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The foreign investment attracted by the Generalitat of Catalonia has broken all records. Through ACCIÓ, its agency for the company's competitiveness, it has attracted an injection of 880 million euros of investment from abroad in 2023. This is 42% more than the previous year and the highest figure in the series historic, 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 Catalonia Trade balance sheet.
67% of the foreign investment attracted by the Generalitat of Catalonia in 2023, a total of 592 million euros, was industrial. By sectors, the investment projects of companies in the field of ICT and electronics stood out, with 26% of the cases, life sciences, with 14%, automotive - mobility, with 12%, video games with 11% and food with 10% of the projects.
The Secretary of Business and Competitivitat, and CEO of ACCIÓ, Albert Castellanos i Maduell, emphasizes that “we are immersed in a process of transformation of the production 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 companies to decide to establish themselves here, combining factors such as ease of access to technology and innovation, the ability to attract local and international talent, the geographical location and the quality of life for business activity.
The geographical origin of foreign investments is highly diversified. And, in fact, for the first time the threshold of 30 different countries has been exceeded. However, the countries from which the 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 based in Catalonia. The remaining 58% are companies that were already in the country and that have expanded or made new investments.
Likewise, this year, for the first time, the impact of foreign investment projects captured in digital and green transformations has been analyzed. 40% of the initiatives carried out in 2023 have a direct link and have generated 1,900 jobs, 42% of the total.
Regarding 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, assure that they plan to do so again in the future.
The volume of investment attracted by ACCIÓ in the last five years (2019-2023) reaches 2,955 million euros, 90% more than the previous five years (2014-2018). In the last five years, nearly 20,000 jobs have been created, thanks to investments by multinationals in Catalonia, 23% more than the previous five years.
