There are so many country rankings based on different data sets that it is difficult to know if any could help pick a winner for an investment. fDi takes an average of 20 rankings to find out which country leads the world of ICT.

Incentives offered by the US federal and state governments to rebuild the Gulf Coast areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina last year are starting to pay off for the region.

As the internal security situation improves in Colombia, foreign companies are returning, with mining concerns leading the expedition.

Whether it is to operate refrigerator factories in South Carolina and Italy or a tomato sauce and condiment processing plant in France, Chinese enterprises continue to expand abroad into both developed and emerging markets.

Do you want ‘in-the-box’ or ‘out-of-the-box’? Yes, the ‘box’ term is still in use, this time in relation to types of people and places. People in the world of IT have been using it, and considering that software is the biggest FDI sector in Europe, perhaps we had better listen.

World FDI inflows in 2006 will reach about $1200bn, a 22% increase over the 2005 total of $955bn, and the first time since 2000 that global FDI will have surpassed the $1000bn mark, according to World Investment Prospects to 2010: Boom or Backlash.

London ranks as the most popular destination for Chinese companies expanding into Europe, according to the Ernst & Young European Investment Monitor.

This year was set to be the best ever for Israel’s tourism industry, and those expectations had borne out until July when hostilities with Lebanon-based Hezbollah began.

Trade and investment activities between Europe and Asia, which combined attract 50% of global FDI inflows, are increasing. Lawrence Yeo advises investors to look at soft analysis alongside hard statistics when choosing business partners.

Investment in the Thai auto sector has never been so attractive as the industry continues to flourish, growing in the domestic and export arena.

Legal challenges from the world of foreign direct investment. By Luke Peterson.

Toronto-based VisualSonics, which was created to commercialise new ultrasound technology that allows researchers to perform highly detailed studies on laboratory animals, chooses a European HQ.

Until a couple of years ago, few people would have believed that a Chinese company would be the US’s largest investor but that is what happened when Lenovo bought IBM’s PC division. Karen E Thuermer reports.

A well-respected and popular mayor, Sergio Chiamparino successfully brought the Winter Olympics to Turin and is now spearheading the city’s industrial regeneration. Silvia Pavoni reports.

With the results of 20 indices, fDi finds the overall global leaders on the ICT front. Here, we present the results, with the Scandinavian countries dominating the top rankings.

The EU has reached its half-century, leading to many an accusation of a midlife crisis. Critics claim the Union lacks direction and that the euro’s days are numbered, but few, if any, would do away with it entirely. Tom Blass reports.

Reconnecting with related cultures and opening up old trade routes and relationships across Europe are attractive prospects for eastern European countries. Joining the EU offers these and much more in terms of investment flows, James Hydzik reports.

Two inter-related topics have always been, and will continue to be, a point of discussion in Europe: to what extent should corporate tax rates be lowered, if at all, and how can research and development best be encouraged? Anuschka Bakker reports.

fDi highlights five dynamic areas in Europe: Dubrovnik, Lille, Montenegro, Vienna and Zurich.

The Isle of Man’s light touch on tax has let its financial services sector thrive and its economy boom. Fund managers are the latest to enjoy the zero rate of corporation tax, reports Courtney Fingar.

Finland has one of the world’s most competitive economies. So where is the FDI? Dan Steinbock investigates

For decades, the UK’s riversides and docks lay derelict. These sites are now at the centre of a multitude of urban regeneration projects that are bringing prosperity to some of the country’s most run-down areas. By Courtney Fingar.

Dr Ousmane Sylla, minister of mines and geology, explains why the International Mining Symposium in Düsseldorf, Germany, on October 26 and 27, 2006, offers an ideal opportunity to invest in Guinea’s underdeveloped mining sector:

Location has always proved crucial to Cyprus’s prosperity, and the recent crisis in Lebanon highlighted its role as a safe place to do business for banks, corporates and private investors. Nick Kochan reports.

Italy is famous for its heritage and laid-back attitude. Now investment agencies are working hard to publicise the fact that it also boasts expertise in sectors such as aerospace and nanotechnology, as well as enjoying excellent labour relations. Silvia Pavoni reports.

The Italian region of Lazio could be lost in the shadows of Rome if it did not work hard on promoting the surrounding area. Tom Blass reports on the huge efforts being made to take investors’ and tourists’ attention outside the city.

Pharmaceuticals is an important industry in Lazio and the labour and skills pool make it a good location. A new partnership with local government is designed to help keep the region at the top of the game.

