Investment Promotion, Trade and Export Development

An ever increasing number of both companies and governments in transition and developing countries are realising the potential of the global marketplace as a source of corporate expansion and economic growth. We assist governments and private companies in seizing the opportunities that an integrated world economy offers - access to foreign capital, new market opportunities and increased trade:

design and implementation of investment promotion programmes;
profiles for investment projects and promotion to potential Western European and US business partners;
policy advice in investment promotion and export development;
realisation of export promotion programmes, including trade fair representation, for companies, sectors and countries, achieving significant and quantifiable increases in export earnings. In one project the 200 participating Polish companies saw their export performance improve by USD 100 M within a twelve-month period.

Project Examples

Central and Eastern Europe/CIS

Serbia: PC&A provides assistance to the Market Inspectorate in Serbia in establishing an adequate legislative and institutional basis for the market surveillance of non-food consumer products. The tasks include among others an analysis of the existing institutional set up and legal framework in the area of market surveillance including comparative analysis with the EU legislation, compliance table and recommendations; concise proposal of the needed legal, institutional and procedural changes to align the system to the EU rules and standards and the translation of EU guidelines in the field of market surveillance into Serbian.
Serbia: PC&A was invited to Support the successful implementation of the National Investment Programme (NIP) by improving the strategic and technical capabilities of the NIP office. (conceptual, strategic and systemic review of the NIP Office, its mission and vision and performance mechanism; Review of requirements for NIP Office organisation and flowchart)
FYR of Macedonia: Investment promotion programme. We assisted private and public sector enterprises in Macedonia in the identification of industrial investment projects and in the preparation of related industrial investment project profiles.
Hungary: Pro-active investment promotion consultancy. We assisted the German branches of ITDH, a Government owned Agency for investment promotion in Hungary in attracting investments from German SMEs. Furthermore, institutional support to ITDH headquarter was provided to improve the management of the three branches in Berlin, Bonn and Munich.
Moldova: PC&A assisted the Multilateral Trade relations and WTO Division of the Ministry of Economy in Moldova in implementing trade-related economic reforms in line with Moldova's obligations under the WTO agreement, as well as the Free Trade Area between Moldova and the countries of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe.
Poland: The EXPROM programme assisted some 200 industrial companies, most of them privatised or being in the process of privatisation, in enhancing their international competitiveness and in increasing their export performance. Initial (independent) evaluation has shown a direct export increase of more than USD 100 million within a twelve-month period.
Russian Federation: In order to develop foreign economic activities of SMEs in the Privolzshsky federal district, PC&A assisted the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nizhny Novgorod to establish and start operation of the Povolzhsky Foreign Trade Board (PFTB) to support SMEs in the sphere of foreign economic activities and trade.

North Africa and Middle East

Egypt: PC&A was called upon by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to produce a comprehensive and detailed assessment report on Egypt’s trade and trade related assistance needs and analysed in detail the current institutional and regulatory framework of Egypt’s trade and related sectors to identify knowledge and/or institutional gaps.
Yemen: PC&A is assisting the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) in acceding to the World Trade Organization and strengthening long-term strategic thinking on trade policies and mainstreaming of trade policies in the Yemeni environment. We therefore support the MoIT in managing the Programme Estimate to run various activities in relation to the Accession Process through workshops and other communication activities and give advice to the Minister on issues relating to WTO Accession, Trade Integration in regional and global set-ups and trade policy issues relevant to Yemen through regular dialogue or consultations.
Egypt: PC&A was contracted to implement a training course on WTO GATS agreements for Government officials from the WTO-Central Department in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
All MEDA countries: Preparation of a feasibility study for the streamlining of investor guides of all countries in the region and set-up of a web portal for investor guides.

