Oleksiy Pavlenko, Ukraine's minister of agriculture, is bringing about reform to the sector through a bout of privatisations and a simplification of the licence system. The private sector is responding to this positively, as Karen E Thuermer found out when she caught up with Mr Pavlenko at the US-Ukraine Investment Forum in July.

While the likes of London and New York remain the dominant global IFCs, there is a chasing pack of emerging market financial hubs that are looking to carve out a lucrative niche or become a regional champion. Natasha Turak assesses them.

The Spanish region of Navarre had a bumper year for FDI in 2014 and is outpacing the national average for GDP growth. Jules Stewart finds out what is behind the impressive numbers

Middle Eastern countries have dominated the ranking with United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia grabbing the top three places. 

Costa Rica retains its position as the leading destination for FDI projects in fDi’s Caribbean & Central American Countries of the Future 2015/16 ranking.

For the third consecutive ranking, New York City has reigned supreme as fDi’s American City of the Future, with San Francisco rising through the ranks to take second place and Houston placing third.

For FDI projects to have a positive impact on a region, the investing company may need to connect with local supply chains, something that, as Michal Kaczmarski finds out, economic developers are well placed to help with. 

By combining traditional FDI attraction methods with big data analytics, investment promotion agencies can be more efficient and effective in attracting new companies to their regions, according to Steven Jast of ROI Research on Investment.

The UK may attract high levels of FDI, but there is an ever greater number of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) vying for this capital. To succeed in winning it, LEPs must be armed with the right expertise, a clear brand message and, of course, a distinct competitive advantage.