Information Flows for Foreign Direct Investment While there are many academic discussions as to how to compare the attractiveness of countries for FDI, the perspective of the actual investors has been less explored. International firms faced with choosing the next location for their operations generally focus on a few, narrowly defined criteria, based on the particular needs of their industry. Broad dissemination of investor-relevant information in a timely fashion is an issue that needs to be addressed if African countries are to feature on the radar screen of international investors. One way is to make use of benchmarking exercises that compare different countries in terms of their FDI attractiveness (see box In addition to the compiled information to be disseminated to potential investors, proper information intermediaries also need to be in place. As discussed in chapter 3, one of the fundamental roles of investment promotion agencies (IPAs) is collecting and providing accurate information on linkage opportunities to investors. According to a recent UNIDO study on IPAs, the most common activity undertaken by IPAs with business linkage programs is the provision of information services that are conducted in collaboration with the private sector and international agencies. 2 IPAs seek to provide up-to-date information on local laws, regulations, and the characteristics of the local economy and markets, positioning the country or province high on the long list of a potential investor. The critical first step in the corporation selection process is now increasingly implemented online. Those IPAs that could provide tailored services online are even more effective in bridging the information gap, leading their locations for followup investigations and site visits. Ina continent known for 05-Chap5:05-Chap5 10/10/06 11:14 AM Page 239