Egypt: Within the Egyptian Private Sector Development Programme we assisted seven Egyptian food processing companies in their preparation for and participation in the ANUGA International Food Fair held in Cologne in October 1999.
Jordan: Export Marketing Strategy for the Dimension Stone and Building Stone Sector. The main objectives of the project were to develop, for the Jordanian Stone and Tile Exporters Association and its members, a coherent yet pragmatic export marketing strategy for the dimension and building stone (DBS) sector of Jordan and to identify measures to be used to enhance and develop a clear, focused and stronger brand of export promotion. The ultimate aim was to ensure that the enhanced export promotion strategy could be successfully utilised to strengthen the existing DBS industry, and at the same time increase the flow of FDI into Jordan and sharpen the profile of the Jordanian DBS industry within global markets.
Jordan: Development of information services, including a web based reference guide on the free trade between the EU and Jordan. The overall objective of the project was to improve JEDCO's capabilities to assist and advise businesses in Jordan, especially SMEs, in preparing for the EU-Jordan Association Agreement.
Morocco: Feasibility Study for a European Information and Communication Centre (EICC). The objective of this feasibility study was to provide Moroccan and EC decision makers with key information to justify the approval or refusal of the EICC project with regard to relevance, practicability and options for the implementation of the financed project.
Syria: Business Collaboration Handbook. The overall goal of the project was to enhance business collaboration of Syrian private sector companies with local, regional, and EU companies by raising awareness to the role of strategic and business collaboration in facing international competition. A 48 page practical handbook for business collaboration (“With Collaboration to Success in Business – A Practical Guide for Business Collaboration”) was prepared in English and Arabic, and widely distributed among Syrian SMEs.
Syria: PC&A drafted an action plan to upgrade the General Organisation for Free Zones (GOFZ) to enable it to operate and compete for investment in a modern international economic context. The approach in the project was to (i) Review free zone developments in the Region and the world; (ii) Identify key success factors; (iii) Evaluate the GOFZ structure, legal basis and performance; (iv) Assess its competitiveness; and (v) Formulate proposals for legal and organisational change.
Syria: PC&A was asked by the Syrian European Business Centre (SEBC) to draft an action plan for the upgrading of the Syrian Organisation of Free Trade Zones with the aim of reaching an internationally accepted performance level of the institution. Based on international best practices, we identified key requirements in terms of organisational structure upgrading, service upgrading, IT and HR and defined a detailed action plan with a timetable for the strengthening of these components.
Tunisia: On behalf of the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA), PC&A carried out a thorough study of Tunisia’s labour competitiveness measured against a selection of its main competitors (e.g. Morocco, Romania, and Turkey). Based on our findings we determined Tunisia’s competitive position in terms of labour costs and made recommendations for the improvement of Tunisia’s labour competitiveness. We made concrete recommendations in the field of labour market reform, and designed programmes to increase the productivity of Tunisian workers as well as their adaptability to new technologies.
Tunisia: Investment promotion programme in the electronics, electrical engineering, equipment, products and components industries. In co-operation with a Tunisian consulting firm we assisted the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency in analysing and developing the potential competitive advantages of Tunisia compared to other investment destinations in order to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) in the sectors covered.
Turkey: In view of harmonising Turkish legislation with the horizontal legislation of the EU related to product safety, PC&A assisted the Prime Ministry of Foreign Trade in the effective implementation of the basic EU provisions on the product safety in Turkey.
Turkey: On behalf of the Turkish government PC&A conducted a complete assessment of the first six years of implementation of the EU-Turkey Customs Union. We delivered a detailed evaluation of both sides efforts to comply with obligations under the agreement and measured the impacts of the CU on the Turkish economy. Finally we provided a series of recommendations for further economic and institutional reforms.

