1st Free and Special Economic Zones Summit Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), trends, goals and ambitions This forum aims to analyse the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the Mediterranean region and to establish and action program in this specific area. Summit organized by ASCAME and FEMOZA

1. FEMOZA, Barcelona
26 November 2014
Prof. em. Marcel De Meirleir PhD
‘Strategies and best practices in attracting inward investment and Foreign
Direct Investment’.

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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?

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. PORT DEVELOPMENT REFERENCES
BELGIUM
1962 - 64 Port of Antwerp - Petrochemical development study
2001 Port of Antwerp - Analysis of land availability via current occupancy needs of the existing
chemical and petro-chemical industries
FRANCE
1975 Port of Dunkerque - with ICI study of Integrated Petrochemical Units
1985 – 86 Ports of Marseille, Nantes and Saint Nazaire in connection with major assembly
plant for General Motors
2000 – 01 Port of Dunkerque – rail freight and warehouse integration
GERMANY
1976 Port of Wilhelmshaven – extension from ICI study
UNITED KINGDOM
1982 Port of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
DUBAI
1979 – 92 Series for development and extensions of Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone
AFRICA
2001 - 04 Several studies of African ports for International Development Funds

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Q&A

21. 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
Follow us on