When companies enter into China, third-party partners and/or agents, such as consultants, distributors and brokers, are most often sought out and relied upon to establish the necessary local footholds and to navigate cultural and business barriers encountered in doing business there. Third-party agents, with ample local resources, are able to provide companies with fast and […]
Institute for Policy Studies fellow blasts investor-state arbitration in New York Times op-ed
In a recent op-ed for the New York Times, Manuel Perez-Rocha, an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, argues that prevailing mechanisms for the resolution of state-investor disputes are rigged against states. Arbitration mechanisms are particularly detrimental to poorer states, according to Perez-Rocha. Focusing on the arbitration currently under way between El Salvador […]
Offsets on the Rise in Emerging Markets
One of the challenges for developing countries is how to balance spending necessary for national security with investing in the development of one’s national economy. Most developing countries do not yet have the capability to manufacture their own military equipment and technology. Thus, they must rely on foreign military sales. Because of the high cost […]
Afghanistan introduces new incentives for foreign investors
Amid an uncertain peace process and the gradual withdrawal of US and NATO forces, Afghanistan’s government has announced a set of measures intended to woo foreign investors to the country, according to Al Jazeera. The incentives include providing land at almost no cost to industrialists, seven-year tax exemptions for factory owners and 10-year, low-interest loans […]
Challenges and considerable opportunities for investment in Iraq
For the Middle East Institute, Sujata Ashwarya Cheema takes a comprehensive look at the opportunities available for foreign investors in Iraq (highlights: favorable tax regime, high demand in many sectors), as well as the substantial challenges that impede investment (continued and unpredictable violence, an incomplete legal infrastructure, regional disputes over resources). This piece presents a […]