Foreign direct investment (FDI) has come to be widely recognized over the past decade as a major potentialcontributor to growth and development. It can bring capital, technology, management know-howand access to new markets. In comparison with other forms of capital flows, it is also more stable, witha longer-term commitment to the host economy.
An Investment Guide to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is the concrete product of a collaborativeventure by UNCTAD and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The objective of this project is tobring together two parties with complementary interests: companies that seek new opportunities andcountries that seek new investors. This is not always a straightforward exercise, for firms are driven bytheir global strategies as much as lured by specific opportunities, and countries have economic and socialobjectives that transcend attracting foreign investment.
The UNCTAD–ICC investment guides are thus properly seen as parts of a process, a long-term process atthe heart of which is an ongoing dialogue between investors and governments. The guides themselvesare the product of a dialogue, including that occurring among and between the representatives of businessand government during the workshops that precede the completion of the guides. It is our hopethat the guides will in turn contribute to the dialogue, helping to strengthen and sustain it. We are convincedthat in the long run it is this alone that will create conditions increasingly conducive to greaterflows of investment.
