Pichamon Yeophantong is a fellow of the ASEAN-Canada Research Partnership.

INTRODUCTION
Investment policies matter to good governance and sustainable development. Tis is a central message contained in the UN Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD)‘Investment Policy Framework for Sustainable Development’ (Investment Policy Framework), and one that is echoed in other UN documents such as the ‘Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’ and the drat ‘Code of Conduct on Transnational Corporations’ (1983).

It also serves as the departure point for this chapter. As foreign direct investment (FDI) to and from emerging markets – in particular, the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries – continues to rise, this has sparked renewed interest in the regulation of FDI and its effects on developing host countries. At a time when there is a global push to mainstream environmental, social, and governance’ (ESG) issues alongside corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerns within a ‘transitioning’ international investment regime, increased scrutiny has come to center on the role played by these new actors. Especially with emerging-market multinational enterprises (MNEs) serving as important sources of FDI in the developing world, these MNEs stand to influence not only the trajectory of international investment policy, but equally the evolution of sustainable development policies at the global, regional, and national levels.