National investment promotion agencies are failing, says the World Bank.

According to the multilateral organisation’s Global Investment Promotion Best Practices 2012 report, over 80 per cent of promotional state agencies’ efforts fall short.

The report assessed 189 economies’ responsiveness to investors and found that investment promotion agencies, called investment promotion intermediaries (IPIs), are less responsive to direct investor inquiries than they were three years ago.

The ineffectiveness of IPIs cost their economies valuable opportunities to win a piece of the dwindling global foreign direct investment (FDI) market, which has shrunk by 40 per cent in the last five years, the report says.

Lower Government revenues and tightened budgets have been identified by IPIs as a possible reason for their weakening performance, says the report. However, promotion experts said limited resources are not a credible excuse, even they do make it harder.

The report highlights the national investment promotion agencies of Cyprus and Nicaragua as examples of how limited resources do not have to be an obstacle to effectiveness.

Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, one of the world’s top-performing agencies, has only 10 staff members spread across a range of functions. Investment promotion websites are also a bright spot, with 62 per cent of agencies implementing best practices, said the World Bank.

Nicaragua’s investment promotion agency, PRONicaragua, emerged as the world’s top investment facilitator, becoming the first developing country to do so, said the report, noting that the agency achieved best-practice standards in website performance and response to investor inquiries.

“We believe that the level of service an investment promotion agency offers influences an investor’s first impression of a country’s investment climate, as it demonstrates that Government’s attitude and commitment towards investors,” said Javier Chamorro, the CEO of PRONicaragua. “It is with that vision, through commitment to offering high-quality service and ensuring that each and every investor gets the information they need, we try to build a strong sense of comfort about doing business in our country and promote economic development.”

On average, the Caribbean is weak in inquiry-handling, although it has made significant strides in its online presence since 2009, says the study.

Jamaica’s promotional agency, Jampro, reportedly has the best website in terms of promotional effectiveness.

Jampro did not respond to phone or email messages left by the Jamaica Observer up to press time.

The organisation is behind many of the initiatives aimed at making linkages with overseas companies, such as Expo Jamaica, for which it recruited buyers from more than 24 countries, and the Jamaica Investment Forum in Montego Bay in March.