Financial Times Group highlights Catalonia and Barcelona as leaders in attracting foreign investment in Europe

According to FDi Magazine of the Financial Times group, Catalonia and Barcelona are the region and city, respectively, with the best strategy for attracting foreign investment in Europe. This ranking is highly valued by multinationals to study future business investment projects and recognises the strategy carried out by the Generalitat de Catalunya, especially that of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, which attracted 94 foreign investment projects, an investment of 620 million euros and the creation of more than 3,400 jobs by 2022. Of particular note is the ProACCIO Green programme, which offers support and aid to business projects related to sustainability.

The project of the South Korean company Iljin Materials, which will invest 600 million euros to open its first factory in Europe in Catalonia and create 500 jobs, stands out as an example of the success of the strategy of attracting foreign investment. FDi Magazine also highlights the presence of 12 universities in Catalonia that are helping to accelerate the region’s transformation into a leader in Industry 4.0. Catalonia was ranked first, along with Ile-de-France (France), in the category of Large European Regions of the Future – FDI Strategy. 

The recognition shows that Catalonia is attractive for foreign investment and is a magnet for high added value projects, according to the Catalan Minister of Enterprise and Employment, Roger Torrent. He also commented that “a large number of foreign companies in Catalonia decide to reinvest here again, so they have confidence in the country and in our government”.

The document places the Catalan capital in first place in fDI’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2023 – FDI Strategy category. The award also highlights “the city’s successful technology ecosystem, which received a boost last year with Intel’s decision to partner with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center to establish a microchip design lab”. Barcelona is ahead of European cities such as Dublin, Berlin, Munich and Milan.