Catalonia attracted €6,400M in foreign investment in 2022, the highest figure on record

Catalonia has attracted €6,428 million in foreign investment in 2022, a 50% increase over the previous year. According to data from ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, based on the fDi Markets database from the Financial Times group, this is the highest figure in the entire historical series, first recorded in 2003. This database is among the most prestigious international tools multinational companies use to study future business investment projects. 

The Minister for Business and Labour, Roger Torrent, announced this on Thursday at the Parliament of Catalonia. He explained that, in 2022, a total of 229 investment projects were reported by multinational companies (11% more than in 2021), which will create 19,500 jobs when they are implemented.

Torrent stated that "this is excellent data since it is about investments in projects linked to the productive economy that generate stable and quality jobs". He emphasized that the Generalitat, through ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, "broke a historical record in attracting foreign investment in 2022," and explained that "it is necessary to adopt a perspective that separates the impact of volatility generated by these indicators." In this sense, he highlighted that "the volume of foreign investment registered in Catalonia in the last five years has reached 20,300 million euros, 29% more than the previous period." In the last five years, 950 projects have been registered (a 58% increase), and 44,500 associated jobs have been created (+82%).

Torrent explained that the main investment projects in 2022 were from companies in the United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and China. The top sectors were ICT, machinery and equipment, infrastructure, electronics and electrical equipment, food, and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Financial Times' fDi Markets database gathers information on investment projects made public by companies in the productive and service sectors, including greenfield projects broadly defined as first-time establishments in Catalonia, reinvestments, and extensions. However, it excludes mergers and acquisitions, except when they lead to the creation of new job opportunities. This database categorizes the projects according to the year they are announced, allowing for an annual analysis of the foreign companies' investment trends.