by Mark Sutcliffe

Bye, bye FDI

The most efficient car manufacturing plant in Europe is the Nissan factory in Sunderland. In January 2001, Nissan secured the plant's medium-term future by selecting it to produce its new Micra – a model which accounts for over one third of Nissan's European sales. Yet in October 2002, Carlos Ghosn, Nissan's President and Chief Executive, strongly suggested that the Sunderland plant's future might not be so secure after all.

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Grocers go global

Carrefour, in its Chinese stores, alongside the fish department, has a fresh snake counter. Wal-Mart boasts that in its Chinese stores you can find local delicacies such as whole roasted pigs and live frogs. Are fresh snakes and live frogs what's needed to succeed in China? It would seem so. Global companies thinking local, customising themselves to each market is increasingly seen as the key to success in Asia and elsewhere around the world.

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The 2002 UNCTAD World Investment Report

What did it have to say?

• In 2001, FDI inflows dropped by 51 per cent to $735 billion. This was the first drop in FDI inflows since 1991 and the largest drop for the past 30 years.
• The share of FDI inflow to developing economies rose from 17.9 per cent in 1999/2000 to 27.9 per cent in 2001. Such inflows are however highly concentrated. In 2001 the five largest host countries in the developing world received 62 per cent of total inflows.

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Do mergers pay?

Do mergers pay? For many it would seem not, if the findings of a recent BusinessWeek report are to be believed. A survey of 302 major US mergers (valued at over $500 million) between July 1995 to August 2001 revealed that 61 per cent of buyers managed to destroy their own shareholders' wealth.

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Brown's Budget: the problem of looking long-term

When the UK Chancellor announced in his 2002 March Budget ambitious public-spending plans for health and education, he set out his stall for many years to come. Ploughing money into public services, he proclaimed, was the right long-term decision for the UK economy. One would find it difficult to argue with his objectives. However, like all long-term plans, they are based on forecasts and projections, and these can turn out to be wrong. And this is just what has happened.

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