Foreign direct investment strategies: Least-developed countries and foreign firms. A case study of Sudan and Chevron Oil

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5261784

Tom, B M

The least-developed countries (LDCS) are politically underdeveloped. They often have autocratic authoritarian regimes that give less than appropriate attention to their societies' development. Being vulnerable and fairly unstable, such regimes are more occupied with their own survival than with developing pragmatic plans that cater to supplying their nations with missing economic resources needed through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Internal and external pressures on LDCS with such primitive political structures have greatly confused their leaderships and have resulted in the lack of institutionalization in these countries. Foreign firms normally choose to serve world markets through direct operations rather than exporting or licensing because the former maximize their gains more than the two other alternatives. This is why benefits to host countries may not match a host country's expectations when it allows FDI penetration. It is the contention of this research that Sudan failed to formulate a right policy towards FDI, and came short of maximizing its scarce resource returns. On the other hand, Chevron Oil, with a global overall profit-maximization strategy, succeeded in running its subsidiary in Sudan in accordance with its global outlook.

• Research Organization: Claremont Graduate School, CA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5261784
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290200* -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Economics & Sociology
294002 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Petroleum
AFRICA
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
INDUSTRY
INVESTMENT
JOINT VENTURES
MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
SUDAN