Despite its small size, Antigua and Barbuda's economic integration with other Caribbean jurisdictions gives its companies a huge market to do business with, says the minister of finance, economy and public administration. However, the island's image of being a tax haven is one that will have to be shed in order to achieve bigger growth.

The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul will be one of the host regions of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the state's governor is intending to use the event to show would-be investors that the region is the easiest in the country in which to do business.

Dogged by preconceptions of the region being a little more than a holiday retreat or a tax haven, investment promotion agencies in the Caribbean are focusing upon providing the best possible service to would-be investors – both large and small – in order to attract international businesses to their countries.

The Zambian economy has been growing apace in recent years, but with the country largely reliant on its mining industry and many of the proceeds from this sector not benefiting local people, the government is offering incentives for investment in other sectors.

The mayors of five Canadian cities tell Michal Kaczmarski about their cities' development and infrastructure plans that they are promoting at the 2012 MIPIM global real estate conference in Cannes.

Indonesia has achieved significant economic growth in the past three years and now, with the help of a new development plan, its government has set the ambitious target of transforming the country into a major economic power by 2025. Can Indonesia compete on the same stage as Asia's behemoth economies such as India and China, or will the basic issues of infrastructure and inflation continue to hold it back?

Tuscany's beauty is both a blessing and a curse. While its history and image draw in tourists by the million, convincing would-be foreign investors that underneath the picture-postcard views lies a hard-nosed attitude to business is a tricky task, but one its president is tackling head on.

The Chilean government is looking to make the country's economy less reliant on its mining sector.