Meeting on policies to attract foreign direct investment and boost export competitiveness in Asia.

TIANJIN, 21 December 2001

Senior Asian trade and investment officials, academics, and representatives of development agencies and NGOs met in Tianjin, China, from 11 to 13 December to discuss policies for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and boosting export competitiveness.

The meeting was held at a time of unprecedented competition in investment and export markets and a repositioning of international supply chains as a result of technological intensification, e-commerce and global insecurity.

Financed mainly by the Global Programme, the seminar was organised by the Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development of UNCTAD and the Centre for Studies on Multinationals of Nankai University, Tianjin.

Presentations on the investment and production strategies of transnational corporations were followed by an in-depth exchange of countries' experiences in improving export competitiveness by targeting investment towards high technology and niche sectors. This requires, among others, tax incentives, business facilitation services and the provision of dedicated R&D facilities to high technology clusters.

It was noted that focused "after care" through investment ombudsmen, special hotlines and the waiving of corporate income tax on re-invested earnings retains and increases FDI. And that this should be complemented with a developed local economy, a spirit of entrepreneurship, workforce skills and real-time monitoring of the economy's capacity and the latest shifts in international production.

Furthermore, it was highlighted that power should be devolved to investment promotion agencies, in tandem with systematic policy co-ordination among government departments, greater transparency in decision-making, and political support from the highest levels.

A network of policy makers and organisations is now ready to shape regional trade and investment flows and contribute to future negotiations on a multilateral investment agreement.

Following favourable feedback from participants, proposals have been made to continue this seminar series and examine the implications of the Doha investment agenda on national and regional policy making.

For more information please email
anh-nga.tran-nguyen@unctad.org

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© United Nations 2001