Foreign Direct Investment magazine is also researching a biennial ranking of the leading Middle Eastern and North African Special Economic Zones as part of its global Cities of the Future competition.

So that we can include your free trade or special economic zone in fDi’'s ranking, we are asking you to answer the following questions designed to gauge your location’s attractiveness to international investors.

These rankings will be published in the December/January issue of the magazine, which has a bonus distribution at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. We are also hoping to hold a regional awards ceremony.

fDi'’s ranking will name the top free trade and special economic zones in the following categories:

• Best facilities
  
• Most cost effective
• Best transport infrastructure
  
• Best development and promotion

There will also be awards in the following categories:

• Best airport free zone
  
• Best general industrial free zone
  
• Best port free zone
  
• Best high-tech zone
  
• Best specialist free zone

So that we can include your economic zone in our survey, please return this entry form telling us how your location has developed in the past two years, what incentives are available to investors, and any plans your zone has for future development. Please keep your answers to each question brief, as our judges can only consider the first 150 words of each answer.

To be included in the survey, please return the following questionnaire to charles.piggott@ft.com before May 30th 2008.

1. Facilities

• Which core industries does your zone support?
  
  
• What amenities are offered by your zone such as hotels, convention centres, restaurants, housing and security etc?
  
  
• Please outline the range of office spaces available, specifications, unit sizes and costs.
  
  
• Please describe any warehouse facilities.
  
  
• Please outline the range of industrial units available, including availability, unit sizes, cost and typical specification.
  
  
• Please outline any administrative services offered by your zone to help investors, for example licensing, registration, immigration, consular services etc.
  
  
• Please describe any high-tech facilities or activities supported by your zone, or any other specialist features.

2. Costs and incentives

• What is the average rental cost per square metre of:

Industrial facilities

Warehouse space

Other commercial facilities

Office space

Undeveloped land

• Please outline any investment incentives, including tax exemptions, training grants and other subsidies available to investors.

3. Transport infrastructure

• Please describe major air, sea and land routes accessible from your special economic zone.
• Please describe any recent or planned infrastructure projects, including costs.

4. Development and promotion

• How many businesses operate in your zone? How many were there 12 months ago?
  
  
• Please outline plans for development or expansion of your special economic zone, including timescales and costs.
  
  
• Please name the three leading investors in your zone and the three most significant investments in the past 2 years, including any public information on the size of investments.
  
  
• What is your unique selling point to investors? For example specialist facilities, location, strategic strengths or advantages offered by your free trade or special economic zone.

Download entry form in word here

Hong Kong retains its lead spot in this year’s Asian Cities of the Future rankings but Singapore is in hot pursuit and the gap is narrowing. Charles Piggott analyses the results.

More . . .

fDi magazine’s "Cities, Regions and Countries of the Future" competition has been running for five years and now covers almost every region across the world. Using a process similar to that used by the decision makers who decide the location of large-scale corporate investment projects, fDi magazine has created its own short list of the locations most suited for inward investment. These cities, regions and countries have the basics in place to flourish in the next few years by attracting high levels of inward investment. fDi magazine creates its short list by asking locations to provide key data and qualitative information in much the same way an investor might approach locations during the screening process used to decide which locations are suitable for new capital investment projects. fDi’s Locations of the Future competition covers each region once every two years. We are currently accepting entries from the following: