Increase in foreign investment, industrial investment and exports in Catalonia

Foreign investment in Catalonia grew to 3,690 million euros from January to September, 1,084 million euros higher than the same period last year. According to figures published this Monday by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, Catalonia concentrates 23.4% of foreign investment coming into the Spanish state.

The 3,690 million euros invested by foreign companies in Catalonia went mainly to manufacturing industries (27.6% of the total, with a significant presence of the food and automotive industries), financial services (16.5%), building construction (16.1%), and trade (11%). In terms of investing countries, the companies largely come from the Netherlands, France, Germany, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Foreign investment in manufacturing industries came to 1,020 million euros over the January-September period. In fact, Catalonia has concentrated over half of incoming investment (56.8%) into the Spanish state in this sector.

Catalan exports

The Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness also published on Monday the latest export figures for Catalan companies. These increased 3.2% in October, compared to the same month last year, coming to 5,824 million euros. This means that in accumulated terms, between January and September, Catalan exports grew 5.9%, to 53,391 million euros. In sectorial terms, the most favourable figures have been in chemical products, capital goods and the automotive industry.

This 5.9% figure is higher than the European Union average (4.8%) and than countries such as Japan (5.5%), France (3.9%), Italy (3.5%), the UK (-1.6%) or the USA (-6.5%). In fact, between January and September exports increased in the four Catalan regions: Barcelona (5.9%), Tarragona (4.8%), Girona (6.3%) and Lleida (10.2%).

Industrial investment in Catalonia

Furthermore, the Business and Employment Observatory has published the results of the Industrial Investment Survey which shows a 4.2% increase in industrial investment in Catalonia in 2015. It also foresees a year-on-year growth of 7.1% for 2016, higher than in previous years.