Should you choose to engage Matej Kovac in a little light conversation about miniature cathode ray tubes, he is likely to respond enthusiastically. After all, this is what he studied while a trainee physicist before he persuaded the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Relations and Development that it was necessary to promote investment and trade in Slovenia.

Many expatriates have a miserable time overseas. Nearly half leave their employers within a year of completing foreign postings. To stop this happening, many companies are turning to relocation specialists. Charles Simonds reports on this fast-growing service industry.

Companies are moving their call centres abroad – and when the costs are lower and quality of service so good, why not? Ashleigh Lezard reports.

Can the EU stamp out the 66 tax havens operating within its borders? Jules Stewart finds that not all of them are prepared to go quietly.

South Africa is a country of contrasts and nowhere is this more evident than in the three most populous provinces – Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. James Eedes reports.

South Africa is an ideal tourist destination with many FDI opportunities, as Philippa Garson reports.

Sibonelo Radebe reports on how a rash of public sector building projects is propping up South Africa’s commercial property industry.

Robyn Chambers looks at how South Africa’s vibrant telecommunications industry is about to undergo further liberalisation and privatisation.

Jim Jones reports on how South Africa’s gold mining industry is facing up to its social responsibilities and leading the way in good governance.

South Africa will soon be playing host to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. A perfect opportunity, says Philippa Garson, to show the world how far it has progressed.

Amid a backdrop of a global slowdown, high unemployment and continuing social upheaval, the South African economy is slowly reviving. James Eedes reports.

Foreign investors’ contributions to an economy trickle down to the classroom.

Sustainable development used to be the least of a company’s concerns when making investments. Now it is one of the most important issues. Companies, and even countries, that get corporate social responsibility wrong pay a huge price. Ashleigh Lezard reports.

Despite September 11, Florida remains one of the world’s major tourist destinations, yet the state’s business leaders say it offers much more than just Disney World and cruise liners. Suzanne Miller reports.

Even Sherlock Holmes would struggle to unravel how major companies make FDI decisions. Some want to keep the process secret, others simply don’t have a process. Charles Piggott takes his magnifying glass to the case.

The opening up of Russia to trade and foreign investment at the end of the 1980s marked the start of a turbulent period for the Russian economy. Now, as the Russian stock markets enter their third year of strong growth, and western economies react to large-scale corporate failures and accounting scandals, investors are looking more towards emerging markets such as Russia. However different rules apply when approaching investment, and a number of pitfalls can present themselves to the uninformed investor.

The Call Centre Initiative, launched by the economic development agency IGAPE in Galicia, north-west Spain, is going from strength to strength. In the past 16 months, the region has won three major projects, fighting off fierce competition.

The United Nations Council for Trade and Development (Unctad) has held a capacity-building workshop to help delegates from the least developed countries engage in best practices on efficient and transparent investment promotion.

The big challenge for Africa is to stay inside the globalisation process and provide the conditions that can attract FDI. Despite the efforts of the anti-globalisation protesters to play up the negative side of world economic integration, few governments see any benefits of being left out in the cold. In this context development agencies are doing their best to promote the conditions that will bring as many countries as possible into the fold.

One of the most potent symbols of globalisation, Starbucks, the worldwide coffee shop chain, has been using its position to promote fair trade. The company announced that it would pay a premium of 10 cents per pound of coffee and give preference in the purchasing chain to farmers for beans that are grown on environmentally and socially responsible farms.

The events of September 11 and Argentina’s economic meltdown have not put foreign investors off Latin America, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD).

The government in Singapore is introducing measures in its port sector to compete against neighbouring Malaysia’s cost advantage.

South Africa’s parliament has approved a controversial mining Bill despite opposition from mining companies and foreign investors. A majority in the lower house passed the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Bill.

Iran has passed its first law on foreign investment since the 1950s in an attempt to diversify its economy and reduce reliance on oil revenues.

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has been criticised for backing the Bujagali Hydro Project in Uganda. MIGA, the private risk insurance arm of the World Bank, is proposing to underwrite the project for $250m.

The coach of South Korea’s national football team is a Dutchman who was regarded with suspicion by the conservative population when he was first appointed. Following South Korea’s World Cup success, Gus Hiddink is now a national hero, and a new generation of Koreans are accepting that sometimes there are other ways to do things apart from their own way.

The UK sponsors of a major research project on world best practice in regional economic development received a shock when the findings were released recently.

While transparency may be the current buzzword for big business, foreign direct investment still remains a clandestine world for many companies. This month, fDI investigates the decision making process that can mean make or break for so many countries.