Sacre bleu! Little Belgium scores big.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: FOREIGN INVESTMENT

China may be high on many businesses' lists as a place to grow, yet figures show that Belgium actually attracted more foreign investment in 2006. Indeed, according to the World Investment Report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), little Belgium ranked as the number four destination for foreign investment, with China ranking fifth.

Foreign investment increased worldwide by 38 percent in 2006, fueled primarily by an increase in the value of M & A, as solid economic growth worldwide increased profits and equity values. Foreign companies invested about $72 billion in Belgium, more than double the 2005 amount and 13.6 percent of all foreign investment in the European Union; moreover, 135 new so-called "greenfield" investment projects were initiated.

Why Belgium? It's believed that its investor-friendly tax regime, such as its Notional Interest Deduction...