The Financial Times recognises the Catalan Government foreign investment attraction strategy

The Financial Times 'fDi Magazine' recognised the Catalan Government's strategy for attracting foreign investments within the framework of the third edition of fDi Strategy Awards. Among 112 locations worldwide, the British publication has granted the public agency Catalonia Trade & Investment the Investment Promotion Agency of the Year - Highly commended award.

Catalonia Trade & Investment is in charge of foreign investment attraction through a specific unit, created in 1985, which works from Barcelona headquarters and through a network of 40 Foreign Trade and Investment Offices around the world. In this regard, 'fDi Magazine' has recognized several initiatives carried out by the agency to attract foreign investment, such as 'China Desk' (to capture projects from China through Catalonia T&I’s office in Shanghai), the 'Second footprint' (which promotes investments by multinational companies that are already present in Europe and seek reinvestments in the region) or the strategy to attract projects related to industry 4.0.

Foreign investment attraction is a priority for the Catalan Government to create wealth, added value and new jobs. The aim of Catalonia T&I is to help new multinational companies invest in Catalonia while those that are already present perform expansions and reinvestments. It promotes Catalonia abroad, carries out joint preparation of candidatures for companies to invest in Catalonia, offers comprehensive advice throughout the investment process and follow up once it has been materialized.

Currently there are 8,642 foreign companies established in Catalonia, according to the latest update of the Directory of Foreign Companies by Catalonia T&I. This is a growth by 22% in the number of companies compared to the previous update, in 2016. These companies come from Germany (13%), France (12%), the United States (12%), Italy (9%), the Netherlands (8%) and the United Kingdom (8%).