Other regions

Indonesia: PC&A completed the final evaluation of the EU-Indonesia Trade Support Programme (TSP) by assessing its results, progress, impact, sustainability. PC&A identified its critical success factors, strengths and opportunities for improvement and overall lessons learned that can be used by the beneficiaries and incorporated to the future co-operation in the area of trade and investment.
Central American Region: PC&A was invited to conduct a mid-term evaluation of the technical and financial implementation of the project “Support to the design and implementation of common policies in Central America (ADAPCCA)” by assessing the financial agreement, operational plans (global and annual) and conducting desk and field research as well as interviews based on the evaluation criteria of the EU (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability and impact). The team therefore assessed the extent to which the ADAPCCA project has achieved its objectives, challenges and principal risks. The team made recommendations in order to improve the project and formulate future assistance for further programmes.
Liberia: In order to accompany Liberia in its current process of gradual integration into the world economy and support Liberia in formulating clear and budgeted financial requests to the donor community, PC&A was invited to carry out need assessments in several Liberian administrations and prepare Terms of Reference (ToR) steering from 12 priorities selected within the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study. Recommendations on a chronological sequencing of the technical assistance were also provided.
Jamaica: PC&A was invited to conduct a review of the local export sector, the provisions of the European Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the EU market operations, in order to assist the Government of Jamaica in identifying and addressing the critical success factors required to position the country as one of the leading EPA CARIFORUM partners. The team therefore reviewed all background documents, conducted a needs assessment of Jamaica and convened two stakeholder workshops. The result is a strategy document for the 10th EDF EPA Development Programme setting out the overall objectives and a quantified financing proposal (Action Fiche & TAPs) for the European Commission, activities and deliverables at the national level, including sectoral focus, as well as an overall programme implementation strategy.
Andean Community: In the context of the creation of a common market in the Andean area, we are implementing a technical assistance programme to the countries of the Andean Community (Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia) in trade issues. The goal of the project is to facilitate the on-going integration process in the Andean Community, the realisation of the common market in this area and the development of trade between the EU and the Andean Community. We therefore provided training to officials and private sector representatives in a variety of trade related topics, including technical barriers to trade (TBT), sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) regulations, and customs valuation issues.
Central Africa: The Central African Region (incl. São Tomé and Príncipe) is negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union on the basis of the CEMAC regional integration process. We analysed current and potential export opportunities of CEMAC countries and assisted the CEMAC Executive Commission (which has the mandate for conducting EPA negotiations on behalf of its Member States) in formulating specific negotiating positions for EPA negotiations in order to maximise the positive impact of the EPA on the Central African region.
West and Central Africa: As part of the EDF funded Pro€Invest programme, PC&A prepared a regional strategic sector and institution building identification study, followed by seminars to support potential applicants and present the programme in all countries of Central Africa and West Africa. Pro€Invest is an EU-ACP partnership programme for the promotion of investment and technology flows to enterprises in the ACP countries.
Project Output: West and Central Africa Sector Orientation Report
Bhutan: PC&A was called upon to analyse the key policy and negotiating issues for Bhutan arising from accession to the WTO and to train the administration in the details of the WTO accession process, highlighting measures related to Bhutan’s key-sectors (i.e. agriculture and agro-food, forestry and wood industry, manufacturing, and services) and horizontal issues. Finally we prepared a legislative action plan for the Bhutanese government and assisted in the creation of an information centre point on WTO matters.
Ethiopia: In 2003, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia applied for accession to the WTO, a process which is expected to be completed in 2009. We provided support to the Department of WTO Affairs of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) as well as to the interministerial WTO Technical Committee in this process. Activities under the project covered the preparation of Impact studies of WTO Accession (quantitative analysis, using a CGE model, as well as analysis of qualitative effects) and training to government representatives in negotiation techniques.
Guatemala: We identified a comprehensive economic co-operation programme to strengthen Guatemala's international competitiveness. Three main axes of co-operation have been identified: (1) Trade facilitation (simplification, harmonisation and automation of procedures for imports, exports and transit of goods); (2) Stimulation of Guatemala's participation in the multilateral trade system and increase local trade negotiation capacity; and (3) Support to the national competition strategy, including support to the development of a FDI regime.

India: On behalf of the European Commission and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India, and within the EC-India Trade and Investment Development Programme (TIDP), PC&A was asked to make recommendations for deepening and widening of India-EU trade. Our recommendations included strengthened technical assistance on trade facilitation, concrete measures to enhance India’s export performance and steps to improve India’s climate for FDI.
India: In the Trade and Investment Development Programme, PC&A provided technical assistance to several ministries and associations involved in foreign trade. After analysing the reasons for the relatively low level of integration of India in the world economy, we proposed a series of remedial actions in the following areas: support of local research on trade-related issues; improvement of the information available to companies wishing to engage in EU-India trade; improve the certification process to ensue that Indian products comply with EU standards and disseminate information to Indian companies on the importance of quality standards (ISO, SA etc); and improve the investment climate, notably for FDI.
India: PC&A was asked by the European Commission to assess the effective implementation by the Indian Government of the Joint Recommendations agreed upon at the EU-India Summit in Lisbon in 2000. These Joint Recommendations were aimed at increasing trade and investment flows between the EU and India. Furthermore, we assessed the implications of actions taken or not taken on the growth of two-way FDI and trade in several key-sectors.
Pakistan: For the Asia-Invest programme, PC&A produced a study covering a business oriented review of the Pakistani investment climate, assessing the political, social and legal environment in the country and how it affects the inflow of foreign direct investment and other topics of interest for potential European investors with a focus on small and medium size enterprises. The published study "New Business Opportunities in Pakistan – An Investor's Guidebook" (227 p.; PDF) is available from the Asia-Invest website.
Philippines: In a comprehensive 3-year Trade Related Technical Assistance Programme, we assisted the Philippine authorities, represented by the National Economic and Development Authority, to enhance conditions for international trade and investment, and improve the access of exports to the expanded EU market by increasing compliance of Filipino exports with Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) control requirements. Furthermore, we provided assistance related to trade facilitation and customs reform, as well as capacity building in WTO issues.