Date: 8 9 December 2016 Place: Amsterdam, The Netherlands Venue: Park Hotel Amsterdam Seminar Program Day 1 08:30 09:00 Coffee & Registration Dr. Samir Hamrouni, CEO World Free Zones Organization (World FZO) 09:00 09:30 Opening & Welcome 09:30 11:00 Recent Trends in FDI and New Forms of Investment Over the last few years, levels of New Forms of Investment (NFI) have increased at the expense of traditional forms of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). When will FDI levels regain growth again and, if so, which markets will be the new pioneers in attracting new FDI projects? Do companies still see FDI as the preferred market entry mode or are there other forms of global expansion? What FDI opportunities exist across the globe for Free Zones? Dr. Douglas van den Berghe, CEO Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) and Mr. Laurens van der Schoor, Free Zones & Incentives Advisor Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) 11:00 11:30 Coffee & Refreshments 11:30 12:30 The Evolution of Free Zones and the Need for Change Traditional Free Zone models such as Export Processing Zones and Free Trade Zones that emerged across the world in the 1960s and 1970s are increasingly challenged in the current global economic context. Their advantages, such as preferential market access, generous fiscal incentives and low-cost labor, are no longer sufficiently sustainable. Free Zones need to differentiate their business environment and services to remain competitive. Recently, a shift to a new generation model of Free Zones is noticeable. However, the magnitude and pace of implementing new, innovative sources of competitiveness varies from zone to zone. This session addresses how Free Zones have evolved over time and which motivations have driven this shift to new Free Zone strategies in different regions of the world. Mr. Laurens van der Schoor, Free Zones & Incentives Advisor Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) 1
12:30 13:00 Regional Trade Agreements, Customs Unions and Competitiveness of Free Zones Regionalization through the proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) and customs unions provides significant trade opportunities for many companies worldwide. However, RTAs and customs unions may also challenge the functioning of current Free Zone regimes. RTAs may deteriorate the competitiveness of (existing) Free Zones as it may limit access to the domestic customs area of free trade areas and limit the export potential of zone-based companies. RTAs have implemented various rules and regulations to oppose trade triangulation and tariff jumping. What options do Free Zone authorities have at hand to counterbalance the deterioration of Free Zone competitiveness? How have various RTAs regulated the access of Free Zone goods and products to their free trade areas? Mr. Laurens van der Schoor, Free Zones & Incentives Advisor Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) 13:00 14:00 Lunch 14:00 15:30 Investor Attraction and Marketing of your Free Zone: From Board Room to Site Visit Investment incentives are often the primary tool to attract (foreign) investment, but have also become highly political given the exposure of many governments to reduced tax revenues. How can Free Zones continue to offer incentives as tool for attract (foreign) investment whilst simultaneously adhering to principles of transparency and accountability? Which incentive programs are effective in attracting FDI? Dr. Douglas van den Berghe, CEO Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) 15:30 16:00 Coffee & Refreshments 16:00-16:30 Questions & Answers Closing of the Day 2
Seminar Program Day 2 09:00 10:30 Developing Strategies for the Future Many potential investment projects fail due to poor communication between the investor and the local Free Zone officials. Despite cultural sensitivities there are also practical insights that can be helpful in professionalizing the communication and managing successful site visits. What is the specific role of a Site Visit Project Officer and how to ensure a positive experience? Which investor relationship management techniques can be used during site visits? Dr. Mohan Guruswamy Chief Knowledge Officer, World Free Zones Organization (World FZO) 10:30 11:00 Coffee & Refreshments 11:00 12:30 Innovation in Service Delivery by Free Zones: Moving Beyond Financial Incentives Attracting a considerable volume of high quality investment to a Free Zone is a pre-requisite for a successful Free Zone. The financial incentives free zones offer are a very useful instrument in the successful attraction of companies that invest in free zones. However, as many free zones offer similar financial incentives, providing unique customer services (so called soft incentives) is increasingly a decisive factor in the competition for foreign investment. Aftercare services are important in this respect but one may also think of encouraging the creation of linkages between zone-based firms and local and domestic companies located outside the Free Zone. Mr. Laurens van der Schoor, Free Zones & Incentives Advisor Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) and Dr. Douglas van den Berghe, CEO Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) 3
