Foreign Trade, FDI, and Capital Flows Study

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  • Publication
    Services and Manufacturing Linkages: An Empirical Analysis for Lao PDR
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02) World Bank Group
    This report seeks to shed light on the ways in which the services sector has contributed to Lao PDR’s competitiveness and integration into the global marketplace. It focuses on two complementary roles that the services sector plays: first, as an avenue for export diversification and growth and, second,by providing inputs into other productive sectors of the economy, such as the manufacturing sector. As economies grow, the importance of the services sector generally increases, but its role as an enabler of other sectors of the economy in moving up the value chain is frequently overlooked. However, the services sector is critical in raising competitiveness of these other sectors to boost growth and create better quality jobs. The main policy recommendations that emerge from this report are aimed at increasing competition in the services sector, reducing distortive regulations, and opening up the sector to foreign participation, building up skills, both at the individual and at the firm level, and investing in hard and soft infrastructure to promote the development of the sector.
  • Publication
    Reaping Benefits of FDI and Reshaping Shanghai's Economic Landscape
    (Washington, DC, 2011-01) World Bank
    Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has played a significant and positive role in driving economic growth and upgrading economic structure in Shanghai. The shift in the pattern of FDI over the last decade towards services has been particularly crucial. Given its importance, Shanghai municipal government may continue to devote efforts to attract FDI and have foreign funded enterprises help reshape Shanghai's economic landscape. The main importance of FDI to Shanghai lies less in its capital finance, and more in the extent to which foreign funded enterprises (FFEs) help move the city up the value chain and generate high-end jobs. In the post-financial crisis era, developing countries will take a much larger role in leading world growth while enhanced competition will accelerate the pace of service revolution. Possessing strong geographic advantages, Shanghai has the potential to become an international business and financial hub and to have the high-tech industries and services being the driving force of the growth. Shanghai has strong potential in reaping the benefits of FDI and reshaping its economic landscape in 12th Five Year Plan period. In terms of the three conditions to succeed good opportunity, favorable geographic location and harmonious society, Shanghai is already in a good position. This note seeks to provide insights to help the Shanghai government make the right decisions and trade-offs to better reap the benefits of FDI in the context of a changing global context.
  • Publication
    Boom, Bust and Up Again? Evolution, Drivers and Impact of Commodity Prices: Implications for Indonesia
    (World Bank, Jakarta, 2010-12) World Bank
    Indonesia is one of the largest commodity exporters in the world, and given its mineral potential and expected commodity price trends, it could and should expand its leading position. Commodities accounted for one fourth of Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than one fifth of total government revenue in 2007. The potential for further commodity growth is considerable. Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil in the world (export earnings totaled almost US$9 billion in 2007 and employment 3.8 million full-time jobs) and the sector has good growth prospects. It is also one of the countries with the largest mining potential in view of its second-largest copper reserves and third-largest coal and nickel reserves in the world. This report consists of seven chapters. The first six chapters present an examination and an analysis of the factors driving increased commodity prices, price forecasts, economic impact of commodity price increases, effective price stabilization policies, and insights from Indonesia's past growth experience. The final chapter draws on the findings of the previous chapters and suggests a development strategy for Indonesia in the context of high commodity prices. This section summarizes the contents of the chapters and their main findings.
  • Publication
    China in Regional Trade Agreements : Environment Provisions
    (World Bank, 2009-06-30) World Bank
    This report is structured in three volumes: competition provisions; environment provisions; and labor mobility provisions. The main messages of this three volumes are as follows: 1) competition laws and policies are increasingly being established at the regional level, as they could be instrumental in supporting the benefits of trade and investment liberalization; 2) China may want to use the opportunity of these negotiations to: (a) further discipline its state-owned enterprises;(b) carefully consider the possible role of antidumping policies; and (c) promote and lock-in domestic reforms aimed at improving its domestic competition policies; 3) with a shift of the development agenda from primarily pursuing growth to achieving a more balanced and sustainable development and taking into account China's high reliance on trade, it may be increasingly in China's interest to pro-actively engage its partners on environmental issues in its regional trade agreement (RTA) negotiations; and 4) while the world economy stands to gain massively from liberalization in the mobility of labor, adverse popular reaction to the economic and social impacts of immigrants has kept progress in enhancing global labor mobility well below progress in trade and capital liberalization.
