Reports
Zambezi Valley Development Study
In June 2011, the Vale Columbia Center released a consultative draft report on Resource-Based Sustainable Development in the Lower Zambezi Basin, the result of a year-long inquiry into how the vast resource deposits in Tete province, combined with other major investments along the Nacala and Beira corridors, can be the basis for sustainable, equitable and inclusive growth in the Lower Zambezi Basin.
The report recommends a framework of actions by Mozambique and its public and private partners to ensure that Mozambique reaps a major boost to economic development from its vast resource endowments, while also respecting the profitability of private-sector investments in these important projects. In short, the report aims for a “win-win” arrangement in which all stakeholders, public and private, derive benefits from the mining sector in Tete Province. The consultative draft was presented in Mozambique in June 2011 to serve as the basis for discussion, comment, and engagement with the range of stakeholders- government, private sector, development partners, regional banks, and civil society. Comments are welcome on the report. The Vale COlumbia Center looks forward to working with stakeholders in the region on implementation.
Investment Promotion Agencies and Sustainable FDI: Moving toward the Fourth Generation of Investment Promotion
The Vale Columbia Center and The World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) conducted a survey of investment promotion agencies (IPAs) that are members of WAIPA on FDI and sustainable development in April and May 2010. The report based on the findings, Investment Promotion Agencies and Sustainable FDI: Moving toward the Fourth Generation of Investment Promotion, benchmarks the responses of IPAs regarding sustainable FDI and its four dimensions (economic development, environmental sustainability, social development, governance) and finds, among other things, that these are unevenly addressed by investment promotion strategies and investment incentives. The report also draws attention to the desirability of attracting sustainable FDI, rather than focusing on volume of investment alone. It is available for download here.
Rapporteur's Report on the Roundtable on States and State-Controlled Entities as Claimants in International Investment Arbitration
International investment by State-controlled entities (SCEs) is on the rise. State-owned enterprises (SOEs), especially from Europe, have long been active players in the world FDI market. They have been joined, in the past few years, by a wide range of SOEs and sovereign wealth funds from emerging markets, including from China, Russia, and Singapore. Parallel to the rise of international investment, investors have become more assertive in pursuing their rights under international investment agreements. The result has been a rise in treaty-based international investment disputes. It can be expected that the number of international arbitrations initiated by SCEs, while currently limited, will likely grow in coming years as well. This, in turn, leads to the question as to what specific issues may arise in international arbitrations if a claimant is a State or a State-controlled entity.
On March 19, 2010, the Vale Columbia Center hosted a Roundtable on States and State-Controlled Entities as Claimants in International Investment Arbitration. The Roundtable reviewed cases brought in the past by SCEs and the issues that were discussed in their context, and it looked at the experience gained in commercial arbitrations as regards SCEs. From there, the Roundtable moved on to a number of specific issues that appear to be most relevant in the context of SCEs as claimants, namely issues related to the initiation of claims, forum selection, parallel proceedings, counterclaims, and third-party financing. Understanding the new environment in which SCEs may operate as parties to international arbitrations, as well as the principal issues relating to disputes involving them, becomes an increasingly important matter for anyone interested in international investment law and arbitration.
Download the Roundtable Report.
More information on the Roundtable event, including the program and participant list, is available here.