{"id":1894,"date":"2025-12-19T18:02:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightkraft.com\/?p=1894"},"modified":"2025-12-19T18:02:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T18:02:18","slug":"consultancy-reports-in-the-fdi-decision-process","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightkraft.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/19\/consultancy-reports-in-the-fdi-decision-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Consultancy Reports in the FDI Decision Process"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

And how to read them without overestimating\u2014or underusing\u2014their influence<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trigger for this blog post came from a conversation last month with a PhD student working on a thesis on foreign direct investment. During the interview, he asked a question that was simple on the surface but difficult to answer cleanly: what role do consultancy reports actually play in FDI decisions?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not policy. Not incentives. Not site visits.
Reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In practice, these documents appear everywhere in the FDI ecosystem, yet we rarely examine their role directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the years, while working closely with investment promotion agencies, I\u2019ve collaborated with a wide range of consulting firms\u2014from the Big Four to highly specialised, country- and sector-focused advisors. I\u2019ve seen their reports circulate quietly: referenced in board presentations, quoted in IPA pitch decks, skimmed by senior executives, and archived by analysts. Rarely read end to end, yet consistently influential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post is an attempt to shed some light on that layer of the FDI process: how they are produced, why they carry weight, where their limits lie, and how they shape global investment conversations long before capital actually moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Key Points Discussed<\/p>\nToggle<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n