Publication: World Investment and Political Risk 2013
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2014
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2013-12-18
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This report seeks to understand investors' perceptions of political risk as they affect Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), as well as the role of the political risk insurance industry in mitigating these risks. It is found that investors continue to rank political risk as a key obstacle to investing in developing countries, though investors classify macroeconomic instability as their top concern over the medium term. The report confirms a continued increase in the use of political risk insurance as a risk-mitigation tool and reaffirms the industry's health and resilience. Providers have met the challenge of these years with new products and innovative ways to use existing tools as well as substantial capacity to meet growing demand. It also looks at breach of contract risk and its causes. The research helps guide investors and insurers when they participate in a project that involves a contract with a developing-country government entity. As private and public sectors continue to increase their cooperation in service of bringing important investments to fruition, this research is particularly timely.
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“Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. 2014. World Investment and Political Risk 2013. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16388 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication World Investment and Political Risk 2009(World Bank, 2009)Political risk is a top concern for corporate foreign investors from industrialized but also developing countries when venturing into emerging markets. At the same time, these investors maintain a positive outlook on economic and business prospects in the developing world, which is expected to attract a growing share of global foreign direct investment (FDI) as the world economy slowly, recovers. Positive business sentiment over emerging markets amid concerns over political perils point to a sustained need to mitigate these perils. This, added to the rise of South-based investors, offers opportunities and challenges for the political risk insurance (PRI) industry. In the current context of high uncertainty, understanding how investors perceive and deal with political risks helps to map out the role of PRI in the emerging post-crisis investment landscape. This report focuses on FDI and PRI for long-term investment, and only covers political risk in developing countries. Although political risk also affects other forms of private capital flows, these are beyond the scope of this publication. The main findings of the report are summarized as follows: i) while political risks top foreign investors' concerns, the global economic and financial crisis has not fundamentally altered FDI prospects for emerging markets; ii) concerns over political risks, combined with sustained FDI into emerging markets over the medium term, suggest a growing need for political risk mitigation and opportunities for the PRI industry; and iii) the emergence of South-based investors is increasingly shaping the global FDI environment and presents regional growth opportunities, but also challenges, for the PRI industry.Publication World Investment and Political Risk 2011(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011-01)The mission of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) into developing countries to support economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve people's lives. 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This year the report also pays special attention to the FDI picture in the Middle East and North Africa region in light of the Arab Spring, as well as the reaction of multinational enterprises to these developments. This year's report puts a spotlight on expropriation, a political risk with a long and recurring history, and examines motivations of host-country governments in deciding whether to expropriate. The report also highlights the role of political or economic shocks in triggering expropriations. It finds that investor disputes are more likely to be resolved by democratically elected governments rather than non-democratic regimes. This suggests that the propensity to expropriate is significantly higher in countries with non-democratic regimes, a finding that should be of interest to investors who are more concerned about political stability than about regime type and political institutions. 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The insurance industry has responded with new products and innovative ways to use existing products as well as substantial capacity to meet the growing demand.Publication MIGA Annual Report 2010, Volume 2(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2010)The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA's) mandate to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries to improve people's lives and create more opportunities remains more important than ever. Despite a challenging business climate, during the past year MIGA sought out and supported projects that contributed to its mission and growth. In fiscal year 2010, MIGA provided $1.5 billion in new guarantee coverage. This amount targeted a wide range of projects across all regions from bank liquidity in Serbia and Latvia to guarantees on complex port projects in Turkey, China, and Senegal. Over the past year MIGA supported investments in frontier markets, such as Sierra Leone and Ethiopia. And as was the case last year, MIGA experienced a lower-than-usual level of cancellation. MIGA also continued to support financial flows from banks to their subsidiaries in Europe and Central Asia that were harmed by the financial crisis. Beyond the financial sector, MIGA supported clients seeking political risk insurance for energy and infrastructure investments with a strong development impact. The projects that MIGA supports create jobs; provide water, electricity, and other basic services; strengthen financial systems; generate tax revenues; transfer skills and technological know-how; and help countries tap natural resources in an environmentally sustainable way. MIGA again demonstrated thought leadership in the political risk insurance arena. The report fills an information gap and underlines that investors view political risk as the most important short- and medium-term obstacle to investing in developing countries. MIGA's management continues to focus on change to increase effectiveness and improve efficiency for investors and lenders. MIGA has also worked more closely with other units of the World Bank Group to ensure the best use of the Bank Group's expertise, products, and services.
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