Europe’s brightest business regions are lining up to compete for investment from firms keen to develop their presence in the continent and expand their market share. And as the rankings for fDiMagazine’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/2013 reveal, smaller regions have plenty to boast about.

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.

While most investment promotion agencies are yet to define a social media strategy, there is almost unanimous agreement that such a strategy can prove key to investment promotion efforts.

A new scheme has been launched by ConnectIreland to financially reward anyone assisting in attracting foreign companies to Ireland.

As the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China – realise the decade-old prediction that they would become economic superpowers, attention now turns to the global economies that will follow them.

Montenegro's minister of sustainable development and tourism, Predrag Sekulic, explains how his country's reputation as a high-quality holiday destination is slowly growing, but further investment in construction and infrastructure is needed if it is to continue on an upward trajectory.

Birmingham has become the first city in the UK to target investment from sovereign wealth funds, as it announces plans to seek alternative funding for nine of its Big City Plan redevelopment projects.

The city of Brisbane, Australia recently unveiled a plan to double  its already lucrative resources sector by 2031, giving investors the  perfect opportunity to invest in the area.