With Barcelona as its engine, Catalonia continues to position itself as a pole of attraction for foreign investment. For the fourth consecutive year, foreign investment captured by the Generalitat broke records in 2024. In total, Acció, the competitiveness agency for businesses of the Department of Business and Labor, facilitated the injection of up to 1,051 million euros. For the first time, the capture exceeds 1,000 million euros, a figure that represents a growth of 19% compared to the previous year, when investment amounted to 880 million, and the highest in the historical series, which began in 1985.
For the second consecutive year, more than 100 projects were captured by the Generalitat, with 106 projects from foreign companies, according to the balance carried out by Catalonia Trade & Investment, Acció's unit responsible for attracting foreign capital. The data represents only those projects already materialized by companies ---and does not include announced but not executed investments---, and only those that Acció has captured or accompanied, so they do not represent the total foreign investment of the previous year. In addition, the data only takes into account productive investment, not including financial investments such as, for example, the injection of Chery to reindustrialize the former Nissan plant in the Zona Franca.
Among these hundred projects, highlights include, for example, the establishment of the digital hub of the German Lufthansa in Barcelona, which has allowed the creation of up to 300 jobs, as well as the plant for vegetable protein of the American Elian, which has been located in the Port of Barcelona. Beyond the Catalan capital, other projects stand out, such as the installation of the innovation center of the Chinese chemical multinational Wanhua, which has installed its innovation center in Cornellà de Llobregat, or the creation of the new Elis Cleanroom plant in Granollers.
34% of these 106 projects were driven by companies that had no previous presence in Catalonia. This greenfield type of investment is complemented by companies that already operated in the territory and have expanded or made new injections to boost their activity in Catalonia. In total, these hundred projects also led to the creation of more than 4,980 jobs, 10% more than the previous year. In addition, thanks to this capital injection, up to 3,245 jobs were also maintained.
"The data is exceptional, especially considering the current geopolitical context and the protectionist trend of the main world powers," highlighted the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, a situation also conditioned by the arrival of Donald Trump to the presidency of the United States. However, in this context, a drop in global foreign investment of more than 8% is expected, but Sàmper has assured that he remains optimistic regarding the forecasts for Catalonia, recalling that in 2024 up to 2.9 million euros have been captured every day, and trusts that the data with which 2025 closes may be even higher.
In this sense, one of the key advantages that Sàmper has highlighted is the diversification of origins of foreign capital, since, for the second consecutive year, investments from up to thirty different countries were captured. Germany led the investment, with 11% of the total, followed by France, with 9%, and the United States, with another 9% of the total, 12 points below compared to 2023. The CEO of Acció, Jaume Baró, has highlighted that Trump's irruption in the White House "is not a matter of concern" for Catalonia since it receives investments from many other countries, and has emphasized that it is still "premature" to speak of a change in the trend of investment by the United States, a country that has always played a prominent role in the Catalan economy.
Investments from Asian origins already represent 22% of the total, equaling for the first time those coming from AmericaIn addition to strengthening alliances with European countries, who continue to be the main investors in Catalonia with 54% of the total capital,from the Generalitat they also work to increase the projects captured from Asia and especially from Southeast Asia. Korea, India, or Japan are emerging markets that they want to attract to Catalonia, in addition to continuing to forge alliances with China, which already represents the fourth country that invests the most in Catalonia with 7% of the total.
In fact, as a whole, investments from Asia already represent 22% of the total, equaling for the first time those coming from America, and have the potential to grow even more, Baró remarked. For this reason, Sàmper is preparing his first official trip to China in two weeks to meet with companies and establish strategic agreements for Catalonia.
A foreign injection that the Generalitat is working to distribute equitably throughout the territory, since Barcelona and the metropolitan area continue to attract the bulk of international capital. "We want to grow throughout Catalonia and ensure shared prosperity," remarked Sàmper, who celebrated that, for the first time, the injection has been distributed across 17 Catalan regions.
"Investments have concentrated in the strategic sectors of the Catalan economy," defended Baró, since 37% of the projects captured are framed within the manufacturing industry and 27% in the technological field, data that represents that up to 64% of foreign capital has been industrial and technological. By sectors, the growth of investment captured by electronics and ICT stands out, with 22% of the total, followed by automotive (14%), the chemical sector (11%), food (7%) and video games (7%).
Catalonia has doubled foreign investment in the last five yearsOn the other hand, more than half of the investments have been directly linked to digital and green transformations, sectors that have created or maintained up to 4,000 jobs, 50% of the total of 8,230 jobs that have been generated or maintained this 2024 associated with foreign injections.
A growth in injection that Baró has highlighted is not "volatile", but rather confirms an upward trend that has accelerated since 2020. The CEO of Acció referred to this period to exemplify that the investment attracted has doubled in the last five years. Thus, between 2020 and 2024, the Generalitat managed to attract up to 3,641 million euros, 128% more than between 2015 and 2019.
For this trend to remain positive, the CEO of Acció has detailed that the Generalitat is working with a portfolio of more than 500 projects to facilitate foreign investment in the coming years. Thus, he highlighted that this 2024 for every public euro destined for foreign injection, 275 of private investment has been attracted by international companies and that three out of ten projects have been captured through the network of 40 Foreign Trade and Investment Offices that Acció has distributed throughout the world.
"57% of the companies that have invested in the Catalan territory this 2024 assure that they plan to do so again in the future," Baró remarked, who mentioned key factors for foreign injection such as access to talent, existing infrastructure, quality of life or the good geopolitical situation of Catalonia. Sàmper expressed himself along the same lines, assuring that, despite the current international political context, "Catalonia is and will continue to be a reliable partner for foreign companies due to its institutional tranquility and the legal security it offers for investment."
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