In the early 1990s, the business prospects in the Russian Far East looked highly attractive but a decade of corruption, crime and maladministration pushed out small investors and left only the multinationals. Jeffrey Robertson investigates whether it is now safe for them to return.

South Korea’s economic liberalisation is paying off, with investment inflows growing dramatically and interest from companies worldwide, taking the country closer to its aim to be the north-east Asian business hub.

Foreign Investment Festival 2006 to put Invest Korea Plaza on the map.

With thin computing expected to surpass the growth rate of the PC market, Wyse Technology is seeking a slice of South Korea’s sales potential. Karen E Thuermer reports.

Busan has set its sights on attracting foreign investment and is diversifying its business base to achieve its goals.

Huge developments are under way in Incheon’s bid to become a regional hub.

Both the US and South Korea have trade and economic ambitions that would be well served by a bilateral trade agreement, but they have disagreements to iron out first.

In a globalised world, communication can be vital in the success of a product, so the language used must be understood locally. Erika Morphy looks at the complicated task of translation.

When corporate restructuring involves pulling out of an area, it does not have to mean abandoning a plant and its employees. Jean Noel Mermet and Dominique Mermoud outline best practices for transforming restructurings into new opportunities.

In an excerpt from his new book, Joseph Stiglitz argues that a fair global trade regime entails treating developing countries differently, but without the political slant that colours the current voluntary system, and suggests a single reform that could change the world.

For Russia, 2003 marked a turning point in strategy. While the country sought to buy into external markets, it decided to ensure foreign ownership of its own assets would be drastically limited. Sacha Kumaria explains.

Risk data and risk perceptions are clearly making a difference to inward FDI flows to central and eastern European and former Soviet countries. Harley Johansen looks at the evidence.

World Economic Forum ranks Switzerland as the world’s most competitive economy, followed by Finland and Sweden, but large macroeconomic imbalances cause the US to fall from first in 2005 to sixth in 2006.

A survey into the most expensive places in the world to rent office space sees London come out top.

One of the reasons why Cityscape Dubai is becoming so successful is the access it gives to the wealthiest and most liquid group of investors in the world, says Rohan Marwaha.

Gulf states and other Arab investors took their time to follow Dubai’s example, but now they are piling into major real estate investments as a cornerstone of development policy, writes Jon Marks.

As Middle Eastern cities seek to outdo each other with their mega-projects, the long-term social and economic impacts must be considered, writes Gordon Feller.

From luxury waterside villas to sleek high-rise city apartments, Bahrain’s residential market is developing at a blistering pace. Dominic Ellis reports.

Bahrain, the region’s fastest growing economy is making a clear statement of intent as it pulls out all the stops in a bid to become the Middle East’s commercial focal point. Dominic Ellis reports.

Property developers and investors are now spreading their net far and wide across the Emirates, writes Dominic Ellis.

Beyond the financial centres of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the neighbouring emirates are stepping up their commercial profiles, writes Dominic Ellis.

Bigger and bolder remains the Dubai mantra but will the increasingly costly emirate be able to fill all the space in the new wave of skyscrapers and villa communities?

Abu Dhabi is leaping out of Dubai’s shadow by investing billions in huge real estate projects – but will the occupancy levels match the sky-high ambitions?

The once sleepy northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is bursting into life with a wealth of upscale leisure and commercial facilities in the pipeline.

The long period of steady price gains on the Kuwaiti residential property market has come to an end, Jack Hamilton writes.

Flush with windfall oil funds, Kuwait City is redesigning itself with grandiose projects ready to leave the drawing board and enter the record books, writes Nadine Marroushi.

Developments such as The Heights could persuade well-healed investors that Jordan is the place to be, write Nadine Marroushi and Mark Ford.

The Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC) was launched in 2004 as a development company with the objective of unlocking the potential of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ) by accelerating its economic growth and development.

As new property developments rise up in the capital Amman and in Aqaba’s burgeoning tourist area, Jordan can claim to have joined the ranks of desirable Middle Eastern locations, writes Nadine Marroushi.

In Qatar buildings are springing up all over the capital Doha, hopefully in time for the this year’s Asian Games, writes Eleanor Gillespie.

High-rise commercial developments will go some way to solving the exceptionally high demand for office space in Doha, reports Eleanor Gillespie.

Saudi Arabia’s population is growing and becoming more wealthy as the kingdom’s economy is modernised. Jack Hamilton and Jon Marks report on the implications this has for the burgeoning housing market.

With three new economic cities already off the blocks and another clutch on the drawing board, there seems almost no end to the prospects for development in the Saudi commercial market, writes Jack Hamilton.