WAIPA World Investment Conference
Monday 26 October 2009By Mass Mboup
Milan, Italy's vibrant economic capital city in the heart of Lombardy, played host to the 14th annual conference of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) from 12-14 October, the first meeting of its kind to be held on Italian soil. But although this was their first event, the local authorities and their partners and sponsors had raised the bar very high - the conference was an unqualified success.
In the context of the financial world's economic crisis, the effects of which are still being felt despite signs of recovery, the organisers chose to discuss a highly relevant topic: Global Investments: Charting the Recovery Map.
High-level experts, economists and internationally-renowned politicians were invited to the three-day conference, to reflect on the problem and offer analysis in order to define new strategies with regards to overseas investments. In addition, many delegates, among them representatives of investment-promotion agencies, civil society and the academic world, also took part.
Business began in the Congress and Training Centre Palazzo Mezzanotte with a welcome speech from Milan's Chamber of Commerce President, Carlo Sangalli, followed by a few words from Lombardy Region President, Roberto Formigonni. Both expressed their delighted at Milan being chosen to host the conference - a choice which, they argued, was amply justified because of the many opportunities that the region offers - the region attracts more than 55% of Italy’s overseas investment. WAIPA President Alexandro Teixeira then addressed the assembly, to begin the official proceedings of the conference. ??In his short speech, Mr. Teixeira, who is also the president of Apex-Brazil - a Brazilian trade and investment-promotion agency - stressed “the many challenges faced by agencies involved in promotion investments, particularly at this time when the world's geopolitical balance is undergoing enormous change”. Overseas investments were a true pillar of development, he added, before directing delegates towards the conference's various panel discussions, set up to focus on the issue at hand.
No fewer than five sessions and more than 20 panelists were on hand to offer points of view and debate positions concerning the question of world investments with the international financial crisis as a backdrop. The following topics were assessed in detail: new capital flows, fostered by public stimuli; access to new assets, in a re-defined investment map; new instruments to enhance investment flows; insights into the future of FDI streams.?On each of these points, the debates were, in general, orderly and of a high calibre, even though the moderator failed to keep the panelists to time, thus restricting the opportunity for the audience to take part.
The first plenary session touched on a wide-ranging, hugely relevant topic: High tide of public stimulus, Fresh streams off FDI. In introducing the meeting, Argentina's Investment Development Agency President Beatriz Nofal, expressed her optimism, but added that this must be measured vis-a-vis a “worldwide economy coming out of an unprecedented recession”. She added that developing countries' economies had been hit particularly hard by the international financial crisis, but, interestingly enough, that the recovery had in fact begun in many of these emerging nations. For Nofal, the crisis had at least offered opportunities for ties to emerge between rich and less affluent nations. She also reminded delegates that, at the previous G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the superpowers had created international funds of several billion dollars, to boost overseas investments in developing countries.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) Economics Ministry Director-General Mohamed Abdul Aziz Al Shihhi, speaking during the same panel session, initially stressed the strategies that were immediately implemented by his government to limit the impact of the crisis. “One of our first actions, shortly after the crisis that followed the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, was to guarantee all bank deposits,” Al Shihhi explained, with some pride. Tackling the question of investments in Africa, Al Shihhi also pointed out that the UAE was the first nation to have an Islamic bank, and is among the countries that had provided the most overseas investments. He then ended on a positive note: “There are enormous potential and resources in Africa, and this explains why many Arab countries have begun to invest there, particularly in the agricultural sector, where we must concentrate our efforts better to face the problem of food scarcity.”
However, taking a counterpoint to his UAE colleague, Alexandro Teixeira said that, in his opinion, direct investment in Africa was not always beneficial. Foreign investments are certainly a good thing for the growth and the prosperity of African economies, but would be illusory to consider that overseas investments can solve Africa's development problems in isolation, he declared, in answer to an African delegate who expressed concern that investment flows appeated to be more directed towards Asia than Africa .
Speaking afterwards on the same question during a press conference, Teixeira cited Senegal, Kenya, Mozambique and Nigeria as being rare examples of sub-Saharan African countries with strong capacities as regards the attraction of foreign capital.
Another session worth mentioning was organised on the last day of the conference on the topic Rebuilding the financial lanscape: Enhancing FDI inflows, which drew a large number of participants. This session, introduced by Emmanuel D. Ole-Naiko (Tanzanian Investment Center), brought together a panel that included Walter Ambrogi (Head of Global Services, Intesa San Paolo Bank) and Josep Borrell Fontelles (former European Parliament president).
Analysing the effects of the crisis on developed countries, Ambrogi referred initially to a statistical study citing findings that only one third of American citizens were affected, compared with two thirds of Europe's population. In addition, the study showed that the impact of the crisis was felt more severely in Germany than in Spain - an assertion that did not appear to convince European Parliament former president Josep Borrell as, according to an investigation carried out by the European Commission, it was on the contrary Spain which, along with Ireland, was the European country that was most affected by the crisis, with their unemployment rates being higher than in Germany. ?
Borrell added, however, that the fall in investments that followed the crisis was a phenomenon that did not spare any of the world's nations, but stressed once again that it was in developing countries that the effects were most severe. That is to say, developing countries will lose some 45% of their GDP, while African debt grows ever larger. And Borell made a plea to the European Parliament for more substantial sovereign funds, and for an increase in flows of investment, particularly for Africa. “This continent cannot continue to suffer the agonies of a financial crisis for which it was not responsible, no more than Africans should be the one who pay the price for globalization into perpetuity,”the Spanish socialist told this reporter, as he left the panel session.
Remarks that doubtless had a profound effect on WAIPA's African section, together on the margins of the conference alongside Co-President Marthe Angeline Minja, WAIPA's Africa director. They were left to draw their own conclusions, and also to discuss the progress report concerning the preparations for the group's regional meeting, which is planned to take place at the beginning of 2010 in Cameroon.
As an end to proceedings, it was duly noted that efforts were already being made to determine the dates and location of the next WAIPA annual conference.
About WAIPA
The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) was
established in 1995 and is registered as a non-governmental organization (NGO) in
Geneva, Switzerland. As for the 1st of July 2008, the Association had 232 member
agencies from 157 countries. WAIPA acts as a forum for investment promotion
agencies (IPAs) to provide networking opportunities and facilitate the exchange of best
practices in capacity-building and investment promotion. Membership is open to all
agencies whose prime function is to promote any country or territory for investment