Speaker Profiles Dr Samir Hamrouni, CEO World Free Zones Organization (World FZO) Dr. Samir Hamrouni is CEO of the World Free Zones Organization. In this role he reports to the Chairman, Dr. Mohammed Alzarooni, providing analytical assistance and advice on key strategic matters to the organization consolidating this new not-for-profit organization. Previously, Dr. Samir was employed as Senior Advisor with Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), a 100% Government owned free zone that promotes modern technology based industries. Previous to DSO he was at Economic Zones World, EZW, a global developer and operator of economic zones, technology, logistics and industrial parks under the Dubai World Group. EZW s portfolio. Dr. Samir coordinated a multidisciplinary team, which developed the Dubai Economic Development Department and Dubai Executive Council the Dubai Medium Term Economic Plan 2012-2016. Dr. Samir has served in various posts since he began his career. He was Manager of Research & Development at The Arab Science & Technology Foundation (ASTF). During 2004-2005, Dr. Samir joined the Euro-Arab Management School (EAMS), as Director of Business Development. In 2002, he founded the Barcelona Arab Center, which aims to consolidate Euro-Arab cooperation in the cultural, social, educational and economic fields, and until very recently he was its director. 4
Dr. Douglas van den Berghe, CEO Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) Dr. Douglas van den Berghe (PhD) is the CEO and founder of Investment Consulting Associates ICA headquartered in Amsterdam and Boston with partner offices around the world. He holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam - Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). As a management and strategy consultant, he has assisted many corporate clients in successfully implementing their global investment strategies, their location selection, as well as optimizing their global supply chains across the world. Some of his corporate clients include Shell, Philips, Electrolux, HB Fuller, Appvion, John Deere, Johnson Controls, Knowles and Appnovation Technologies. He is considered one of the leading global experts on FDI, location strategy and offshore strategies, investment incentives, SEZs, and how to develop FDI policies for economic development and increase competitiveness. He has been an advisor to numerous governments, free zones, and investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in countries in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America and various organizations including UNCTAD, UNDP, World Bank, USAID, OECD, US State Department and the EU. Douglas is currently advising multiple countries in emerging and frontier markets on their investment and incentives policies. Douglas recently led major projects to build the capacity of countries and regions to attract FDI. Douglas is also a guest speaker at numerous conferences around the world. 5
Dr. Mohan Guruswamy Chief Knowledge Officer, World Free Zones Organization (World FZO) Dr. Mohan G. has over two decades of experience in the areas of Strategic Planning and Organizational Development. He has the distinction of being associated with Industry as well as Academics on a continuous basis. He was formerly Advisor, Strategy and Business Performance for Executive Council of Abu Dhabi. His responsibilities included, aligning each Government entity s strategy with overall Abu Dhabi Strategy as well as Integration of Strategies across Government entities. He has also been Director of the LEAD Program (a Leadership Development Program across Abu Dhabi) which is delivered by Judge Business School, Cambridge University. Prior to this he worked for Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation and was responsible for Strategic Planning & Performance Management functions. His earlier assignments have been in Senior positions, in the capacity of Vice President Corporate Development with large diversified Multinationals. His academic specialization is in the areas of Strategic Planning, Operations & Supply Chain Management and Corporate Governance. By virtue of being a practitioner as well as a Professor of Management Sciences, Dr. Mohan brings with him a broad knowledge-base, of both conceptual and practical frameworks. 6
Mr. Laurens van der Schoor, Free Zones & Incentives Advisor Investment Consulting Associates (ICA) Focus of the expertise of Laurens is Free Zones and incentives strategies, developing customized incentives advice and performing comprehensive incentives benchmarks for both corporate and public sector (e.g. IPAs, EDOs) clients. Corporate engagements include assisting multinationals with locating their Greenfield investments and optimizing incentives strategies as part of their site- and location-selection processes. Apart from supporting corporate clients with their incentives strategies, Laurens has also been engaged in multiple governmental projects throughout the world. His project experience in this field includes developing tailor-made incentives policies, investment promotion and attraction, studies on regional integration and incentives frameworks, evaluation of agricultural incentive regimes, foreign direct investment (FDI) and competitiveness benchmarking, positioning International Financial Centers for FDI and analyzing incentives in high-risk investment environments. He has worked in many countries including EU-28, Channel Islands, Middle East (amongst others, Jordan, Palestine Authority and the United Arab Emirates), Kazakhstan, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the United States. Laurens has advised numerous governments, Free Zone authorities and IPAs in Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Central Asia and Southeast Asia as well as various international organizations, including UNCTAD, UN-ESCAP, OECD, World FZO and World Bank/IFC. 7