Information and communication technologies as a development driver of regions investment attractiveness
The global course on the digital economy has determined the need to introduce information and communication technologies, in order to improve the business environment and increase regions and a country investment attractiveness. In this regard, the article contains the research, which shows a correlation between the development level of information and communication technologies in the countries of the world and investment indicators such as business conditions (Doing Business), Investment potential (Business Environmental Risk Intelligence) and Investment attractiveness (AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index). As a result, the research represented a high degree of dependence of these indicators. A high level of information and communication technologies is not only a factor, which contribute investment attractiveness, but also directly affects the countries macroeconomic indicators. The studies in the article show that digitalization can optimize public spending, positively influence GDP, international trade indicators, and reduce unemployment. The information and communication technologies in the investment sphere received a special development through investment portals. For international practice, it is typical that the investment portal is an instrument of active communication and exchange of data with investors, which can affect the initial assessment of investment potential and the adoption of a decision on investment cooperation. The process of creating investment portals in Russian Federation was reflected in the form of one of the requirements of the Regional Investment Standard, which is one of the key projects of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives to create favorable conditions for doing business in the Russian regions. In recent years, there has been a qualitative improvement from nominal portals to full-fledged resources for increasing regions investment attractiveness. However, many regional portals still need a significant improvement in the information and communication components.