(EGM) Foreign Direct Investment in Southeast Asia - Unido

In conclusion, Frank Bartels suggested that key lessons for policy-makers
included: i) being open to new approaches and innovative ideas; ii) seeking
ways to differentiate one self from others, in terms of FDI policies; iii)
identifying ways to better harness FDI inputs and generate synergies from
these inputs; iv) adopting a holistic approach to investment promotion, and
not focusing exclusively on MNEs; and v) working to make the enabling
environment conducive to all investors, through long-term strategies, rather
than short-term palliatives, such as incentives.
Research needs
Stemming from the EGM, a number of issues were identified where the
current body of knowledge is still relatively limited. These issues merit
further and deeper empirical research and analysis, so as: i) to better
understand their characteristics; and ii) thereby assist policy-makers to
design new FDI policies and strategies appropriate for the foreign investment
activity of today and tomorrow.
There is definitely a need to more clearly and accurately depict, and better
understand, new dynamic trends within the ‘integrated global factory’
concept. Notably with regard to the emergence of looser and less vertically
integrated international production networks, and what impact this is (or
should be) having on FDI promotion policy. For example, should policy-
makers shift further away from conventional investment promotion policies,
and design new strategies that are better tailored to meet the rise of the
‘integrated global factory’? Indeed, to what extent is the conventional role of
IPAs becoming redundant, as the emphasis on FDI promotion shifts to a
more holistic approach of improving the business-enabling environment, for
domestic and foreign investors alike?
A key missing element in our current body of knowledge are the FDI (and
possibly FPI) aspects of global value (and supply) chains, which serve to
inter-connect the nodal points of the ‘integrated global factory’. Until
recently, global value and supply chains have not been viewed through the
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