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View this email in your browser <https://mailchi.mp/law/perspective-278?e=16d35c83a4> 哥伦比亚大学国际直接投资展望中文版都可以在我们的网站查看： http://ccsi.columbia.edu/publications/columbia-fdi-perspectives. *Columbia FDI Perspectives* Perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues No. 278 May 18, 2020 Editor-in-Chief: Karl P. Sauvant ([log in to unmask]) Managing Editor: Alexa Busser ([log in to unmask]) *A G20 Facility to rekindle FDI flows* <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=8592640bab&e=16d35c83a4> * <#m_7526917621763854036__edn1> by Karl P. Sauvant** <#m_7526917621763854036__edn2> The G20 has committed itself “to spare no effort”[1] <#m_7526917621763854036__edn3> to support the global economy during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Encouragingly, moreover, the G20 supports “a time-bound suspension of debt service payments for the poorest countries that request forbearance”[2] <#m_7526917621763854036__edn4>—but this suspension is temporary. Countries will need long-term FDI inflows as a sustainable basis to meet debt obligations and help economic recovery. Hence, the decline of FDI flows to developing countries—which may well halve in 2020, to US$350 billion—needs reversal. Accordingly, and as part of its efforts, the G20 should consider, at its ministerial meeting in July 2020, to establish a Facility to rekindle FDI flows, in the framework of a compact for recovery and growth. Attracting more—and sustainable—FDI demands that the regulatory framework of host countries be as enabling as possible, and investment facilitation be efficient. Yet, many developing countries—and especially the low-income countries among them—lag behind in improving their regulatory frameworks, strengthening their investment promotion activities and reducing investment risks.[3] <#m_7526917621763854036__edn5> Fortunately, many intergovernmental organizations assist developing countries in improving their FDI ecosystems, including UNCTAD, the World Bank Group, UNIDO, the ITC, and the OECD. But their current assistance is not sufficient to help significantly in reviving FDI flows, and they need stable funding. The shortfall in assistance can be alleviated if the G20 creates a well-endowed FDI Facility to boost the quantity and quality of investment flows. The objective should be, first, to support the recovery of FDI flows to developing countries to the 2019 level of US$700 billion, and then to triple it by 2030, to US$2 trillion. Reaching this goal will become easier over time because developing countries are becoming more attractive investment destinations as their infrastructure, technological base, human resources, and market size improve. Success breeds success. Based on country-specific needs assessments, the Facility could develop an overall strategic approach to scaling up FDI flows and, consistent with G20 objectives, “support enhanced policy and operational coordination across all relevant International Organizations (IOs), at multilateral, regional and country levels.”[4] <#m_7526917621763854036__edn6> For that purpose, it should provide resources for targeted technical assistance to tackle specific bottlenecks identified by the Facility. Establishing such a Facility requires agreement on a number of issues: - *Beneficiaries.* Beneficiaries should be developing countries, focused on low-income countries. Many of them are in dire need of investment, especially in light of the pandemic and, more generally, the challenges they face in advancing sustainable development. - *Scope*. A Facility should back the entire range of technical activities aimed at increasing the quantity and quality of FDI flows to beneficiaries. It should map the activities of the principal intergovernmental institutions providing FDI technical assistance, identify overlaps and gaps, and help scale up activities where institutions have special expertise. The Facility’s efforts should be focused on strengthening domestic capacity (especially of investment promotion agencies) and improving the investment ecosystem. Special attention should be given to efforts aimed at facilitating sustainable FDI flows and increasing the developmental benefits of these flows. Moreover, the Facility should encourage intergovernmental institutions to team up with non-governmental organizations, especially business organizations, undertaking practical work in the FDI area. - *Governance*. A governing board comprising representatives of (G20 and non-G20) governments supporting this effort could oversee the Facility, advised by an advisory committee consisting of representatives of business and other stakeholders, and assisted by a small coordination unit. Such a unit could be located in a country that makes a substantial financial contribution to the Facility. Alternatively, the Aid-for-Trade initiative provides a readily available framework that could be expanded to cover investment, turning it into an Aid-for-Trade-and-Investment initiative. [5] <#m_7526917621763854036__edn7> Or a coordination mechanism could be created within the UN. Regardless, a public-private sector mechanism should help mobilize resources and experience from the private sector. Regular reports to donors about progress made should be based on clear benchmarks in terms of whether reforms work, have developmental impact and show donors value for their money. - *Financing*. Governments committed to improving the FDI ecosystem and in a position to do so should be interested in contributing to such a Facility. Similarly, governments should be interested in strengthening and scaling up the FDI-supporting activities of the intergovernmental organizations mentioned earlier. A G20 decision to create a G20 Facility to rekindle FDI flows would be part of a timely spare-no-effort response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. It would provide stable funding to organizations providing FDI-related technical assistance. With a view toward helping accelerate flows of FDI for sustainable development, it would focus on those countries most in need of them, especially low-income countries. Governments should see such a Facility as an integral part of efforts to relaunch the world economy and restart economic growth. ------------------------------ * <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref1> *The Columbia FDI Perspectives are a forum for public debate. The views expressed by the author(s) do not reflect the opinions of CCSI or Columbia University or our partners and supporters. Columbia FDI Perspectives (ISSN 2158-3579) is a peer-reviewed series.