  • Publication
    China in Regional Trade Agreements : Competition Provisions
    (World Bank, 2009-06-30) World Bank
    This report is structured in three volumes: competition provisions; environment provisions; and labor mobility provisions. The main messages of this three volumes are as follows: 1) competition laws and policies are increasingly being established at the regional level, as they could be instrumental in supporting the benefits of trade and investment liberalization; 2) China may want to use the opportunity of these negotiations to: (a) further discipline its state-owned enterprises;(b) carefully consider the possible role of antidumping policies; and (c) promote and lock-in domestic reforms aimed at improving its domestic competition policies; 3) with a shift of the development agenda from primarily pursuing growth to achieving a more balanced and sustainable development and taking into account China's high reliance on trade, it may be increasingly in China's interest to pro-actively engage its partners on environmental issues in its regional trade agreement (RTA) negotiations; and 4) while the world economy stands to gain massively from liberalization in the mobility of labor, adverse popular reaction to the economic and social impacts of immigrants has kept progress in enhancing global labor mobility well below progress in trade and capital liberalization.
  • Publication
    Sovereign Wealth Funds in East Asia
    (Washington, DC, 2008-06-30) World Bank
    The massive size, rapid growth, and high-profile investments of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) in the U.S. and elsewhere in 2007 has attracted the attention of the media, politicians, regulators, and academics over the past year. Some of the SWF investments have been viewed as market stabilizing, for instance the substantial equity investments in large U.S. financial institutions that were recently in financial trouble after the sub-prime mortgage crisis. However, there is great suspicion from many political and academic quarters that SWFs are politically motivated with many SWFs in Asia now at the center of the storm. Although SWFs have been in existence for many decades worldwide, most SWFs in the East Asia and Pacific Region (EAP) are relatively new. The emergence of the SWFs in Asia is largely a by-product of the strong economic development at East Asian countries and the attendant accumulation of foreign exchange reserves, however, there are other types of SWFs in the region. The Governments have taken a concerted strategy to enhance the returns on these excess reserves. The EAP region is an ideal region to take a look at the issues surrounding SWFs since Asia has the full range of funds from long-established funds to brand new funds; from passive portfolio investors to more aggressive strategic investors; from resource-backed funds to foreign reserve-backed funds; and, based in the largest, most highly developed economies to the smallest, poorest economies in Asia. Therefore, the objective of this report is to document the status of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the East Asia Region and to understand the implications of their rapid growth. Many developing countries have recently shifted a higher proportion of their foreign currency earnings from official foreign currency reserves to sovereign wealth funds. Sovereign wealth funds have an estimated $600 billion in assets under management in developing countries, dominated by China ($200 billion held by the Chinese Investment Corporation and $68 billion held by the Central Huijin Investment Company) and Russia ($130 billion held in the Reserve Fund and $33 billion held by the Fund of Future Generations). It should be noted that this amount is small relative to the total level of reserves held by developing countries (estimated at $3.7 trillion at end 2007).
  • Publication
    China Capital Markets Development Report : China Securities Regulation Commission
    (China Financial Publishing House, 2008-01) Qi, Bin
    The 'China capital markets development report' provides a good overview of the development of China's capital markets and explores future strategies. The report starts by reviewing historical events in the evolution of China's capital markets which have grown from small and unorganized regional markets into a national market today. By summarizing lessons learned during the market evolution and analyzing major gaps between China's capital markets and more mature markets, the report tries to propose a strategic design and vision for China's capital markets development for the next decade and beyond. Since the commencement of economic reform and opening up, China has gone through significant economic and social changes, and the socialist market economic regime has been established and steadily improved. Between 1979 and 2007, China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been growing above 9 percent annually on average and China has become the fourth largest economy in the World. China's capital markets emerged and developed during the same period. With joint efforts by all relevant parties, China's capital markets have been able to reach a level of development that took many mature markets decades or even a hundred years to achieve. Along the way, the legal and regulatory frameworks, and trading and clearing systems have developed according to international best practice and China's capital markets have been increasingly recognized by international investors. The emergence and development of capital markets has been closely linked to mass production. They are the prerequisite for, and important indicators of, a modern market economy. Capital markets promote the development and improvement of market-driven resource allocation, resulting in the optimization of social resources. As the world financial markets become increasingly global and integrated, competition among capital markets and financial centers around the world is becoming increasingly intensive, leading to a fast-changing landscape in capital markets. The competitiveness and viability of the capital markets have become important components of national competitiveness.