Bostjan Skalar, chief executive officer of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies, believes investment promotion agencies play a vital role in attracting and supporting FDI. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

Foreign direct investment, or FDI, is a catalyst, according to a leading expert.

It can diversity the economy, promote economic development and expand production capacity, said Bostjan Skalar, chief executive officer of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies.

Skalar made his remarks while attending the ongoing 2019 CIFIT in Xiamen in Fujian province.

He said he believed that investment promotion agencies played a vital role in attracting and supporting FDI.

However, international investment was currently being effected by numerous unstable factors in the present world and therefore investment promotion agencies should train their staff to tackle all the new challenges, Skalar added.

He stressed that a conducive investment environment was key to attracting more capital, which could not happen without preferential policies and complete infrastructure being in place.

Skalar spoke highly of China's economic opening up policies, saying the country had opened more finance sectors to the outside world and cooperated with various countries in trade, the economy and technology.