Information support for the process of attracting foreign direct investment in the context of digital transformation

Global FDI flows will decline sharply in 2020, falling by 42% to $859bn from $1.5trn. Global foreign direct investment flows fell sharply by 42% to $859bn in 2020, down from $1.5 trillion in 2019, according to the report. This is according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Global Investment Trends report released in January 2021 [1].

Data-driven services, such as artificial intelligence, neural networks and 5G networks, the Internet of Things and quantum computing, have paved the way for new growth drivers that promise to transform entire industries and increase productivity. In the wake of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, this general movement towards the world's increasing reliance on digital technologies and network connectivity has only intensified.

In this context, increasing the country's investment attractiveness and better presenting to the global community the existing advantages of the Republic of Belarus, such as its advantageous geographical location, the availability of a highly skilled workforce, the wealth of natural resources, is a pressing challenge and requires the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of a comprehensive information platform.

The purpose of the text is to identify current trends in information support of investment activities in countries that attract the maximum amount of foreign direct investment, to develop on their basis recommendations for the interactive portal "Investor Roadmap" of the state institution "National Agency for Investment and Privatisation (hereinafter, the Agency), contributing to increasing the interest of potential investors in the Belarusian jurisdiction.

Today, economic science is shaping a transition to a new paradigm that defines the link between the quality of life in a country and the degree of realization of its potential, including investment potential. This approach is based on the recognition of the territory as a full-fledged object of market relations, a peculiar commodity, the specific offer of which should be built, considering the marketing principles, first of all - to meet the needs of the potential investor.

Countries interested in enhancing their investment attractiveness are creating digital platforms that allow them to make the market for the investment projects they offer open, improve the interaction of its participants and, consequently, implement a greater number of quality projects.

An example of such a platform is ROSIN-FRA, created in the Russian Federation at the initiative of the National Centre for PublicPrivate Partnership and with the support of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation [2].

In 2019, the platform has transformed from an information portal into a full-fledged accelerator of project solutions, expert competencies, and financial tools to assist in the preparation and implementation of infrastructure projects. It has been created for several years; initially it was just an ordinary database, but then it became clear that the market was growing, and it made sense to create a service platform and provide on its basis the services in which the participants in the investment process are interested.

At the moment ROSINFRA contains information on more than 4600 projects and 1400 investment proposals (projects and sites for which public-private partnership mechanisms are planned). At the core of the ROSINFRA platform are analytical services, which are built on the data of the publicprivate partnership projects. Existing information on projects and understanding of trends in a particular area form the "big data" which can be used by market participants in the preparation of projects. The platform succeeds in acting as a digital investment agency for public-private partnerships and infrastructure.

The experience of the Emirate of Dubai, which ranked third in the world in terms of both the volume of capital raised and the number of projects launched in 2019, is interesting to consider in terms of information support for the process of attracting foreign direct investment [3].

The website of the Dubai Investment Agency offers users a large amount of information describing the benefits of investing in the territory. On the site users can get information about the services provided by the agency, the latest news, stories of successful implementation of investment projects [4].

A foreign investor can obtain, through the Dubai Economy instant license service, a trade license within five minutes of application, allowing him or her to start a business in just one step without having to register a trade name, articles of association or even a lease agreement [6].

Thus, the Dubai Investment Agency provides the interested parties with a significant amount of valuable information on the process of investment activities in the emirate, there is an opportunity to get some services remotely and quickly enough. Also, the agency has organised a system of monitoring implemented investment projects, by mapping the flows of foreign direct investment and posting reports on foreign direct investment attracted to Dubai for the year in the public domain.

The presented example of information support demonstrates an innovative approach in tracking foreign direct investment in real time, enabling the provision of quality facilitation and follow-up services to investors and more effectively promoting Dubai as an optimal location for investment.

The Dutch Foreign Investment Agency has developed a new website, recognised as one of the world's best online resources for investment promotion agencies [7].

Key innovations implemented in the development of the Dutch investment agency's website include adaptive content based on IP addresses, a focus on generating content, suggestions for key activities as well as key sectors attractive to investors, effective use of infographics to present information to investors, use of concrete examples for investors and access to resources and tools for investors.

