fDi’s inaugural Innovation Awards recognise the world’s most creative investment promotion agencies.

Data centres are becoming increasingly essential business assets, and as many companies realise their need for such facilities, so too are locations across the US waking up to the economic benefits of hosting these large, power-hungry sites.

After decades of economic decline, the Philippines is experiencing a revival, but challenges remain, including updating the country’s dated infrastructure and bringing its education standards in line with international requirements. 

While the benefits of high-tech hubs are widely agreed upon – they generate substantial revenues, boost job creation and raise the profile of a location – the formula for creating a successful cluster is far less clear cut, with a multitude of factors, from the quality of local talent to the extent of government assistance, playing a part.

While its largest city, Toronto, captures most of the international attention afforded to the Canadian province of Ontario, the investment strategies of three of its smaller cities – Mississauga, Hamilton and Waterloo – show that the area has considerable strength in depth.

The relatively small and quiet Canadian province of Nova Scotia manages to punch above its weight in the investment stakes, thanks in no small part to its economic development agency, which has taken a creative and thorough approach to attracting FDI.

South Korea's taste for Western consumer goods has made the country a key Asian market for companies in this industry from North America and western Europe, as shown by Kimberly Clark's decision to locate a global innovation centre there.