Solomon Islands have opened up most, if not all the 32 sectors measured by the _FDI Regulations_ project. <mark>Although our findings show that</mark> _<mark>de jure</mark>_ <mark>most of these countries are open to foreign investment, the problem often lies beyond the laws and regulations.</mark> _<mark>De facto</mark>_ <mark>restrictions – such as burdensome licensing requirements or government or private monopolies – exist and may hinder foreign participation in a wider number of sectors, especially in services. In addition, no foreign firms are currently operating or have little participation in several sectors. In Côte d’Ivoire, for instance, key sectors such as electric power transmission and distribution, water distribution, freight rail transport, port operation, courier activities, fixed-line telecommunications infrastructure and services and television broadcasting are often monopolies. Although known factors such as high political risk, poor personal safety, devastated institutional as well as physical infrastructure deter foreign investors from considering these economies as a destination for their next investment, however this, together with a highperceived difficulty of obtaining required operating licenses, makes it difficult for foreign companies to invest. On the other hand, the findings related to the startup burden imposed on foreign investors were not as striking as those related to equity restrictions. Legal and administrative requirements for establishing foreign-owned subsidiaries in FCS economies vary greatly in scope and stringency. While Afghanistan, with 9 days, is among the fastest country in the world in terms of establishing a foreign-owned limited liability company, the process takes more than half a year to complete in Haiti (212 days) and Angola (196 days). These numbers also demonstrate difference in treatment between domestic and foreign investors, where the time required in order to establish a foreign company can more than double in some instances. In Angola and Sierra Leone for example, according to</mark> _<mark>Doing Business</mark>_ <mark>, the time required to set up a domestic LLC is on average 68 and 12 days respectively, whereas</mark> according to _FDI Regulations_ , this time increases to 196 and 43 days if the company is foreign-owned. <mark>FCS economies need strong and efficient institutions, which can help foster FDI. In all these countries, institutions were severely damaged as a result of the conflicts. Even before the conflicts began, the quality of the institutions and the number of people with institutional memory varied greatly. Despite the fact that some countries like Afghanistan and Kosovo are enacting new laws, strengthening their institutions and streamlining their processes, a</mark> lot of work still remains to be done.

# **_IV. Conclusions and implications_**

Europe and Central Asia as well as high-income OECD are the most open regions to FDI, whereas East Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa as regions are less open, as measured by the _FDI Regulations_ data. Overall, there is a statistically significant and positive association between openness to FDI as measured by the project, and FDI inflows.

Globally, the _FDI Regulations_ data show there are hardly any restrictions on FDI ownership in manufacturing and tourism. In contrast, many economies still restrict FDI in services industries such as media, transport, electricity, and telecommunications. Economies that restrict FDI across-the-board tend to attract less FDI. As a notable exception, East Asia and the Pacific economies tend to be less open to FDI but attract significant FDI per capita.

In 2010 and again 2012, ECA and high-income OECD economies offered the fastest establishment processes for foreign companies. In virtually every region worldwide, the average number of procedures as well as the average number of days required to complete them has decreased. Only a few economies have gone the other way. Latin America and the Caribbean is the region where it takes the longest to set up a foreign investment. However, this result is mainly driven by Brazil and the República Bolivariana de 26