Catalonia captures 2,000 million in foreign investment in the last five years
Capital resources allocated to new industrial implementations and to the expansion of productive capacity throughout the territory totaled 612 million euros in 2021, the best figure since 1985. This amount has materialized in 82 business projects and in the creation of 3,122 jobs.
The foreign investment that Catalonia has attracted in the 2017-2021 period amounts to 2,018 million euros, with a significant weight of resources allocated to industry and technology thanks to the establishment of new companies and production expansion projects of existing ones throughout the territory, according to data from Acció, the agency for business competitiveness of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which has channeled the arrival of these resources.The investment captured in the last five years is seven times higher than that obtained between 2012 and 2016.The figure of 2.018 billion has been reached after2021 has been the best year in project acquisition since 1985Last year, Acció attracted 612 million euros in foreign investment, from 82 projects, which resulted in the creation of 3,122 jobs and contributed to the maintenance of 2,471 additional jobs. It is significant that two-thirds of the projects are industrial in nature. These volumes, which represent a 28% growth in money and 7% in the number of actions, respond, in part, to the fact that new investments were materialized last year, but also some that had been paralyzed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically,37% of the 2021 projects correspond to new industrial implementations throughout Catalonia, 22% have been to grow existing productive units and another 22% to expand businesses with new products or services.
67% of the more than 3,000 jobs created ---37% more than in 2020--- correspond to technology professionals
From 2021, it stands out that 66% of foreign capital (401 million euros) has been allocated to industry and with a marked technological character, as demonstrated by the fact that 67% of the more than 3,000 jobs created ---37% more than in 2020--- correspond to technology professionals. By areas of activity,money has gone to digital companies (ICT and digital transformation) by 20%, automotive and motorcycle, with another 20%, and chemicals, with 13%. Among the most recent actions, projects such as those ofAkzoNobel, ChinaPXI AutomotiveorFesto. According to the Department of Business of the Generalitat, in the next two years a figure very similar to that registered last year could materialize, taking into account that at this moment Acció has in its portfolio a string of new projects ---around 600--- from German, American and English companies, which would have shown interest in establishing or strengthening their business in Catalonia. The Government specifies that 31% of the actions carried out in 2021 were captured through the network of 40 offices that Acció has distributed throughout the world. Festo belongs to the German multinational of the same name dedicated to industrial automation. Geographical diversity within and outside CataloniaRegarding the origin of foreign capital, if the 82 investments of last year are analyzed, it is observed that they originate from 22 countries, witha significant weight from Europe (57%) and America (22%), while the attraction of Asian investors is gaining ground, with an upward trend in the Japanese and Chinese markets. Interest in Catalonia has been led by the United States and Germany (with 16% each), the United Kingdom (12%), France (11%) and to a lesser extent by Japan (9%) and China (6%). This leads the Government to consider the need to intensify the business dissemination work carried out by Acción in Southeast Asia in the coming years, specifically in countries such as South Korea, China or India where there are companies with a high technological component. This does not detract from the continued commitment to countries with greater investment capacity. Locally, although it is appreciateda certain territorial balance with projects distributed across 13 of Catalonia's 42 comarcas, the metropolitan area of Barcelona –on the other hand, the most industrialized in Catalonia and with Barcelona as a pole of attraction for technological talent— continues to have an important weight and concentrates a large part of the projects.
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