Catalonia is the European region with the best strategy for attracting foreign investment and Barcelona holds the first position in the category of European cities. This is according to fDi Magazine, from the Financial Times group, which places Catalonia in first position, along with Île-de-France (France), and ahead of territories such as Scotland (United Kingdom), Flanders (Belgium) and Lombardy (Italy). In parallel, the Catalan capital is ahead of other European cities such as Dublin (Ireland), Berlin (Germany), Munich (Germany) or Milan (Italy).
According to the Generalitat, this is one of the most prestigious international rankings and is used by multinationals to study future business investment projects. The document highlights, among others, Barcelona's strategy to attract technology and sustainability projects, as well as the technological ecosystem it has generated. In the case of Catalonia, the publication particularly values the foreign investment attraction strategy of Acció, the agency for competitiveness of the Department of Business and Work.
The report European Cities and Regions of the Future 2023/24 (fDI's European Cities and Regions of the Future 2023/2024 -FDI Strategy) considers Barcelona as the best city in promoting and attracting foreign investment in Europe. The Catalan capital repeats in the first place in the ranking and advances in both technology and sustainability. In this sense, it highlights the "booming technological ecosystem" and prominent projects implemented in the city, such as the decision of the American multinational Intel to partner with the Barcelona Supercomputing Center to create a microchip design laboratory.
It also underlines that the Barcelona City Council is accelerating the energy transition through its Barcelona Sustainable Energy Mechanism (MES Barcelona), a tool to support and accelerate the city's energy transition together with private investors. It is also highlighted that last year a Hidrogenera, the first ecological hydrogen plant for public use in Spain, was launched, which will power Barcelona's buses.
"This recognition gives us strength to continue promoting Barcelona's Green Deal, the open roadmap for a future in which no one is left behind. The plan that includes the priority lines of economic promotion for the next decade in a 2030 agenda key, with more than sixty measures to make Barcelona one of the best cities in the world in attracting talent and developing economic activity," said Pau Solanilla, Commissioner for City Promotion of the Barcelona City Council. The city council's economic promotion strategy has a total budget of 2 million euros this year.
In the case of Catalonia, the strategy for attracting foreign investment by Acció, an organization that attracted 94 foreign investment projects in 2022, which represented an investment of 620 million euros and the creation of more than 3,400 jobs, is highlighted. As an example of this activity, fDi Magazine highlights the project of the South Korean company Iljin Materials, which will invest 600 million euros to open its first factory in Europe in Catalonia, with the creation of 500 jobs.
"Catalonia is a magnet for projects that generate added value," said the Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent, in statements to ACN. "We are positioning ourselves very competitively," he added. Regarding countries, Torrent pointed out that in recent years Acció has "emphasized" relations with Asian countries, especially China and South Korea, and assured that these are territories with strategic projects for the future, such as mobility or semiconductors. "These are sectors that will explain our economy and the global economy in the coming years," he stressed.