Foreign investment attracted by the Generalitat de Catalunya has broken all records. Through ACCIÓ, its agency for business competitiveness, it has attracted an injection of 880 million euros of foreign investment in 2023. This is 42% more than the previous year and the highest figure in the historical series, which began in 1985.
This has translated into the creation of 4,533 jobs, 31% more than in 2022, and the materialization of 112 investment projects by foreign companies, 19% more than in the previous year, according to the balance of Catalonia Trade & Investment, ACCIÓ's Foreign Investment and Companies unit. The Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent, emphasizes that "these are extraordinary, record-breaking figures, which demonstrate how competitive Catalonia is in the business environment, that international investors trust our country, and that we have all the ingredients for investments to be made with guarantees and with growth potential".
Industrial initiatives concentrate investment
67% of the foreign investment captured by the Generalitat de Catalunya in 2023, a total of 592 million euros, was of an industrial type. By sectors, investment projects from companies in the ICT and electronics field stood out, with 26% of cases; life sciences, with 14%; automotive-mobility, with 12%; video games, with 11%; and food, with 10% of projects.The Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ, Albert Castellanos i Maduell, emphasizes that "we are immersed in a process of transformation of the productive model and diversification of investments, as demonstrated by the number of greenfield projects or those that contribute to the green and digital transformation of companies". For Castellanos, Catalonia has a very attractive mix for deciding to establish oneself, combining factors such as ease of access to technology and innovation, the ability to attract local and international talent, geographical location, and quality of life for business activity.
Diversification of investing countries
The geographical origin of foreign investments is very diversified. And, in fact, for the first time, the threshold of 30 different countries has been exceeded. However, the countries from which most projects have materialized are the United States, 21% of the total, France, 13%, and the United Kingdom, 9%.On the other hand, 42% of the investment projects have been greenfield, that is, from foreign companies that until now were not established in Catalonia. The remaining 58% are companies that were already in the country and have expanded or made new investments.
Likewise, this year for the first time, the impact of foreign investment projects captured on digital and green transformations has been analyzed. 40% of the initiatives materialized in 2023 have a direct link and have generated 1,900 jobs, 42% of the total.
600 investment projects in portfolio
As for future forecasts, ACCIÓ is currently working with a portfolio of almost 600 investment projects. In fact, close to 50% of the companies that have invested in Catalonia in 2023 with the advice of the Government, state that they plan to do so again in the future.The volume of investment attracted by ACCIÓ in the last five years (2019-2023) reached 2,955 million euros, 90% more than the previous five-year period (2014-2018). In the last five years, nearly 20,000 jobs have been created, thanks to multinational investments in Catalonia, 23% more than the previous five-year period.