Attracting investors: a need for transparency

François D. is a French manufacturer of fine leather goods. Recently he has been seeking to expand his business in Latin America to take advantage of cheaper qualified labour and lower-priced leather hides, as well as special trade agreements with the United States and Europe. His problem is where to go. Like most would-be investors, he is confronted with a lack of transparency. He can find snippets of information, but not enough reliable data to back his decision.

Investors usually have several options, but they need to know the rules of the game in the countries they are considering before they can decide on the best location. Their main concerns are how to create a company or buy an existing one, how to obtain a business licence, the costs involved, the forms required and the names of the persons to contact - not to mention the name of the person to complain to if they need to do so.

In some cases, investors spend so much time and money collecting this information that when they finally identify a location they are put off at the thought of future dealings with the country's bureaucracy.