Danone, Henkel, FedEx, Boehringer, Nestlé, Basf, Volkswagen, Autajon, Amazon, Rakuten, Messer, Lidl, Aldi, Coty, EasyHotel, Ocado, Alstom, Huijbregts, VMware, Henkell, Savencia, Elis, Moodle, Carnival, MSC, Grimaldi, Griffith Foods, Puratos, BidCorp, Roche and Siegfried are just some of the foreign multinationals that have announced productive investments in Catalonia in recent years.
This list may continue to grow in the coming months since, according to the Department of Business and Labor of the Generalitat, there are currently 463 foreign companies studying the possibility of making investments in the Catalan market. If all of them materialized, they would represent a potential investment of 13.9 billion euros and the creation of more than 50,000 jobs, according to calculations made by Acció.
The agency for business competitiveness assures that these 463 investment projects represent a new record, as such a high volume of initiatives had never been counted on the table. One in three of these projects have been identified through the network of investment attraction offices that Acció has around the world. "Although international competition to attract new foreign investments is very high, the Generalitat's goal is to increase the number of foreign multinationals established in Catalonia from the current 8,900 to 10,000 in the next 10 years," explain sources from the department headed by counselor Roger Torrent.
Of the 463 projects in the pipeline, 37% correspond to companies that until now had no presence in Catalonia. In 23% of cases, these are multinationals already present in Catalan regions that want to invest in new production lines, while 19% are studying increasing existing lines.
The average job creation per project is 117 jobs, but it is significant to note that 3% of the initiatives can be very strategic, as they have the potential to generate 1,000 direct jobs each.
Groups interested in investing in Catalonia with their headquarters in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom predominate. By sector, investments linked to mobility, information technologies, chemistry, pharmacy, and food stand out.
Acció considers that these multinationals value Catalonia for its geostrategic location, connectivity, ability to attract and generate talent, and the fact of having a good "scientific-technological ecosystem".
Nissan Reindustrialization
Among the most desired projects on the table are those that allow for the continuity of the Nissan plant or guarantee the jobs at the current car factory in the Zona Franca once it closes. According to the Reindustrialization Commission, of the 17 projects presented by 13 companies, four companies are being prioritized: one that proposes projects focused on the creation of an electromobility hub, and three that propose projects aimed at manufacturing sustainable mobility vehicles (electric and hydrogen). It is expected that from July, the selected investors will present their binding offers and the final contract can be negotiated.