The European Commission has proposed an integrated EU approach to stop profits from trading minerals being used to fund armed conflicts. The package of measures aims to make it more difficult for armed groups in conflict-affected and high-risk areas to finance their activities through the mining of and trade in minerals.

This workshop focused on how to comply with international regulations on conflict-free gold supply chains and how to make the most of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.

Latvia has taken an important step on the road to OECD membership by completing the process to become a member of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Latvia will become the 41st Party to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on 30 May 2014.

Held in Amsterdam on 7 April 2014, this workshop focused on: long-term pension investment strategies under risk-based regulation; riskiness and pro-cyclicality in pension asset allocation; and, regulatory challenges for long-term illiquid assets.

This G20 report looks at the evolution of private institutional investment in infrastructure and examines how the market has developed; analyses various investment vehicles with a snapshot of the growth experienced in the market; categorises methods used for investing in infrastructure; and, highlights the challenges and barriers to investment.

Global FDI flows increased by only 4.5% in 2013 and international mergers and acquisitions, an important component of FDI, were down sharply in the first quarter of 2014 according to preliminary estimates in the April 2014 issue of FDI in Figures.

This meeting provided the opportunity to review and discuss implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance and the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism. Issues pertinent to the tin, tantalum and tungsten (3Ts) and gold supply chains were addressed during the three-day forum.

Tajikistan needs to step up its fight against corruption and turn political declarations of commitment into action, says a new OECD report.

Participants at the forum adopted a communiqué calling for companies to confront challenges they encounter openly and transparently by publicly reporting on due diligence in accordance with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

Singapore, 4 June 2014: This roundtable focused on how policymakers and investors can facilitate private sector infrastructure financing, as well as issues related to governance for institutional investors and the accounting treatment for long-term investment.

Available in several languages, this booklet provides basic information about the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the most comprehensive set of government-backed recommendations on responsible business conduct in existence today. Adhering governments aim to encourage the positive contributions MNEs can make to sustainable development and to minimise the difficulties to which their various operations may give rise.

The Southeast Asian region has the potential to attract significant amounts of international investment in the coming years. To help ASEAN countries address the challenges that arise from an increased openness to investment, this report analyses the region's investment climate and suggests ways to bring about a greater convergence of both policies and outcomes for the countries involved.

Co-organised by the Italian Co-Chair of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group and the OECD, participants discussed progress in advancing the key elements of the global anti-corruption agenda and innovative solutions to address the latest challenges facing countries, business and civil society.

Estonia’s framework for combating foreign bribery may be inadequate to efficiently tackle rising foreign bribery risks resulting from its increasingly export-intensive economy.

Serious steps must be taken by Slovenia to ensure that it effectively detects, investigates and prosecutes allegations of transnational bribery.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery supports Spain’s efforts to further reform its Penal Code to bring its anti-bribery law into line with its international obligations under the OECD Convention on Combatting Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions.

Due to serious concerns about the extremely low level of enforcement of Japan’s offence of bribing foreign public officials – just three prosecutions since 1999 – the OECD Working Group on Bribery recommended in December 2013 that Japan establish an Action Plan to organise police and prosecution resources to be able to proactively detect, investigate and prosecute cases of foreign bribery by Japanese companies.

Este folleto contiene información esencial sobre las Líneas Directrices de la OCDE para empresas multinacionales, que en la actualidad constituyen las recomendaciones más exhaustivas aprobadas por los gobiernos sobre la conducta responsable de las empresas.

This Global Forum plays an important role as the tool for on-going dialogue on responsible business conduct. I am pleased to announce that today, Ministers from over 20 countries are coming together to discuss how to integrate responsibility considerations throughout government policies. Their work will contribute to protect internationally recognised fundamental rights and to ensure good governance, fair regulations, and transparency.

This statement was adopted by National Contact Points on 25 June 2014 during their 15th Meeting.

Communiqué by Ministers participating in the informal ministerial meeting on responsible business conduct that took place at the OECD on 26 June 2014.

This survey was presented at the Informal ministerial meeting on responsible business conduct held in Paris on 26 June 2014.

The Policy Framework for Investment in Agriculture is a flexible tool which helps governments evaluate their investment policies in the ten areas essential to creating an attractive environment for investors and in enhancing the development benefits of agricultural investment.

This conference addressed key questions on investment in infrastructure and transport in Latin America and the Caribbean. It brought together policymakers, international experts and other interested stakeholders to discuss concrete policy recommendations to maximise the opportunities and address the challenges in the region.

This seminar investigated how changes made in key policy areas at national, regional and international levels can help generate more and better private investment in Africa’s infrastructure.

Since the start of the crisis, a growing number of OECD countries have been reporting declining inward and outward FDI, a phenomenon that could be described as ‘investment de-globalisation’. Governments must take immediate and vigorous action to reverse such trends by removing unnecessary barriers and complexities that hinder investment, said OECD Secretary-General.

