Welcome to the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment
The Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC) seeks to be a leader on issues related to foreign direct investment (FDI) in the global economy, paying special attention to the sustainability dimension of this investment. It focuses on the analysis and teaching of the implications of FDI for public policy and international investment law. Its objectives are to analyze important topical policy-oriented issues related to FDI, develop and disseminate practical approaches and solutions, and provide students with a challenging learning environment.
The Vale Columbia Center, formerly the Columbia Program on International Investment (CPII), is a joint undertaking of Columbia Law School and The Earth Institute at Columbia University. It was established thanks to a grant by Vale, the world's second largest diversified mining company. Click here to view the press release.
If you would like to be put on our mailing list, please send an email to vcc@law.columbia.edu with the subject line "mailing list."
Columbia FDI Perspectives are meant to address FDI topics that are important, topical and (if possible) policy-oriented. If you have a suggestion for a Perspective, please email the Editor.
The Vale Columbia Center offers internship opportunites. Please view more details here.
Our Upcoming Events page is open to input from those planning FDI-related events. Please contact us if you would like a meeting or conference placed on the calendar.
Please visit the FDI Materials page, and please contact us if you have FDI-relevant materials that you would like to be posted there in order to reach a wider audience.
It is with deep regret that we have learned of the passing of John H. Dunning, a pioneer and founding father of the field of foreign direct investment, and one of its foremost scholars.
Respected and recognized worldwide, John H. Dunning was an insightful and prolific writer, a distinguished academic, an inspiring professor, and a most generous mentor to generations of students and scholars. His many definitive contributions to the fields of international business and foreign direct investment have been, and continue to be, benchmarks in the study of these subjects.
At the personal level, John was a warm and gracious human being, a trusted and dear friend to those who had the privilege to be counted in his circle.
We extend our deepest condolences to his loving wife, Christine, and family. John will be sorely missed by us all.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The second conference in the Five Diamond Conference Cycle, entitled "The Future of Transnationalization for Emerging Market Companies," will take place in Nova Lima, Brazil on August 18-19, 2009. Please click here for more information.
The Fourth Columbia International Investment Conference, entitled "FDI, the Global Crisis and Sustainable Recovery," will take place at Columbia University on November 5-6, 2009. Please click here for more information. If you are interested in co-sponsoring, please email us.
LATEST NEWS
On June 22, 2009, the Vale Columbia Center released Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 8: Land grab or development opportunity? International farmland deals in Africa, by Lorenzo Cotula.
On June 15, 2009, the Vale Columbia Center released Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 7: International Investment Arbitration: Winning, Losing and Why, by Susan D. Franck.
On June 3, 2009, the Vale Columbia Center released Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 6: Improving infrastructure or lowering taxes to attract foreign direct investment?, by Christian Bellak and Markus Leibrecht.
On May 26, 2009, the Vale Columbia Center released Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 5: While global FDI falls, China's outward FDI doubles, by Ken Davies.
MCI has released a progress report on its investment-related activities as of April 30, 2009.
A Symposium on "Preventing and Managing Conflict in Energy and Other Natural Resource Investment Relations," was co-organized by the Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy and the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment on May 13, 2009 at Columbia University. Click here for more information.
The May 2009 VCC Newsletter is now available.
On April 27, 2009, the Vale Columbia Center released Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 4: A New Geography of Innovation-- China and India Rising, by Gert Bruche.
On April 9th, VCC and the Indian School of Business released the results of the first ever survey of outward-investing Indian multinational enterprises. See the report and press release.
VCC and MCI have released two more working papers on FDI opportunities and infrastructure constraints in Blantyre, Malawi. See all of the VCC-MCI working papers here.
On March 23, 2009, the Vale Columbia Center released Columbia FDI Perspectives No. 3: The Global Financial Crisis: Will State Emergency Measures Trigger International Investment Disputes? by Anne van Aaken and Jürgen Kurtz.
In January, the VCC sent a Memo to President Obama's Administration on "Improving the international investment regime," encouraging the Administration to consider several actions that the U.S. might take to strengthen that regime. See the Memo here.
On December 9-10, 2008, MCI, in cooperation with the Vale Columbia Center, in collaboration with KPMG and DLA Piper, organized a Millennium Cities London Day. Please see the program and materials presented at the event.
On November 26, 2008, the Vale Columbia Center launched Columbia FDI Perspectives, an occasional series of perspectives on topical foreign direct investment issues. The first two Perspectives are available in English and Chinese here.
On November 13, 2008, the Vale Columbia Center and the Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO released the 2008 ranking of Russian MNEs. See the press release. The rankings are available here.
The November 2008 VCC Newsletter is now available.
On October 22, 2008, the Vale Columbia Center and the School of Management at Fudan University released the 2007 ranking of 18 large Chinese MNEs. See the press release. The rankings are available here.
TheThird Columbia International Investment Conference took place October 1-2, 2008 at Columbia University. The program for the conference, entitled "FDI by State-Controlled Entities: Do the Rules Need Changing?", is available here.
MCI and the Kumasi Development Foundation (KDF) held a Kumasi Investment Day in New York on September 29, 2008. The program is available for download here.
The Vale Columbia Center and Millennium Cities Initiative have launched the MCI-VCC Working Papers Series on Investment in the Millennium Cities. The first five contributions are available here.
In October 2008, the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) released a progress report on its investment activities in the Millennium Cities, a staff chart, and a brief conceptual note outling the MCI-MVP vision.
On September 19, 2008, the Investor's Guide to São Tomé and Príncipe was released. It intends to make São Tomé and Príncipe better known to global investors.