Improving the websites of investment promotion agencies is a sound strategy. For example, having analysed the information resources of countries that have attracted the most foreign direct investment, the strategy of providing the maximum amount of information in the public domain is the most effective.

Thus, these examples illustrate the importance of matching investment policy instruments with modern requirements, which involves reorienting investment incentives, modernizing special economic zones, applying new investment promotion and facilitation instruments, and developing well-designed foreign investment selection mechanisms. Linking investment policies to digital development strategies could be the key to effective integration into the global economy and to making globalisation more sustainable in the years to come.

The current market environment for attracting foreign direct investment is very challenging, with a global decline since 2016. This is particularly important for

The Republic of Belarus, whose economy is more dependent on foreign direct investment. The global crisis, a difficult epidemiological and political environment, and falling commodity prices have led to a minimisation of FDI flows, while a significant negative impact on the investment climate is caused by the transitory nature of US trade policy, Chinese foreign policy, political uncertainty in Europe, the crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

As a consequence of the pandemic, blockages around the world have slowed down existing investment projects and the prospect of a deep recession has forced multinationals to reconsider financing new projects.

In this context, it is particularly important that investment promotion agencies, effectively fulfil their function and thus maximise the direct and indirect benefits that can be generated by the flow of foreign direct investment.

In the Republic of Belarus, a government agency "National Agency of Investment and Privatisation" has been specifically created to attract foreign investment.

One of the tasks of the National Agency of Investment and Privatisation is to create and maintain a unified information base on investment, including a unified register of in- vestment projects for foreign direct investment [8].

Within the framework of improvement of the work on maintenance of the above database by the National Agency of Investment and Privatisation in 2018 it was proposed to create a unified information resource that allows obtaining information on investment projects, land plots, real estate objects, available infrastructure, investment legislation, competitive advantages of different territories.

The proposal of the National Agency of Investment and Privatization was supported by the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus, and then by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus [9].

As a result, by the end of 2018, the interactive portal Investor Road Map (hereinafter Road Map) with an integrated CRM system was developed and launched in test mode on 1 January 2019.

The Roadmap is an interactive portal for storing and providing information through the Internet about:

investment projects implemented, being implemented and proposed to be implemented in the territory of the Republic of Belarus;

investment proposals (ideas) proposed for implementation land plots for placement of enterprises and production facilities concession and public-private partnership objects;

real estate objects.

At the moment the Road Map contains information on more than 1950 investment projects and ideas, 950 real estate objects and 1150 land plots [10].

The information on the Road Map is broken down by each district, city of regional subordination and oblast of the Republic of Belarus. Each investment project is assigned to a specific point on the map.

The Road Map provides information on the competitive advantages and prospective areas of development of the regions of the Republic of Belarus, including their specialisation, resource potential, as well as statistical information.

In addition, there is detailed information about the preferential regimes and the privi- leges and exemptions that investors can be granted for the implementation of investment projects.

In the period from 1 January till 31 December 2020, the website of the National Agency of Investment and Privatisation was visited by 38738 unique internet users, in 2019 - 6.5 thousand, in five months of 2021 there were over 18 thousand unique visits to the website.

The geographical coverage includes 171 countries, among which the most active, apart from Belarus, are the USA, Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Germany, Poland, India, China, France, Great Britain, etc.

The absolute majority of the site's users come from Belarus (60%). The second place is held by visitors from the U.S. (10.57%), while the third – from Russia (7.40%). Next come Italy, Ukraine, Germany and India.

The Agency plans to continue improving the Investor Road Map. In the future, the pos- sibility to monitor major investment projects through the Road Map will be added, which will provide better and quicker information. There are also plans to collect information on infrastructure development needs (roads, communications, schools, hospitals, etc.) through the Road Map.

Thus, in the Republic of Belarus, a convenient remote access to information on competencies, competitive advantages and investment initiatives of the regions is provided for potential investors through their consolidation on a specially created electronic platform based on the Agency - the interactive portal "Investor Road Map". The improvement of work on filling the interactive portal "Investor Road Map" of the Agency on the scale of the Republic of Belarus is seen as relevant, which would allow to optimise information flows and increase the efficiency of work with the regions on issues of attracting investment resources.