Government attracts new record high levels of foreign investment in 2023 nearly €880 million

Foreign investment attracted by the Catalan government has broken a new record for the third consecutive year in 2023 with nearly €880 million, 42% more than the previous year.

For the first time, more than 100 projects have been brought to Catalonia (+19%). The foreign capital attracted to Catalonia has helped create 4,533 jobs (+31%) and maintain 1,200 jobs that were at risk.

In the last five years, the amount of capital attracted from abroad has almost doubled to €2.955 billion, and the jobs created thanks to the investments have grown by 23% to 19,100.

"The figures are extraordinary, a record," Catalonia's business minister Roger Torrent said in a press conference on Thursday. "It shows that we are competitive in an environment of opportunities that we want to take advantage of. It also shows that international investors trust our country," Torrent added.

Authorities pointed out that many of the projects attracted are associated with technology projects and high added value, with a growth in the IT and electronics sector. 

In addition, they underlined the role of industrial investment, which between 2019 and 2023 stood at €2.231 billion.

The investments received come from 30 countries, another record high number for the diversity of investments. The United States tops the list with 21% of the total, followed by France (13%) and the United Kingdom (9%).

Officials also say that of the 112 projects captured, 42% are companies that did not have a presence in Catalonia before.

The Department of Business and Labor has taken the last five-year period as a reference to ensure that this trend is not volatile and cannot be attributed to specific projects. In this sense, they highlighted that between 2019 and 2023 the volume of investment has doubled, the total number of projects has increased by 34%, and the number of jobs created by 23%.