Porto boosts country’s attractiveness in the subject of foreign investment

The most recent study of EY regarding Portugal’s attractiveness in the subject of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that confirms the upward trajectory of the country, with Porto on the frontline, was presented this week. The councillor for Economy, Employment, and Entrepreneurship was present in the discussion around the question “What can we do to enhance the search of FDI directed towards Portugal?”.

In a conversation with Pedro Cruz from NeoGreen Hydrogen, Cristina Fernandes from Fresenius Kabi, and Miguel Frasquilho from United Business and the Strategic Council for the Attraction of Foreign Direct Investment of the Confederation of Portuguese Business, Ricardo Valente recalled how Porto recently led the ranking of Financial Time’s European Cities of the Future, which showed the recognition of his strategy of promotion and foreign direct investment.

Quoted in this study, the councillor for Economy, Employment, and Entrepreneurship reaffirms that “Porto lives with its doors opened to the world and eyes set on the future, tolerant to change and able to take on the ambitions of those who feel inspired to venture in a multicultural and international environment”.

The consultant’s study mentions that the city has become an “foreign direct investment centre in the South of Europe, attracting more than 2.7 billion Euros in investment projects and was able to create 17.400 jobs in the last three years”.

EY highlights the “upward trajectory” of the city, reflected in more than 2.250 foreign companies with headquarters in the region including tech centres and services from all around the world such as Natixis, Euronext, Kantar, TeamViewer, Maersk, and Critical Techworks.

“Porto’s value proposal as a global centre of the future happens due to the vast set of talent in the region, world class universities, prosperous environment of innovation and entrepreneurship, and due to being an ideal place with a modern digital infrastructure and great connectivity with the European Union and global markets, as well as the exceptional life quality and cosy nature”, the consultant highlights.

According to EY “these structural factors, joined by the unique combination of cultural heritage and innovation, turn Porto into an ideal business centre for companies of the 21st century to develop highly innovative projects and rapidly adapt to current challenges”.

Note that, pursuant to Porto’s Economic Report, from 2021 to 2022, the city has seen a 67.9% rise in foreign direct investment, representing around 600 million Euros. Last year, these projects were responsible for the creation of 2.690 new jobs in the city. The number of created companies have also increased in more than 19.7%.

In its general calculations, the study concludes that Portugal is the sixth main receiver of investment in Europe, having grown in 24% when compared to 2021. With 248 projects, Portugal was the country that grew the most among the ten European countries on top of investment attractiveness.

The numbers collected by the consultant, with the cities of Porto and Lisbon presenting “potential to create, at least, 24.574 new jobs” confirm “the attractiveness of the country in its digital economy”, contributing to a more sophisticated national economy, rooted in advanced services”.

In spite of its political instability, EY highlights how Portugal “was able to show high resilience on a macroeconomic and financial level”, that was translated in a record number of projects of Foreign Direct Investment. Leading the list of countries that chose Portugal to invest in is Germany, followed by the United States, France, United Kingdom, Spain, and Switzerland.