This self-assessment report looks at South Africa's investment regime in the light of the OECD Codes of Liberalisation and the principle of National Treatment.

If we are to meet the goal of keeping global warming to 2 degrees, governments need to engage now to get on the right track to achieve zero‑net greenhouse emissions from combustion of fossil fuels in the second half of this century. Given the urgency of doing so, why does our dependence on fossil fuels appear to be unshaken?

3-4 September 2014, Phnom Penh, Cambodia: This conference focused on the key levers for restoring trust in government and building trust by and in the private sector and civil society.

This roundtable provided a forum for dialogue on building responsible supply chains in the textile and garment sector that contribute to inclusive growth and sustainable development, in line with the OECD and ILO recommendations. The Roundtable also identified challenges and areas for future collaborative action.

8-10 October 2014, Paris, France: Discussions at this meeting will focus on implementing the Istanbul Anti-Corruption Action Plan; monitoring reports for Armenia and Kazakhstan; and, progress reports from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría blogs about international investment treaties at a time when they are increasingly in the spotlight.

Turkey is a significant and geopolitically critical economy. Its companies, like those from many other countries, operate in corruption-prone sectors and countries. In spite of this, only 10 allegations have come to the attention of Turkish authorities since foreign bribery became an offence in Turkey in 2003.

After a comprehensive review in October 2012, the OECD Working Group on Bribery asked France, through a series of concrete recommendations, to intensify its actions to fight the bribery of foreign public officials and undertake important reforms.

Beijing, 24 October 2014 - China presented guidelines intended to provide a roadmap for the responsible business conduct of Chinese companies operating overseas. In addition, China and the OECD signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote the implementation by Chinese companies of responsible business conduct in global mineral supply chains.

Brazil must build on the positive momentum started with its new Corporate Liability Law and its first indictments in one foreign bribery case to investigate and prosecute more proactively foreign bribery.

This public consultation was held to gather interested stakeholders' comments on the draft chapters of the Policy Framework for Investment currently being updated. The consultation ran until 31 December 2014.

This meeting provided the opportunity to review and discuss implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, the ICGLR Regional Certification Mechanism, and other initiatives to enable responsible mineral supply chains. Issues pertinent to the tin, tantalum and tungsten (3Ts) and gold supply chains were also addressed during the Forum.

Public financial institutions (PFIs) are well-positioned to act as a key leverage point for governments’ efforts to mobilise private investment in low-carbon projects and infrastructure. This study identifies the tools, instruments and approaches used by five PFIs to directly support and scale-up domestic private sector investment in sustainable transport, energy-efficiency and renewable energy in OECD countries.

Global FDI flows collapsed with the global financial crisis in 2008 and remain 40% below pre-crisis levels. A major reason for this is the EU. While FDI flows in the rest of the world recovered by 2010, the EU continues to struggle due to structural factors that are undermining the quality of the EU’s investment environment. The paper analyses why and puts forward policy options. It is part of the Investment Insights series.

The G20 needs to go structural, social, and green! With fiscal and monetary policy room nearly exhausted, structural reforms are the best choices, sometimes the only choice. The OECD battle cry in this regard has been unchanged since 2008: “go structural!”.

Most international bribes are paid by large companies, usually with the knowledge of senior management, according to new OECD analysis of the cost of foreign bribery and corruption.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery invited public comments on the next phase of country monitoring under the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention between 5 November and 1 December 2014. The call for comment is now closed.

Global FDI flows for 2014 have stalled at levels substantially below the peak levels reached before the financial crisis and ensuing global recession that began in 2008 according to preliminary estimates in the December 2014 issue of FDI in Figures.

As part of the International Anti-Corruption Day, the OECD has joined Member and Partner countries and other International Organisations in raising awareness about the costs and detrimental effects of corruption.

On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, this Working Group on Bribery consultation with the private sector and civil society focused on the development of the Phase 4 evaluation process of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

This conference showcased ASEAN’s regional investment integration achievements and efforts. Practitioners highlighted policy reforms at the national and regional levels and considered practical measures to enhance integration. Ways to successfully attract investment that will strengthen ASEAN supply chains were identified.

The OECD Working Group on Bribery doubts Argentina’s commitment to fight foreign bribery. Argentina still has no law to punish companies for foreign bribery or prosecute its citizens who commit this crime abroad. Widespread delays continue to plague complex economic crime investigations.

“Why do financial institutions and investors see so little risk, while companies investing in the real economy see so much risk?” This is perhaps the most important question facing policy makers today. This paper sets out some of the possible hypotheses for lack of investment in the world economy. It uses data drawn from 10 000 global companies in 75 advanced and emerging countries.

The global economy continues to run at low speed and many countries, particularly in Europe, seem unable to overcome the legacies of the crisis. With high unemployment, high inequality and low trust still weighing heavily, it is imperative to swiftly implement reforms that boost demand and employment and raise potential growth.