GroupofNegotiations onServices withintheUruguay Roundandthatitshould k' continue itsefforts toimprove thedatacollection onforeign direct investment l! andtransnational corporations inservices. lJt, f"i [: vJL) fJ ~.ij"i H L1 -,}111 :,:i 11152.Inhisconcluding remarks, theActingAssistant Director drewattention tothe relevance oftheconcept ofservices asasector, bothasananalytical toolandas anarea,however defined, uponwhichnegotiations wereactually takingplace. With regardtotheparticipation ofdeveloping countries intheshifttowards services, onwhichaquestion hadbeenraised byrynedelegation, hepointed outthatalthough databyhostcountries didnotinvariably substantiate it,dataonthesectoral distribution offoreign direct investment bymajordeveloped homecountries indicated thatdeveloping countries hadindeedparticipated inthattrend. The ActingAssistant Director saidthatsincfltraditional policies hadbeenformulated withthemanufacturing sectorinmind,questions hadarisenastotheircontinued appropriateness inthelightoftheshifttowards foreign direct investment in services. Awholenewsetofissues hadarisenwithrespect totransnational service corporations. Withregardtotechnology transfer, forexample, oneconcept thatcouldinfluence policy wasthatofappropriateness oftechnology, andanother, thatofcompetitiveness, whichcouldrefertoeitherlocalorinternational markets. Inthecaseofservices, however, thefactthatmanyservices wereinputs intoindustrial production wasanimportant consideration. Theapproaches or policy-mixes selected woulddepend oncountries' priorities. TheActingAssistant Director tooknoteofthesuggestions madebyvarious delegations, indicating that muchmoreworkneededtobedonewithrespect totransnational corporations in services, andassured theCommission thattheCentre wouldfollow upwithwork alongthelinesrecommended.ne eft d Action takenbytheCommission •, n153.TheCommission tooknoteofthereportoftheSecretary-General on transnational corporations inservices otherthanbanking (E/C.10/1989/14). It requested theSecretary-General toconduct further in-depth research andstrengthen technical co-operation intheareaofservices, takingintoaccount the deliberations oftheCommission, andtosubmit areportthereon totheCommission atitssixteenth session. n -55- ~ ;1 ;1 .1 "'I I i iChapter X COMPREHENSIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM 154.TheCommission considered item11ofitsagendaatits9thmeeting, on 11April1989.Ithadbeforeitthereports oftheSecretary-General onthe activities oftheUnited Nations Centre onTransnational Corporations andthe activities ofthejointunitsestablished withtheregional commissions (E/C.10/1989/3), whichincluded information ontheCentre's comprehensive information system, andonamanual oninformation needsandsources (E/C.10/1989/15). 155.Inhisintroductory statement, theDirector oftheAdvisory andInformation Services Division oftheCentre notedthatbyfurnirhing hostcountry entities with pertinent information abouttransnational corporations andrelated matters, the Centre helped tocontribute towards theestablishment ofabusiness-like and realistic relationship between hostcountries andcompanies. TheDirector gave concrete examples ofwaysinwhichtheCentre's information services contributed to thedecision-making process inhostcountries intheirdealings withtransnational corporations. Thepurpose ofthemanual ontheneedsofhostcountries for information ontransnational corporations -whichwasbasedontheCentre's overall experience -wastoimprove uponthisprocess. Themanual woulddiscuss actual issues andsituations withwhichdeveloping countries werefacedindeciding whether toinvolve transnational corporations intheirdevelopment plans, the selection process, negotiation andagreement stages and,finally, mcnitoring mechanisms. Withrespect tootheractivities related totheinformation system,
**Analysis**
The text appears to focus on international trade and economic development, specifically on the topic of foreign direct investment and transnational corporations in the services sector. The discussion revolves around data collection, policy-making, and the role of the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations in providing information and guidance to host countries.

**Category**
International trade, Economic development