1 - Introduction

Summary

Although the substantive content of international investment law has traditionally been shaped by the capital-exporting States of Western Europe and North America, this dynamic has been gradually changing, with Asia and Asian States increasing in the prominence of their roles.Asia has become a global growth engine in recent years, and Asia has become a focal point in rule-making in international investment law.This is evidenced by the number of mega-regional and investment agreements which have been concluded in recent years which have Asia as their centre of gravity, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which have built on the ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement.To this can be added the practice of individual States, such as Singapore and Vietnam, in negotiating investment protection agreements with the EU, as well as the Singapore Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation which placed Asia at the centre of developments in international commercial law.This chapter surveys the rich terrain of State practice in international investment law, and introduces the various chapters of this edited collection, which illustrate the Asian Turn in Foreign Investment.