Relatórios

2 minutos In 2020, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) became the top global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination. As the world’s second-largest economy, with a large consumer base and integrated supply chains, China’s economic recovery following COVID-19 reassured investors and contributed to higher FDI and portfolio investments. In 2020, China took significant steps toward implementing commitments made to the United States on a wide range of IP issues and made some modest openings in its financial sector. China also concluded key trade agreements Continue lendo→

5 minutos Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have become an increasingly popular instrument to promote economic development. Over the last two decades, in particular, SEZs have proliferated in emerging and transition economies. States promoting zones have sought to stimulate economic development both within and outside the zone.  Within the zone, states aim to attract investment that will lead to new firms and jobs, and to facilitate skills and technology transfers. Outside the zone, states aim to generate synergies, networks, and knowledge spillovers to foster additional Continue lendo→

3 minutos Free zones are designed to attracforeign direct investment, to  support knowledgetransfer, to generateemployment and to drive upgrades in the hosteconomy, mostlythrough export stimulus. The net economic contribution of free zones has been a matterof   debate, primarily due to a lack of measurable data that  could be  compared acrossregions and industries.  Several countries across the globe are considering closing someof their free zonesout of concern that their contribution to the domestic economy may nothave been significant enough. In other words, free zones are supposed to create valuefor the governments that build them. It is more crucial than ever that a free zone generatethis value in order to justify its existence. Offering looser environmental regulation in free zones is no longera viable solution. The17 UN Sustainable Development Goals have become a standard to track environmentalimpact in global ventures. Businesses now use their green development strategies asmarketing hooks of credibility to lure customers and clients. Infrastructure,policies andprocesses in free zones must now incorporate a  sustainable component to be  trulycompetitive on the worldstage, and allow their client companies to do so too.  Thisrequires either adaptation or redirection when developing and Continue lendo→

menos de 1 minuto Special economic zones (SEZs) in Africa are generally regarded as underperforming relative to their peers in the rest of the world. This study focuses on the design features of the SEZ in Africa that may help explain this underperformance. Literature was reviewed to identify the key design attributes of SEZ programmes that could enhance their success. A case study of six Southern African countries—Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—is then used to assess if these countries’ SEZ programmes Continue lendo→