Catalonia accounts for one third of foreign investment in Spain

Barcelona (ACN).- Catalonia attracted €14.532 billion in foreign investment between January 2011 and June 2016, from 601 projects that generated 38,385 direct jobs. According to the report fDi Markets by the Financial Times, which takes into account productive investment and the creation of jobs per region, the countries that invest most money in Catalonia are Germany, France and the United States. The Catalan economy leads the ranking in Spain overall in terms of attracting foreign direct investment, accounting for 31% of capital, 34% of job creation and 37% of projects during the period mentioned. This proportion of foreign investment in Spain has increased in relation to the previous five-year period (2006-2010), when the Catalan economy accounted for 23% of the capital invested in the whole state.

The study by the Financial Times shows that Catalonia attracted 51% of the foreign investment projects from Asia-Pacific that were undertaken in Spain, 37% of those from North America, 36% of those coming from Western Europe, 32% of those projects stemming from Africa and the Middle East, 31% of all Eastern European investment projects and 23% of those originating from Latin America.

The characteristics of business in Catalonia determine which companies and sectors end up investing directly in the country. According to the study fDi Markets, Catalonia is above the European average in attracting projects linked to the pharmaceutical sub-sectors of preparations, plastic packaging materials, plastic without laminate and sheets; garments and clothing accessories; computers and accessories; and paints, coatings, adhesives and additives.

In this regard, the report finds that the ICT sector and software, logistics and support services for companies are the fields in which Catalonia shows the best investment opportunities in comparison with other economies worldwide. According to fDi Markets, Catalonia has a good technology ecosystem (as shown by the annual celebration of the Mobile World Congress), a skilled workforce, a strategic location within Europe and a first-class infrastructure.

The Government defends the work of trade delegations abroad

In the light of these results, the Government’s General Director of Industry, Núria Betriu, defended at a meeting with journalists the work of the offices for action abroad and pointed out that foreign investment projects managed through this government agency have a return of 150 euros for every public euro invested. Betriu also highlighted that foreign investment projects attracted through the action network generate a job in Catalonia for every 682 euros of public investment.