private entrepreneurs from Millennium Cities, together with MCI’s Senior Investment Advisor, Joerg Simon, participated in the annual Executive Forum organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC) with the support of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation.  The event was aimed at increasing awareness about the participation of the poor in the export process and meeting targets set by the Millennium Development Goals.  The Forum identified export-led successes involving the poor in countries such as Brazil and Cambodia, but noted that there is still the important challenge of creating a critical mass capable of making a big dent in nationwide poverty throughout the developing world.

The entrepreneurs from the Millennium Cities (who were brought there by ITC) made presentations on how MCI can contribute to foster economic and social development.  They used the Executive Forum as a platform to exchange experiences among themselves and to establish business relations with other participants in the Forum.

 

NEPAD Bending the Arc Summit, New York, September 18, 2006

Dr. Karl P. Sauvant, Co-Director of the Millennium Cities Initiative, presented the MCI goal to attract more foreign direct investment to Africa’s Millennium Cities to the 2nd annual summit of the Bending-the-Arc Project, part of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).  Attendees of the Bending-the-Arc summit discussed MDG priorities and identified areas that require greater resources and better coordination to achieve success.  Delegates singled out business as the key to improving the living standards in Africa.  The summit agreed to the necessity of effective development partnerships and the importance of venture capital and private equity to development in Africa.

 

UNCTAD/ICC Investment Advisory Council, New York, September 18, 2006

Corporate executives, senior Government officials (among them the President of the Republic of Tanzania) and high-level representatives from international institutions joined in the latest meeting of the UNCTAD/ICC Investment Advisory Council (IAC), an informal public-private dialogue on the success factors for attracting FDI to Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The meeting discussed strategies for strengthening LDC competitiveness, removing business impediments and identifying investment opportunities in LDCs.   Attendees also addressed challenges to investment, such as infrastructure deficits, bureaucratic inefficiencies and complex regulations.  It was recommended that LDC governments partner with the private sector to strategize about the removal of impediments to enterprise development and to improve their country’s attractiveness to foreign investors.

IAC agreed to team up with the Millennium Cities Initiative, which was represented by its Co-Director, Dr. Karl P. Sauvant, and Senior Investment Advisor, Joerg Simon, as one of IAC’s new initiatives to bring foreign direct investment to LDCs.

 

High-Level Roundtable of the China Investment Promotion Forum

Dr. Karl P. Sauvant participated in the High-level Roundtable of the Investment Promotion Forum, co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM), the China Council for International Investment Promotion (CCIP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), Chengdu, China, July 26-27, 2006.

 

CPII represented at World Economic Forum 2006

On June 1-2, 2006, Dr. Karl P. Sauvant, Co-Director of the Millennium Cities Initiative, represented the Initiative at the World Economic Forum Africa, in Cape Town, South Africa. More specifically, he served as one of the Discussion Leaders in panels on:

-Competitive Cities as Drivers of Growth-
The other participants on the panel were: Ann Bernstein, Executive Director, Center for Development and Enterprise (CDE), South Africa; Helen Zille, Mayor of Cape Town, South Africa; and Ade Animashahun, Managing Director, Investec Asset Management, South Africa. The panel addressed the following issues: 1. Do national development strategies place adequate emphasis on the crucial role of cities as engines of economic growth? 2. What specific policies must local government put in place to attract capital investment and entrepreneurs? What are the top three to five priorities? 3. How can national governments create more competitive cities? What role can business play?

-Revamping Africa's Investment Climate-
Other participants were: Simon Anholt, Independent Consultant on Branding, United Kingdom; Naill Fitzgerald, Chairperson, Reuters, United Kingdom; Thomas Fuentes, Special Agent in Charge of International Operations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, USA; Michael U. Klein, Vice-President, Private Sector Development, Bank-IFC and Chief Economist, IFC, World Bank, Washington, DC; Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance of South Africa; Benjamin William Mkapa, Co-chair, Investment Climate Facility for Africa, Dar-Es-Salaam (former President of Tanzania 1995-2005); and Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Nigeria. The panel addressed the following issues: 1. What are the challenges to removing real and perceived obstacles to doing business? 2. What are the crucial next steps?

2006 Chalfen Memorial Lecture

On April 27, Dr. Karl P. Sauvant gave the 2006 Chalfen Memorial Lecture, at the invitation of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.  The title of the lecture was,  "Transnational corporations and the United Nations: the evolution of the international policy and legal debate over 30 years". It examined the proliferation of international investment agreements, their changing orientation and the swings in policy toward FDI during the past 30 years and the factors explaining these developments.  The lecture will be published at a later date.

First CPII Symposium convened

The first CPII Symposium was held at Columbia University on April 4, 2006, entitled, "Transparency and Consistency in International Investment Law: Is There a Need for a Review Mechanism?" The event addressed the growing number of, and increasing attention given to, international investment disputes and the question of whether there is a need for a review mechanism for arbitral decisions. A broad range of international participants from government, academia, law firms and non-governmental organizations attended the event and contributed to a well-received discussion of these issues.

The proceedings of the Symposium will be published. For more information on this event, please go to our Past Events web page.

Expert Advisor at UNCTAD Investment Commission Annual Session and Panelist at WAIPA Annual Meeting

Dr. Karl P. Sauvant participated, as an Expert Advisor, in the Tenth Annual Session of the UNCTAD Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues, Geneva, Switzerland, March 6-10, 2006. Dr. Sauvant was also a panelist on the “New forms and new methods of FDI” panel at the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA), World Investment Conference 2006: “What Tomorrow Brings. The Rise of New Players and New Forms of FDI,” Geneva, Switzerland, Palais des Nations, March 8-9, 2006.