* ** <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref2> Karl P. Sauvant ([log in to unmask]) is Resident Senior Fellow, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, a joint center of Columbia Law School and the Earth Institute, Columbia University. The author is greatly indebted to Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz for his insights into this subject and to Lou Wells for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this text as well as Roberto Echandi, Eduardo Gálvez, Khalil Hamdani, and Pierre Sauvé for their helpful peer reviews. [1] <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref3> G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, “Communiqué”, Apr. 15, 2020, p. 1. <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=68c64037d6&e=16d35c83a4> [2] <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref4> Ibid. [3] <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref5> Axel Berger, “Investment facilitation for sustainable development: index maps; adoption at domestic level” (Bonn: DIE, Dec. 2019). <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=3fa9d6b6e6&e=16d35c83a4> [4] <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref6> G20, op. cit., p. 7. [5] <#m_7526917621763854036__ednref7> This approach would also recognize that trade and investment are closely intertwined. *The material in this Perspective may be reprinted if accompanied by the following acknowledgment: Karl P. Sauvant, ‘A G20 Facility to rekindle FDI flows,’ Columbia FDI Perspectives, May 18, 2020. Reprinted with permission from the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (**www.ccsi.columbia.edu <http://www.ccsi.columbia.edu>**).” A copy should kindly be sent to the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment at **[log in to unmask]* <[log in to unmask]>*.* For further information, including information regarding submission to the *Perspectives*, please contact: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, Alexa Busser, [log in to unmask] *Most recent Columbia FDI Perspectives* <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=e4dcc59887&e=16d35c83a4> - No. 277, Peter Muchlinski, ‘Regulating multinational digital platform enterprises: The case of Uber,’ May 4, 2020 - No. 276, Carolina Arriagada Peters, ‘Investment aftercare matters,’ April 20, 2020 - No. 275, Karl P. Sauvant, ‘Enabling the full participation of developing countries in negotiating an Investment Facilitation Framework for Development,’ April 6, 2020 *All previous FDI Perspectives are available at **http://ccsi.columbia.edu/publications/columbia-fdi-perspectives/ <http://ccsi.columbia.edu/publications/columbia-fdi-perspectives/>**. * *Other relevant CCSI news and announcements* - CCSI and partners call for ISDS moratorium during COVID-19 crisis and response <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=736c1cb7cb&e=16d35c83a4>. Those who are interested in adding their names to this sign-on can express their interest in doing so here <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=3a8972a189&e=16d35c83a4> . - *CCSI prepared a Scoping Study on Securing Adequate Legal Defense in Proceedings under International Investment Agreements (Scoping Study) <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=e2bf6adaa1&e=16d35c83a4>* for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. A summary version (33 pages) is available here <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=4fdb15b869&e=16d35c83a4>. A webinar (March 24, 2020) discussing the study and its findings is here <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=5ee7fd24c6&e=16d35c83a4> (and accompanying slides with speaking notes here <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a728245eaa&e=16d35c83a4> ). Karl P. Sauvant, Ph.D. Resident Senior Fellow Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Columbia Law School - Earth Institute Ph: (212) 854-0689 Fax: (212) 854-7946 *Copyright © 2020 Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), All rights reserved.* [log in to unmask] *Our mailing address is:* Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) Columbia Law School - Earth Institute, Columbia University 435 West 116th Street New York, NY 10027 Add us to your address book <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/vcard?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a61bf1d34a> unsubscribe from this list <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a61bf1d34a&e=16d35c83a4&c=4745af62ac> update subscription preferences <https://columbia.us6.list-manage.com/profile?u=ab15cc1d53&id=a61bf1d34a&e=16d35c83a4> [image: Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp] <http://www.mailchimp.com/email-referral/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=referral_marketing&aid=ab15cc1d53&afl=1> *Karl P. Sauvant, PhD* *Resident Senior Fellow* *Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment* Columbia Law School - The Earth Institute, Columbia University 435 West 116th St., Rm. JGH 825, New York, NY 10027 | p: (212) 854 0689 | cell: (646) 724 5600 e: [log in to unmask] | w: www.ccsi.columbia.edu | t: @CCSI_Columbia <https://twitter.com/CCSI_Columbia> "A G20 Facility to Rekindle FDI Flows", "Enabling the Full Participation of Developing Countries in Negotiating a WTO Investment Facilitation Framework", "Concrete Measures for a Framework on Investment Facilitation for Development", "Making FDI more Sustainable", "Facilitating Sustainable FDI by...", "An International Framework to Discipline Outward FDI Incentives?", "The Case for an Advisory Centre on International Investment Law", "An Advisory Centre on International Investment Law: Key Features", "Incentivizing Sustainable FDI: The Authorized Sustainable Investor", "The Potential Value-added of a Multilateral Framework on Investment Facilitation for Development", "International Investment Facilitation: By Whom and for What?", "Towards an Investment Facilitation Framework: Why? What? 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