00:01The World Investment Forum is the leading UN conference on investment in the context, of course, of development.
00:08Where is the money needed? Where is the money coming from?
00:11And how can we engineer it so that it really has the broadest impact?
00:19What makes a business decide to invest in one country rather than another?
00:24Here at UNCTAD's World Investment Forum in Doha,
00:28we're speaking to investors and business leaders about where they see opportunities,
00:33what holds them back, what it takes to get projects off the ground.
00:39UN Trade and Development says more than 80% of foreign direct investment last year went to just 20 economies.
00:47Why does the investment go there?
00:49Because these countries have to offer a strong infrastructure, strong skills and institutions,
00:55which are the framework for any return of investment really to last.
00:59Investments are not a short-term endeavor.
01:02So you need to know which rules are there, who is your partner.
01:06It even goes beyond liking or not liking the rules of the game.
01:09As long as you know that there are rules and what rules there are,
01:11you can build around them or on top of them.
01:13But you need definitely that stability.
01:15That's the key to investment.
01:18Infrastructure and access to waste oils led EcoCyrus to invest in Malaysia.
01:24The Hong Kong-based company turns those oils into aviation fuel.
01:30Malaysia do provide very good basic infrastructures.
01:34So seafood infrastructures with a port.
01:36We need a refinery base of infrastructures.
01:39They are very comprehensive.
01:41So they provide infrastructures there.
01:45Second, they provide availability for the fish stocks.
01:49So we use waste.
01:50For instance, UCO uses the kitchen oil and pump-related waste oil.
01:56So they provide there's an abundancy of fish stocks.
02:00So both of them provide a very good fish stock infrastructure there.
02:04In Qatar, Al-Mahar Holding is investing in local production
02:08through its subsidiary Petrotech, which makes electrical equipment.
02:12It's been significant because this has been a collaboration with also local agencies.
02:17We are building local in-country value.
02:20We're building capability here in Qatar.
02:23And this is in line with the Qatar national vision.
02:26This has given us the exposure not only to produce in Qatar,
02:29but also to expand our regional capabilities here in the region.
02:33But companies also face risks that extend beyond Qatar.
02:37Today, we are facing unprecedented geopolitical problems.
02:41And all of the countries, particularly GCC, have been impacted.
02:45We are facing enormous inflationary pressure, exchange rate pressure,
02:49and pressure of the Brent-Prudol pricing,
02:52as well as a huge impact on our logistics and supply chains.
02:57Building supply chains locally, I believe,
02:59will have a significant positive impact on the local economy.
03:05Governments also have a role in making it easier for businesses to invest.
03:10I know that governments in particular are expecting a lot from the rest of the world,
03:15but a great deal of work at home is required.
03:18Barriers to entry, barriers to exit,
03:20issues related to predictability of their policy frameworks
03:23and their regulatory frameworks,
03:26matters related to rule of law and governance,
03:28preparation of pipeline of bankable and investable projects,
03:32especially in the infrastructure that requires a great deal of attention
03:35when it comes to project preparation.
03:37Smaller countries, he says, can offer investors a bigger market by working together.
03:42And the other thing, scale does matter.
03:44So as if the country in question is a small one,
03:48it needs to go for a regional kind of a scope.
03:52And we have been seeing a lot of discussion today
03:54from the Pacific to the Caribbean, to the African countries, to the ASEAN,
03:58about the role of the regionalization.
04:01The Qatar Fund for Development uses guarantees
04:04to help make projects less risky for private investors.
04:09We actually deploy guarantees depending on the context,
04:13but we deploy them with a certain cap.
04:15So it has to be capped because of our strategy towards captive preservation.
04:22We don't go alone.
04:24It has to be co-financed as well with other entities.
04:27So any type of investment that we deploy,
04:29we always make sure that there is a job creation element
04:33to also empower and enable
04:36because the idea of investment for the fund itself,
04:39it's development financed.
04:42For investors, the aim is to make a return on their money.
04:46For the countries seeking investment here,
04:48the potential benefits are jobs,
04:51stronger local businesses,
04:52and better services.
