Malefetsane, you raise an important issue that needs close examination. --- A foreign investor looks to own interests -- that is how business works....Yes, that power equation is 'unbalanced' at first sight, but the LDC has the absolute right of refusal....And there are other investors available, MNCs, and even countries like China....The LDC's goal should be to get the best deal for the country, looking to long-term interests, including technology transfer and skilling the country's labor force. The key Q: how to do this in the best way? Remember, Singapore was once a sleepy, small port city, with no industry or wealth. That was the town I saw in 1961, on a slow cargo boat from Calcutta to HK (a 20-day journey, stops of 1 or 2 days at Chittagong, Rangoon, Penang and Singapore). Today's its per capita income is $70,000 -- and it pays its top civil servants (and ministers) an annual salary of 1.2 million and more....Or Mauritius, a lazy cane-producing country right up to the early 1970s, per cap income of $500. Today that income level is $10,000 plus -- and with zero natural resources!....But we don't often celebrate our own success stories.

Source author: Kishan S Rana kishanrana@gmail.com