China And The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency

In developing countries w ...

May 1997 In developing countries with little foreign direct investment (FDI), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) can serve as a catalyst for more such investment. In China, which now attracts one-third of all FDI in developing countries, MIGA should perhaps help screen that investment and set up demonstration projects to improve the quality and sustainability of FDI. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), established in 1988, is part of the World Bank Group. Its mandate is to promote foreign investment in its member countries by providing political risk insurance and technical assistance to promote investment. In developing this case study of China's evolving relationship with MIGA, Feng asked: Why did China decide to seek membership in MIGA? What was the outcome of the relationship between China and MIGA? How has that relationship affected economic and legal reform in China and the country's integration with the multilateral investment insurance system? How can MIGA strengthen its role? And how can MIGA prevent potential claims to its portfolio in China? MIGA's comparative advantages are its international experience in underwriting and operating its portfolio, its neutral position and approach, its mediation and legal advice, and the fact that its guarantee portfolio is unaffected by bilateral relations. Feng suggests that in China, MIGA should screen foreign direct investment (FDI), not just encourage it, because some FDI in China has been of poor quality, with little transfer of skills and technology. Some local partners have conceded too many discounts to foreign investors, without considering the cost of key assets such as land and machinery. Some foreign investors have taken advantage of local officials' eagerness for foreign capital, pressuring them to grant guarantees they should not grant and to allow unacceptable levels of environmental pollution in industry. China receives one-third of all FDI in developing countries. To continue attracting such investment, it must design a rule-based legal system governing FDI, making its rules and regulations more transparent, uniform, and consistent with international practice. As a neutral third party, MIGA could make policy recommendations that authorities might consider and accept - such as policies designed to encourage less investment in labor-intensive firms and more in high-tech industries. This paper - a product of the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel, Legal Affairs and Claims, MIGA - is part of a larger effort in the Bank Group to promote foreign investment in its member countries. The paper was produced while the author was a visiting research fellow at the Bank.

This publication is a collection of speeches given by Akira Iida, Executive Vice President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). In his speeches, Mr. Iida describes how MIGA has conducted its business in the past five years, setting the standard in various aspects of investment promotion. Annexes provide a business profile that includes MIGA¿s country membership, guarantee activities, premium income, and outstanding portfolio by sector, host region, and investor country.

The World Bank Group A to Z provides the most concise and essential information about the mission, policies, procedures, products, and services of the new World Bank Group. This second edition is a follow-up to the first volume released for the 2014 Annual Meetings. The World Bank Group A to Z series builds on previous editions of A Guide to the World Bank to include features not found in its predecessors including: a graphical introduction to the World Bank Group, highlighting the Bank Group's goals, financials, regions, and results; examples and photos of Bank Group projects and programs; and tools to guide you to the information you are looking for (even if you don’t know exactly what that is). It also reflects the wide-ranging reforms that have taken place within the World Bank Group in recent years, including the launch of the new World Bank Group Strategy; new approaches to development; the establishment of new Global Practice Groups and Cross Cutting Solutions Areas; and the goal of becoming a "Solutions Bank," one that will marshal the vast reserves of evidence and experiential knowledge across the five World Bank Group agencies and apply them to local problems. With more than 280 entries arranged in encyclopedic A-to-Z format, readers can easily find up-to-date information about the five agencies of the World Bank Group and the wide range of areas in which they work: from agriculture, education, energy, health, social protection and labor to gender, jobs, conflict, private sector development, trade, water and climate change. The World Bank Group's work in all of these areas now focuses on two new twin goals: eliminating extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity of the poorest 40 percent in every developing country.

EU investment in China has increased dramatically since the early 1990s and is poised to increase further in light of Chinas recent accession to the World Trade Organisation. This book explores and critically appraises the existing legal framework governing EU-China investment relations,particularly EU investment in China. The current legal framework is composed of Chinese law, EU law and applicable international law, but the Chinese law is unsystematic and hard to discover and the EU has acquired only shared external investment competence which is vaguely defined. The applicable international treaties are incomplete, incoherent, or either too general or too specialised. Besides this, the international fora to settle investment disputes are still not readily available. Furthermore while law has played a very important role in decision-making by EU investors, the Chinese legal system is generally perceived as ineffective and lacking in effective enforcement of court and arbitration decisions. What the book demonstrates is that the time is ripe for a new international legal framework for foreign investment in China, and that as EU-China economic and political relations continue to improve, construction of such a framework is not only necessary, but also possible.

Foreign direct investment and private capital flows are highly concentrated geographically, with almost half of them reaching the top five destinations. These flows tend to evade many high-risk countries, with the exception of those directed to extractive industries. Regulatory and contractual risks, particularly in infrastructure, have inhibited investments in many parts of the developing world. A core objective of the World Bank Group (WBG) has been to support the flow of private investment for development; guarantees and insurance have been among the instruments that the Group has used to p.

The law of foreign investment is at a crossroads. In the wake of an unprecedented global financial crisis and a sharp surge of investment arbitration cases, states around the world are reflecting on the pros and cons of the current liberal investment regime and exploring new ways ahead. This book brings together leading investment lawyers from more than 20 main jurisdictions of the world to tackle the challenge of producing a first comparative study of foreign investment law. Based on the General and National Reports presented at the 'Protection of Foreign Investment' Session at the 18th International Congress of the International Academy of Comparative Law (Washington DC, July 2010), the book is a unique resource for investment lawyers. Part I of the book presents a comparative overview of key aspects of foreign investment protection in the world today, including admission, investment contracts, treatment standards, tax regime and incentives, performance requirement, property and expropriation, monetary transfer and dispute settlement. Part II presents in-depth and detailed accounts of the investment laws of more than 20 jurisdictions, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Macau, Peru, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey, the UK and the USA. The book will be an invaluable guide to legal and business communities with an interest in the law and practice of foreign investment in the world in general and in these jurisdictions in particular.