The Western Cape has never been South Africa’s economic hub, but it has been transformed into a far more dynamic region since the end of apartheid.

FDI Editor Brian Caplen introduces a new Financial Times Business publication that will take a hard-hitting and in-depth look at foreign direct investment at a time when the global economy is facing some of its toughest challenges.

Ashleigh Lezard

Is the UK losing its sparkle as Europe’s most attractive FDI destination? FDI experts are divided on whether the recent fall in FDI flows to the UK is due solely to the US slowdown and is temporary or if it is part of a longer-term decline as other European countries become more attractive.

Ashleigh Lezard

FDI in Pakistan will be affected by the terrorist attacks on America and the resulting military strikes on Afghanistan but not as much as was first feared.

More details are emerging of the agreement signed between IKEA, the Swedish furniture company, and Klaipedos Mediena, the largest plywood, chipboard and furniture manufacturer in Lithuania, to build a furniture factory in the coastal town of Klaipeda.

National Australia Group (NAG) has opened a call centre in Kilmarnock, Scotland to service customers of its European banks.

The government in South Africa has been forced to change plans that would have curtailed foreign direct investment in the lucrative private security industry.

Iran could be one of the major FDI winners from the new political landscape that has emerged since September 11’s attacks in the US.

Why do some of the world’s best known companies – such as Ford, Bosch and Sony – decide to set up operations in Wales? If you don’t know the answer then perhaps its time you found out more.

The Russian government has approved the construction of a bridge that will connect the island of Sakhalin to the Russian mainland.

The Scottish Executive is to launch a campaign to promote more diverse inward investment. The move is viewed as a response to the fall in Scotland’s traditional form of foreign direct investment – manufacturing.

Ford steers clear of controversy

Ford’s controversial new Brazilian factory in Bahia has been named Project Amazon, showing that the car maker is endeavouring to promote its policy of corporate responsibility. Kyle Copas, spokesman for William McDonagh Partners, the architects that developed the land-use plan for the site, said Ford was aiming for, “regeneration and recuperation of indigenous vegetation and local species”. The site’s buildings rely on local materials and construction methods, responding to the regional climate and architectural forms.

Ashleigh Lezard

Attracting FDI to your country requires three things: enthusiasm, enthusiasm and enthusiasm. Location, incentives and infrastructure are all important but, in the end, a positive attitude is likely to count for as much, if not more.

In June this year, the European Parliament formally adopted the European Company Statute, which provides that a European company may be incorporated. This is a concept that has been floated for the past 30 years and now sees some true legal form. Although the statute will not come into force until June 2004, now is a good time to consider whether this new form of corporation will be of substantial benefit to the administration of a corporate group operating in the European Union.

A worldwide slump will hit the Western Cape of South Africa hard. But, as Jonathan Katzenellenbogen reports, the region will be ready when boom replaces bust.

Excellent transport, competitive labour costs and an abundance of raw materials make a winning combination for Cape Town.

Levi is now manufacturing in South Africa, but what of currency decline and material production problems?

The global economic downturn coupled with current military action by the US could give emerging market countries a financial headache. Steadier than other forms of investment in uncertain times, FDI could restore them to health, says Charles Piggott.

Political risk has reappeared as a driver of investment decisions. But where one country loses, another may gain. Charles Piggott reports.

Most large Polish firms already have foreign partners but there are still some investment opportunities around, particularly in the manufacturing, telecoms and financial services sectors. Charles Olivier reports.

Citibank has emerged as one of the fastest-growing banks in Poland. Charles Olivier talks to chief executive Shirish Apte.

Latin America offers huge opportunity for investors, particularly in the energy sector. Hugh O’Shaughnessy charts the progress of some recent foreign entrants to this market and speculates on their future.

Nick Kochan reports on how a group of Irish entrepreneurs are proving the sceptics wrong about Jamaica.

Tens of thousands of companies around the world remain in state hands. But are governments willing to sell them and are they worth buying anyway? Charles Olivier reports.

South East England is the largest regional economy in the UK and a world-beating centre for many industry, technology and science sectors.

If drive and energy are key qualities for the head of a small country’s overseas promotion agency, then Patricia Francis is ideally suited to her job. This tough Jamaican says her job involves constant battles to reverse false perceptions of her island paradise. “Telling investors that you can do something here other than tourism was the challenge,” is her constant theme.

CzechInvest has gained a reputation for exciting marketing and now one of the key executives behind it has been posted to London.