Innovations in Foreign Direct Investment Attraction

2.2 

INQUIRY HANDLING 

Most IPAs can generate FDI leads and opportunities, but many IPAs fail when it 

comes to effective and professional handling of investor inquiries. The scorecard be-

low outlines key issues regarding good practices in handling investor inquiries. Most 

important is efficient project management, effective research and timely provision of 

information requested by investors (this is where many IPAs fail), and effective site 

visit handling. 

Inquiry handling is critical to success. Once the investor has confirmed interest in 

a location, the decision to invest will be influenced by the quality of service pro-

---

8

vided by the IPA. Investors often expect a response to an enquiry within 1-2 days, 

in accordance with private sector practice. As the EIU survey cited in section 2.2.2 

emphasized, 

governmental support for corporate overseas expansion plays a crucial 

role across all key areas. The better the quality of inquiry handling, the higher the 

“conversion rate” will be (i.e. the percentage of project leads that result in actual in-

vestments). Best practice IPAs typically aim for a 20% conversion rate, with a 10% 

conversion rate considered average. But many IPAs struggle to achieve more than 5% 

conversion, a key reason being weak inquiry handling.