Seeing the bigger finance picture

By Yvette Shapiro Business correspondent, BBC Northern Ireland

If it's Monday, it must be Wall Street...

The heart of the financial world is the first stop for Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness on their week-long visit to the United States.

The executive leaders head off to the USA next week

It's a trip that will take the First and Deputy First Ministers from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq stock market in Times Square, and on to Capitol Hill and the White House.

Most ministers in the executive have travelled to the States since devolution, several have been more than once.

But this, say their advisers, is the "big gig".

Dr Paisley and Mr McGuinness will spearhead a determined effort to secure what Northern Ireland desperately needs: a significant increase in foreign direct investment.

But with the US economy faltering because of the nation's credit woes, could there be a worse time to ask American big business to invest in Northern Ireland?

This is where the "glass-is-half-full-or half-empty" analysis comes into play.

"I think they've chosen exactly the right time to go," says Invest Northern Ireland's Chief Executive Leslie Morrison.

The former investment banker knows more than most about US business sentiment - he worked for the banking giant JP Morgan in New York for many years.

"In the build-up to the US Investment Conference to be held in Belfast next May, this ministerial trip will show executives what devolution has brought to us - political and social stability," he said.

I think they've chosen exactly the right time to go JP Morgan Former investment banker

"The main hook is that this is a good time to invest in Northern Ireland.

"Certainly, the difficulties that the financial services sector is having are very substantial.

"These things go in cycles, and I think this one is going to be very deep and long-lasting.

"But the part of our story that is good is that we can offer US investors a good value proposition at this time.

"They need good people who don't work in very expensive cities like New York and London - indeed, Dublin is now coming into that category.

"We can bring them a solution and help them."

The world's largest financial services company, Citigroup, is now firmly established in Belfast's Titanic Quarter where it has already expanded its operation to employ more than 500 staff.

Next week's ministerial mission will have a strong focus on persuading Citigroup's Wall Street rivals to replicate this model, helping to create a "cluster" of financial services firms in Northern Ireland - a "mini-me" version of Dublin's International Financial Services Centre, but without the rock bottom rate of Corporation Tax.

And talking of fiscal incentives, there's still no firm date for publication of Sir David Varney's review of taxation in Northern Ireland.

There is no expectation that the former head of the Inland Revenue will support calls from politicians and business leaders for a cut in corporation tax here.

It's understood that the report has not yet been finalised and that it may contain some suggestions for other "packages" of tax incentives, perhaps providing benefits for companies pledging to invest in research and development and skills training.

I strongly believe that in America in particular, business leaders value personal contacts very highly Nigel Dodds

A firm promise from the Treasury on fiscal incentives for inward investment would have been a useful weapon in the armoury of the First and Deputy First Ministers as they head Stateside.

In the current worldwide economic climate, American executives are tied to the bottom line.

They already know exactly what they can get for their dollars if they invest in the Republic.

What Dublin doesn't have, though, is a ready supply of experienced, highly-educated, highly-skilled workers.

That's why the Bank of Ireland chose to locate its new hedge fund management centre in Belfast and not Dublin.

That's a coup that Invest NI will be trumpeting loudly in Wall Street.

There's an undoubted tide of international goodwill towards the efforts of the new executive to underpin devolution with increased investment.

Economy Minister Nigel Dodds completed a whistle-stop tour of Washington, New York, Boston and Toronto at the start of November.

He's heading back next week.

"I strongly believe that in America in particular, business leaders value personal contacts very highly," he said.

"Whether it's the economy minister, or ministers at a higher level, there certainly are doors open to us that previously would have been closed.

"That helps Invest NI considerably when they have much more direct ministerial support than they would have had under direct rule, when they were left to their own devices."

Leslie Morrison from Invest NI agrees.

He says that while there's still some "residual nervousness" about investing in Northern Ireland, the image of executive ministers working well together and interacting in a positive way helps to convince prospective investors that the process is here to stay and that it's "for real".

And here's how that message will be driven home: when Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness visit the Nasdaq stock market next Wednesday morning, they'll be invited to open the market by signing an electronic screen and pushing a button.

The image will be beamed live to the world's largest video screen, overlooking Times Square.

And you can't make a bigger statement than that.