Registration

Investment Climate and Development

The opening session will discuss the contribution of investment climate to private sector development and in turn to sustainable economic development and poverty reduction.

Enrique V. Iglesias, President, Inter-American Development Bank

Ricardo Lagos, President of Chile (video)
Presentation

John B. Taylor, Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs, United States

Investment Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons Learned

Significant swings in investment and in the investment climate have occurred in most countries of Latin America and the Caribbean over the last few years, most of which have had a negative impact on the level of investment.  This session will analyze the lessons learned, the mistakes to be avoided and the successes to be replicated.  The viewpoints of experts in investment and the public and private sector viewpoints will be presented.

Guillermo Calvo, Manager, Research Department and Chief Economist, Inter-American Development Bank
Presentation

Neil Roger, Director, Investment Climate Department, World Bank-IFC
Presentation

Diana Farrell, Director, McKinsey Global Institute
Presentation

Moderator: Bernardo Frydman, Deputy Manager, Private Sector Department, Inter-American Development Bank

Business Climate Initiative of the IDB Bank Group

The Inter-American Development Bank Group recognizing the importance of the investment climate for investment, and, hence for development, through sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction, has put together an Initiative to support the investment climate of borrowing member countries that will be announced in this session.

Dennis Flannery, Executive Vice-President, Inter-American Development Bank
Presentation

Investment Climate and Private Sector Investment

This session will analyze the impact of the investment climate on domestic and foreign investment and what are the political, legal institutional, macro and microeconomic conditions conducive to attract and maintain the investment.

Pedro Aspe, Former Finance Minister, Mexico
Presentation

Charles H. Dallara, Managing Director, Institute of International Finance

Carlos Franck, President, Santa Maria S.A. (Org. Techint), Argentina
Presentation

Lunch

Francisco Gil Díaz, Finance Secretary, Mexico
Presentation

Features of the Investment Climate

Specific features of the investment climate will be discussed in this session.  There are many features that are important but given the time constrains only a few will be discussed, to provide a sample of the issues that need be addressed in an investment climate reform program.

Bankruptcy and Lenders Rights to attract Lending 

Francisco Luzón Lopez, Latin America Director, BSCH, Spain

Rule of Law

Oswald (Ozzie) L. Cano, General Manager, Government and Regulatory Affairs, PSEG Global, LLC, USA
Presentation

Property Rights and Red Tape as factors in Investment 

Daniel Marx, Executive Director, DMA, Argentina
Presentation

Moderator: Donald Terry, Manager, Multilateral Investment Fund

Political acceptance and sustainability of reforms to the investment climate

One of the most neglected features of the investment climate and possible one of the most important is that of its political feasibility and long-term sustainability. This session will discuss the political economy of the investment climate, including the important issue of communicating the intentions, costs, and benefits to the investment community, political community and the population at large.

Political Feasibility and Country Capacity to Absorb

Guido Mantega, Minister of Planning, Budget and Management, Brazil
Presentation

Enforcement, Stability and Sustainability

Jorge Rodriguez Grossi, Economy and Energy Minister, Chile
Presentation

Assessment of Investment Climate

Roberto Artavia, Dean of INCAE
Presentation

Communication Strategies for Acceptance

Italo Pizzolante, Director of the Latin American Institute on Corporate Governance and President of Pizzolante Comunicación Estratégica

Moderator: Antonio Vives, Deputy Manager, Private Enterprise and Financial Markets, Inter-American Development Bank

Closing Remarks

Dennis Flannery, Executive Vice-President, Inter-American Development Bank