Comparative study of national strategies and policies with regard to foreign direct investment in the ESCWA region

The purpose of the study is to examine how ESCWA members have fared in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), reviewing policies that have been most successful in attracting FDI. The review focuses on case studies of selected ESCWA member countries, namely Bahrain, Jordan and Lebanon. The analysis is based on the findings of a survey of a sample of FDI enterprises in the selected ESCWA member countries and refers to the cases of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia whenever relevant. Chapter II revises the basic concepts and definitions of FDI and reviews the risk of negative implications of FDI on the host economy. Chapter III reviews the FDI performance of selected countries in the ESCWA region and identifies potential investors who may be interested in doing business in the region; it also identifies the sectors that are most likely to attract FDI. Chapter IV reviews the legal and institutional environment in the region. Chapter V reviews major policies that are likely to promote FDI, notably the impact of privatization on FDI flows, international agreements as a determinant of FDI, and the importance of FDI through mergers.and acquisitions. Chapter VI presents the main conclusions and recommendations of the study. --Publisher summary.