Other Examples of Foreign Direct Investment

Vietnam's Foreign Direct Investment:

Vietnam was predicted to have a total of $28 billion in FDI this year and have already surpassed that number recently reaching a total of $28.24 billion and there are speculations that they might be able to reach a total of nearly $30 billion by the years end. Roughly $16 billion of this capital is newly registered-capital and about $5 billion has come from M&A activities (mergers and acquisitions). This is a good example of how FDI can work in a countries favor, although much of Vietnam's investments have been a result of M&A activities it is still bringing more money into the country than without these investments. There are many examples of FDI working out exactly as everyone would hope and being profitable and positive for all parties involved but unfortunately when it comes to Foxconn as a company they seem to have a hit and miss track record when it comes to following through with their contracts and promises.

For more information on Vietnam's FDI situation:\

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/189352/vietnam-expects--30-billion-fdi-by-year-end.html

Foreign Direct Investment – Helping Wisconsin’s Economy

Katie Sinnott (Vice President of international business development at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) claims that in terms of international business development, many people think that exporting and foreign direct investment are two separate things. She argues that they are more related than we realize.

Katie’s goal is to help Wisconsin’s economy grow through increased exports, as well as increase foreign direct investment. She says that FDI benefits not only the company that is making the investment, but also the local company that’s being invested in and the company’s local suppliers.

WEDC (Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation) is working with the Global Cities Initiative (GCI) to help the perceptions of FDI grow. GCI is a joint project of the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase which try to boost exports and FDI.

Here in Wisconsin, there is a core team, including WEDC that engage with the Brookings to help with FDI strategies, specifically in Milwaukee. This core team is working to help with exports and the growth of FDI, as well as come up with strategies to improve FDI in Wisconsin.

Find out more about our Core Team by clicking the link below!

http://inwisconsin.com/insource-newsletter/foreign-direct-investment-holds-untapped-potential/

Is the deal with Foxconn unconstitutional?

According to some, the GOP lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker have gone to far in dictating how courts should handle any potential litigation over new companies. The Wisconsin Legislative Council have found several provisions of the legislation to be unconstitutional. This law that was passed by Walker changes how environmental challenges and legal cases over the factory would be handled. Any legal matters that happen regarding Foxconn will now have special requirements that will allow the matter to quickly move to the Supreme Court. By giving the courts a certain way to handle any Foxconn issue, Foxconn will be able to do unlawful things easier because the courts will look the other way. 

http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/20/provisions-wisconsins-foxconn-law-could-unconstitutional-legislatures-attornonpartisan-analysis-find/684418001/

Foxconn: Is it Worth it?

       Some people have reservations when looking into the Foxconn deal and their history when it comes to making these promises of investment and job creation. Although bringing Foxconn to Wisconsin might bring jobs it also might bring disappointment. Foxconn has a history of promising investment and job creation and not following through. In Wisconsin's case we have promised tax cuts, assistance, and other things but all of this investment from the people of Wisconsin will take 25 years to break even on and that's if they actually follow through with their promises of job creation and investment. 

       In places like Brazil, Pennsylvania, Jakarta, and India Foxconn has negotiated deals and investment to build production facilities and create jobs, sometimes promising upwards of fifty thousand jobs, and not even breaking ground on a new facility. Brazil was promised a 12 billion dollar investment in 2011 that has yet to materialized. In fact the location that they were going to build on has been completely abandoned. Foxconn has recently downsized some of their operations drawing suspicions to their promise of creating jobs. India was told they would receive a 5 billion dollar investment and possible job creation of up to 50,000 jobs that still hasn't happened. 

      One of the issues that Foxconn will face when coming to America will be changing their typical operations, a very young work force working for very little wages, to meet the standards and regulations that we have here in America. This is something that could really impact how they are able to operate because on top of training new people they will almost have to retrain themselves to operate under new standards. 

For more Information:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/18/news/scott-walker-signs-foxconn-deal/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/20/business/foxconn-trump-wisconsin.html