After a hugely successful 2013, expectations are high for the real estate sector in the Russian cities of Moscow and St Petersburg. However, unlike previous booms in the country, this particular building frenzy is largely being driven by foreign companies drawn in by Russia's rapidly growing middle class.

The Chinese city of Tianjin may lie in the shadow of investment behemoths Beijing and Shanghai, but it is still at the forefront of the country’s high-tech focus, with the Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area central to its strong FDI appeal.

Widely considered the Holy Grail of inward investment, the biotech industry is perceived as possessing relative immunity to economic woes. With such potentially high rewards at stake, more and more destinations are trying to gain a foothold in the sector.

São Paulo has been declared the winner in fDi’s South American States of the Future 2014/15 ranking with Metropolitana de Santiago and Rio de Janeiro following in second and third places. Cathy McReynolds reports.

London has retained its position as fDi’s European City of the Future 2014/15, while Germany’s Nordrhein-Westfalen has sailed to the top to rank first among Europe’s regions. 

Hong Kong has been crowned fDi’s Asia-Pacific City of the Future, with Singapore and Beijing taking second and third places.

The UK may attract high levels of FDI, but there is an ever greater number of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) vying for this capital. To succeed in winning it, LEPs must be armed with the right expertise, a clear brand message and, of course, a distinct competitive advantage.

Many investment promotion agencies are just as keen to court start-ups as they are large multinationals, but their approach to attracting these smaller, more fragile companies may benefit from being more hands off than with their larger, established counterparts.

With locations around the world falling for the charms of SMEs, Michal Kaczmarski looks at the innovative ways in which IPAs are attracting and nurturing smaller business, and assesses benefits they receive as the SMEs blossom into something much more lucrative.