The Financial Times group's fDi Magazine has recognized Catalonia as the best region for investment in southern Europe for the 2020-2021 period. This is the third time that this biennial ranking - one of the most prestigious at international level - has put Catalonia in leading position.
To compile the classification, fDi Magazine analyzed about 150 European regions based on the criteria of economic potential, human capital and lifestyle, cost effectiveness, connectivity and business friendliness. "We are very pleased because this distinction positions us as a technology investment hub," said the Catalan business and knowledge minister, Àngels Chacón. Catalan president Quim Torra also tweeted his congratulations.
És la tercera vegada que aquest rànquing del grup del @FinancialTimes, un dels més prestigiosos a escala internacional, situa Catalunya com a la millor regió per invertir al sud d'Europa. Enhorabona! https://t.co/KQq1NViSAt
— Quim Torra i Pla (@QuimTorraiPla) February 11, 2020
"It is the third time in a row that we have led this ranking - we've been there since 2016 - and this is a classification that evaluates our entire ecosystem," continued Chacón. "We are in a very good position, despite a difficult context with geopolitical factors such as Brexit and trade wars, such as that between China and the United States," reflected the minister.
"We have been able to react quickly and remain attractive to investors," explained Chacón, mentioning figures like the more than 8,600 subsidiaries of foreign firms which are present in Catalonia, about a thousand in the technology field. "Not only are we a pole for the classic investments, we are also the same for the new knowledge technology of the 21st century," he said.
The ranking compiled by the British group calculates that the most attractive southern European regions in terms of attracting foreign investment in 2020-2021 are Catalonia, followed by Madrid and, in third place, the Italian region of Lombardy.
84 foreign investment projects
According to the latest available data, in 2018 the Catalan government attracted a total of 84 foreign investment projects (20% more than the previous year), with a total value of 322 million euros (a 34% increase) and creating 5,455 jobs (70% up). These 2018 figures for the number of projects attracted and the employment created by the foreign investments marked the highest levels ever reached.