Venezuela: Continuing to Swim Against the Tide

As this blog has noted, and at times celebrated, most economies have continued on in their efforts to liberalize their international trade and their domestic economies, notwithstanding the turbulent and uncertain economic environment. Having said that, and with…

Read more

Brazil: Residential Property Mortgages for Foreign Investors Coming

Financial impediments for foreign investors come in many shapes and sizes.  In this instance, Brazil is acknowledging the problem of a dearth of residential mortgage lending, to foreigners looking to acquire a home in Brazil.  Although in theory…

Read more

NAFTA: Partners Reaffirm Free Trade Commitment

NAFTA trilateral trade has increased three fold in fifteen years (N.B. to $949 Billion as of 2008) and, given certain countervailing pressures, it is encouraging to see the NAFTA participants reconfirm their commitment to the free trade principles…

Read more

Canada: Rewrite to Investment Canada Act Possible

Court action by US Steel, arising from its acquisition of Stelco (a Canadian company), may prompt a review and rewrite of the Investment Canada Act, which regulates the investment in Canadian companies by foreign investors.  The current provisions…

Read more

India: Wither Positive Tax Reform

While positive aspects of Indian tax reform have been more common place in recent times, this article highlights some of the less than inspired choices being made by the Indian Parliament, in the area of both domestic and…

Read more

South Africa – BEE Compliance

As has been commented, on a number of previous blog posts, the Black Economic Empowerment regime in South Africa, although well intentioned and noble in it’s objectives, has remained the subject of concern, regarding uniform and universal application. …

Read more

IP Ownership – Read the Contract

This article from World University News is a great survey of the issues involved in Intellectual Property (“IP”) ownership, and the significance of the express language of the contract of employment. UWN – Who owns IP, university or…

Read more

South Africa: Micro Business and Venture Capital Investment

Two relatively recent amendments to the Income Tax Act (South Africa) reflect a policy of encouraging the development of small enterprises. The first of these is aimed at reducing the compliance burden of micro enterprises and the second…

Read more

Georgia: Wooing Foreign Investors

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili pushes a plan to liberalise the economy to attract more investment and decouple from the Russian economy. Follow the link to watch a brief video clip on the move by Georgia to boost its…

Read more

Russia: Government Still has Faith in “Central Planning” Model

Every few years, we see the emergence of the “next big thing” which invariably required government to act as the economic incubator to spearhead a new national industrial base to challenge the worlds best.  Nano technology is, and…

Read more