fDi Podcast

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) held their annual meeting in May. Adrienne Klasa, fDi Magazine’s development finance editor, and Jacopo Dettoni, fDi Magazine’s deputy editor, share their main takeaways from both events. The podcast features interviews with: 

·      Jonathan Charles, managing director for communications at the EBRD;

·      Bambang Brodjonegoro, national development planning minister, Indonesia;

·      Basim Al Saleh, managing partner, Greentech;

·      Muhannad Shehadeh, minister of state for investment affairs, Jordan;

·      Mamuka Bakhtadze, finance minister, Georgia.

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Chronicles from MIPIM 2018 

Podcast host Jacopo Dettoni discusses with editor-in-chief Courtney Fingar and global markets editor Sebastian Shehadi about this year's edition of the annual real estate event held in France in March, where again political uncertainty, but also automation and other mega trends stole the spotlight. 

This episode features interviews with:

• Mehmet Kalyoncu, board member, Kalyon;
• Sergey Cheremin, head of external economic and international relations, Moscow Government; 
• Charles Hecker, senior partner, Control Risks; 
• Andy Street, mayor, West Midlands Combined Authority. 

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Hailed by Republicans as one of the most important pieces of legislation in recent history, the tax reform approved by the Congress of the United States in December is now expected to have a deep impact on global foreign investment. 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sharply increases the tax competitiveness of the United States and sets the ground for billions of dollars in cash held abroad by US corporations to be repatriated, and perhaps even for the reshoring of some of their overseas operations.  The reform is a game-changer, and both investors and policy makers all over the globe are adjusting. 

fDi Magazine’s editor-in-chief Courtney Fingar joins podcast host Jacopo Dettoni to discuss the reform. 

The podcast also features interviews with: 

·      James Zhan, director of investment and enterprise at Unctad; 

·      Philip Wagman, a New York-based partner with global legal firm Clifford Chance;

·      Taimur Baig, chief economist of Singapore-based DBS Bank;

·      Prof. Christophe Spengel of the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW).

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Cryptocurrencies have captivated public attention in the past months, shrugging off a reputation for being just a way to carry out illegal activities in the dark web. But it’s now the technology that powers cryptocurrencies, the blockchain, that is taking centre stage. The hype surrounding the blockchain has never been bigger, and even the financial and political establishment talked blockchain at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 

What can be the benefits of the blockchain for cross-boarder trade and investment? 

Podcast host Jacopo Dettoni talks blockchain with Catherine Mulligan, co-director at the Centre for Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering at the Imperial College London. 

The podcast also features interviews with Jason Kelley, head of IBM’s Global Blockchain Services; Antonas Guoga, alias “Tony-G”, poker legend, blockchain entrepreneur and member of the European parliament from Lithuania; David Henderson, co-founder of blockchain-based solution for supply chain finance Sweetbridge.

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The Odebrecht corruption scandal is not abating. In fact, it is growing day by the day throughout Latin America.

Brazilian construction company Odebrecht has emerged as the ringmaster of a sophisticated corruption network spanning Brazil and another 11 countries in Latin America and Africa. Investigators are now at work in most of these countries to hold accountable Odebrecht’s accomplices. The early results of these investigations are sending shockwaves through the continent and questioning the very continuity of many administrations and reform programmes, with serving presidents linked to Odebrecht payments in major Latin American countries like, among others, Colombia, Panama and Peru. Let alone Brazil, where Operação Lava Jato (“Operation car-wash”) has already has decimated the political and business elite in the past three years.

As new evidence emerges, a question resounds in the mind of local and international observers: Is this only the tip of the iceberg for Latin America? 

Jimena Blanco, head of Americas politics research at global risk and strategic consulting firm Verisk Maplecroft and Katherine Hochstetler, professor of international development at the London School of Economics, try to answer this question with podcast host Jacopo Dettoni.

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Investment promotion agencies, also known as IPAs, still have relatively little influence in the decision making of foreign investors. The World Bank recently surveyed 754 executives of multinational corporations investing in developing countries, and only 43% of them gave the services of IPAs some importance, whereas most of them recognised elements such as “transparency and predictability in the conduct of public agencies”, or investment protection guarantees provided in the host country’s laws” as the most important investment climate factors. Yet some successful experiences of national or regional IPA around the globe show how big of an impact they can have in turning their territory into an appealing investment destination.

Courtney Fingar, editor-in-chief of fDi Magazine, discusses the reasons why IPAs still struggle to catch the attention of foreign investors, and what they can do gain the attention of foreign investors, with podcast host Jacopo Dettoni.

The podcast also features exclusive interviews with World Bank’s senior director Anabel González, and investment authorities from Armenia, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Myanmar, Mongolia, and Tunisia.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.