FEMOZA, Barcelona26 November 2014

Prof. em. Marcel De Meirleir PhD

‘Strategies and best practices in attracting inward investment and Foreign

Direct Investment’.

INTRODUCTION

WORKING WITH DIRECT INVESTORS

PURPOSE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

ATTRACTING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

METHODOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

FACTORS FOR DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTOR ATTRACTION

CREATING & EXPLOITING FDI INCENTIVES

CREATING & DEVELOPING INDUSTRY CLUSTERS

PUBLIC GOVERNANCE

TRAINING STAFF IN ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS

MAIN PROFESIONAL COURSE ELEMENTS

CASE STUDIES AND GROUP EXERCISES

ADVISING AND ASSISTING WITH FDI SERVICES

Outline

Definition:

• Economic Development through attracting investments is

the reverse of Location Analysis

• The purpose of the Location OF AN INVESTMENT is to

determine the OPTIMAL SITE (not the BEST site)

INTRODUCTION

Characteristics of the optimal site:

• Make Money

• Return on Investment

• Own investment

• Least operational problems

• Qualified workers

• Facilities & transport

Most Important: a quick return on the initial

investment of the own money used

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Economic Development is

• NOT only to attract profitable investments for the

companies

• BUT to satisfy the needs of the people in the region

What is best for the region?

• Employment (stability)

• Economic value through the use of local resources,

• Avoid environmental problems

• Increase local standard of living

• Optimal use of infrastructure

• Pay Taxes

INTRODUCTION

HOW TO FIND THESE INVESTMENTS?

• Set up product profiles based on availability, natural resources and

human resources

• Demonstrate through clustering the potentials of the use of the

investments

• Provide necessary training of all personnel (not only the workers)

• Avoid spending unnecessary public money on infrastructure or

needles advertisements

• Assist with employment and personnel welfare

• …

INTRODUCTION

WORKING WITH DIRECT INVESTORS

• What are main types of international investors?

• Which imperative conditions drive investors?

• How do investors examine potential locations?

• What key factors affect location decision-making?

PURPOSE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Attract business investors or FDI in order :

• To create local employment

• To collect taxes to support public spending

• To increase local standards of living

• To produce substitutes for imports

• To improve the balance of payments

ATTRACTING FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI)

• FDI as a catalyst for economic growth

• How to define the investment you wish to attract

• How to ensure your plans maximise the employment of local people

• Costs and benefits of hard and ‘soft’ infrastructure in attracting the right FDI

• Optimising your environment to attract maximum investments

• Attracting new FDI while retaining existing investors

METHODOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

• Success will be achieved by three factors:

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

• This will result from three qualities:

EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE

• For location see what BLI offers to the investors above

• For experience, we can point to fifty years of dealing with location worldwide – not only for multinationals, but also for SMEs

• Not only in Production, but also in Services

• More than 1,500 projects have created more than 500,000 jobs and invested over $50 billion

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR

DEVELOPMENT & INVESTOR ATTRACTION

• Analyse the regional and the local offering

• Consider possibly expanding the existing investments

• Examine current national planning schemes applicable to the region

• Analyse the competitive international conditions sector by sector:

automotive, food, textiles, metals, biomedical, pharmaceutical, ICT

• Reveal the ROI rates of the various economic segments

• Consider levels of Pay vs. Productivity of the labour force

• Get familiar with the training and teaching facilities

CREATING & EXPLOITING FDI INCENTIVES

• Types and levels of incentives and subsidies

to attract the right investors

• Optimising incentives for individual investors

• Guidelines for marrying incentives and clustering

• Balancing tax reductions vs. investment subsidies

• Capital-intensive vs. labour-intensive investments

• How to avoid giving land away for free

CREATING & DEVELOPING INDUSTRY CLUSTERS

• Introduction to clustering

• Types of clusters – appropriate sectors

• Clusters that can assist existing investors, whilst also attracting and retaining new investors

• Structuring a cluster to realise the maximum benefit

• How product-driven clustering helps to attract FDI

• Prioritise between attracting investors and setting up infrastructures

• Benefits and dangers of Public Private Partnerships

• Establishing collaborative and co-operative relationships

PORT DEVELOPMENT REFERENCES

BELGIUM1962 - 64 Port of Antwerp - Petrochemical development study

2001 Port of Antwerp - Analysis of land availability via current occupancy needs of the existingchemical and petro-chemical industries

FRANCE1975 Port of Dunkerque - with ICI study of Integrated Petrochemical Units

1985 – 86 Ports of Marseille, Nantes and Saint Nazaire in connection with major assemblyplant for General Motors

2000 – 01 Port of Dunkerque – rail freight and warehouse integration

GERMANY1976 Port of Wilhelmshaven – extension from ICI study

UNITED KINGDOM1982 Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

DUBAI 1979 – 92 Series for development and extensions of Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone

AFRICA2001 - 04 Several studies of African ports for International Development Funds

PUBLIC GOVERNANCE

• Role of public governance in attracting investment

• How public governance can add to transparency and help to attract more FDI

• Impact of public governance on achieving greater return on investment

• What range of financial tools is needed

• How to monitor and maintain effective governance

TRAINING STAFF IN ATTRACTING INVESTMENTS

A five-day week of intensive training comprising :

• Three days of class-work and theory

• One day of field-work and site visits

• One day of group work on problem-solving via case studies from Client organisations

MAIN PROFESSIONAL COURSE ELEMENTS

• Supply – Land and facilities

• Demand – Corporate location

• Marketing – Administration – Permits and Subsidies

• Strengths & Weaknesses (SWOT) – Benchmarking and attracting FDI

• Financing and management

• Service centres and aftercare

• Clusters – Geographic and integrated

• Mergers & Acquisitions

• Urban development – Environmental impact

• Future products and Renewable energy

• Business innovation & Incubators

• Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)

• Business parks – Techno parks – Science parks

• Universities – Training and R&D

CASE STUDIES & GROUP EXERCISES

• Sophia Antipolis science park Nice, France

• Jebel Ali free zone Dubai, UAE

• United Nations FAO project, Niger

• Public Markets such as Covent Garden, London

• Energy infrastructure projects – 300MW power stations

in Belgium for French state provider EDF

ADVISING & ASSISTING WITH FDI SERVICES

• Conducting regular review of promotion activities, results and failures during one week each month, ten months per year

• Updating and refreshing all promotional materials

• Organising seminars abroad to attract potential investors

• Managing publications and press coverage

• Managing financial and budget considerations

Q&A

Stuivenbergbaan 32, 2800 Mechelen - Belgium

Phone &Fax +32 15 423 619

Mobile +32 476 429 358

+32 468 135 131

http://www.businesslocationinternational.be

mdm@businesslocationinternational.com

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