CONTENTS...48 InJune 2016,the UK votedtoleave theworld’s largesttrading bloc, ending decadesofco-operationon economic andregulatorymatters that coveredeverythingfromtrading and finance

February/March 2018 www.fDiIntelligence.com 47

CONTENTS

EUROPEANCITIESANDREGIONSOFTHEFUTURE2018/19

48An introduction to fDi’s rankings and the tables showing the top 25 cities and regions.

EUROPEANCITIESOFTHEFUTURE2018/19:WINNERS

50The leading cities in Europe for FDI are ranked by European zone, and by major, large, mid-sized,small and micro cities.

EUROPEANCITIESOFTHEFUTURE2018/19:FDISTRATEGY

62 fDi assesses and ranks the cities of Europe by their policies and actions when it comes to attractingand retaining investment.

EUROPEANREGIONSOFTHEFUTURE2018/19:WINNERS

66 Europe’s leading regions when it comes to attracting investment are ranked by European zone,as well as according to size: large, mid-sized and small.

EUROPEANREGIONSOFTHEFUTURE2018/19:FDISTRATEGY

76 The regions of Europe are judged by fDi staff and contributors and ranked by their strategyto attract foreign investment.

ENGLISHLEPS

80 Local enterprise partnerships replaced the regional development agencies in England in 2011.fDi ranks them on how they have performed in the past five years.

METHODOLOGY

82An explanation of the methods behind the fDi European Cities and Regions of the Future2018/19 ranking.

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48

In June 2016, the UK voted to leavethe world’s largest trading bloc,ending decades of co-operation on

economic and regulatory matters thatcovered everything from trading andfinance to product safety. In March2019, the UK will officially leave theEU and no one knows yet quite howthis will look. Prime minister TheresaMay’s cabinet is reportedly preparingfor a ‘no deal’ scenario, one in whichthe UK leaves with no agreement withthe remaining 27 EU members ontrade, security, immigration or theinfamous ‘divorce settlement’.

fDi’s European Cities and Regionsof the Future 2018/19 ranking seeksto find the most promising cities andregions across the whole of Europe,not just those that belong to the EU.Since the UK’s vote to leave, manycompanies have made investmentdecisions that suggest they see afuture in the UK. In October 2016,Netherlands-based ING announced itwas to create 60 jobs in London,which would be relocated fromBelgium and the Netherlands. Thefinance group stated that even in thelight of Brexit, the city still hadplenty to offer investors by way of tal-ented workforce.

Other companies see the advan-

www.fDiIntelligence.com February/March 2018

THE UK’S VOTE TO LEAVE THE EU HAS LEFT EUROPE IN A STATE OF FLUX.HOWEVER, THUS FAR THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO HAVE DENTED LONDON’SALLURE AS AN FDI DESTINATION, AS fDi’S EUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19 RANKING SHOWS. CATHYMULLAN REPORTS

European Cities andRegions of theFuture 2018/19Winners

INTRODUCTIONEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

tages offered by the uncertainty ofthe Brexit process. Australia-basedmineral and exploration companyPeak Resources stated that theexpected devaluation of the poundmade operating costs more afforda-ble, and any UK efforts to maintain(and potentially improve) its competi-tiveness on a world stage in a post-Brexit age could present investorswith opportunities. In establishingits manufacturing facility in the UKin December 2016, Peak Resourcesjoined a chorus of investors fromAmazon to Snapchat who continueto sing the UK’s praises.

With a cautious note, we bringyou this year’s European Cities andRegions of the Future ranking for2018/19. Politics and personalitiescould change dramatically beforeMarch 2019; however, London willremain a very important city towatch and, we believe, a City of theFuture. That said, its FDI competitorsthat remain in the EU are closingranks on it, and will have manystrong hands to play as uncertaintiestest London’s durability as Europe’spremier investment destination.

Here, we present our currentfindings on the top cities and regionsfor FDI attractiveness in Europe. ■

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Paris Region France2 Dublin Region Ireland3 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany4 Baden-Württemberg Germany5 Bavaria Germany6 South-east England UK7 Zurich Switzerland8 Uusimaa Finland9 Scotland UK10 North Holland Netherlands11 East of England UK12 Greater Copenhagen Denmark13 Central Federal District Russia14 Hamburg Germany15 Stockholm County Sweden16 Oslo County Norway17 Berlin Germany18 Hesse Germany19 Bratislava Slovakia20 Geneva Switzerland21 Prague Czech Republic22 Brabant Netherlands23 Zug Switzerland24 București-Ilfov Romania25 West Midlands UK

TOP25 EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THE FUTURE2018/19: OVERALL

INTRODUCTIONEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

“THE CITY OF ZURICH ATTRACTS HIGHLYEDUCATED AND SPECIALISED PEOPLEFROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. THESEBUSINESS-FRIENDLY CONDITIONSALLOW COMPANIES TO INNOVATE,DEVELOP AND GROW”CORINE MAUCH , MAYOR OF ZURICH

49February/March 2018 www.fDiIntelligence.com

Nearly half of all investments made in London were in software and IT servicesNearly half of all investments made in London were in software and IT services

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Dublin Ireland3 Paris France4 Amsterdam Netherlands5 Munich Germany6 Moscow Russia7 Frankfurt Germany8 Zurich Switzerland9 Cambridge UK10 Helsinki Finland11 Warsaw Poland12 Luxembourg Luxembourg13 Berlin Germany14 Stockholm Sweden15 Bucharest Romania16 Limerick Ireland17 Shannon Ireland18 Cork Ireland19 Copenhagen Denmark20 Basel Switzerland21 Geneva Switzerland22 Stuttgart Germany23 Hamburg Germany24 Eindhoven Netherlands25 Reading UK

TOP25 EUROPEAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE 2018/19:OVERALL

CITIESWINNERSEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

LONDON HAS RETAINED ITS TOP SPOT, CELEBRATING MORE THANA DECADE AS fDi’S EUROPEAN CITY OF THE FUTURE, WITH DUBLINCLIMBING TO SECOND AND KNOCKING PARIS INTO THIRD POSITION.CATHYMULLAN DETAILS THE WINNING CITIES

London leads as Dublinclimbs city ranking

50 www.fDiIntelligence.com February/March 2018

W hile picking up other acco-lades along the way,London has won top billing

as overall European City of theFuture for 2018/19. In the five yearsto September 2017, London wel-comed 1880 foreign investments,the highest of all 301 cities includedin the ranking.

London’s big leadIn the time period studied, Londonattracted more projects than Parisand Dublin combined, includinginvestments from companies suchas US-based retailing giant Amazon,US-based internet behemothFacebook and Israel-based co-work-ing solutions company Mindspace.The city’s investment landscape wasdominated by the service sectors.Nearly half of all investments madewere in software and IT services, fol-lowed by almost one-fifth in busi-ness services and more than 12% infinancial services.

In September 2017, Belgium-based security solutions providerPraesidiadmoved its corporate head-quarters from Belgium to London.The company partly credited its deci-sion to move to the “access to awealth of talent hubs” it would havein the city. London is home tomore than 350,000 students, andover 57% of the population agedbetween 25 and 64 is educated to ter-tiary degree level – the highest levelof all cities studied. London boastsseven of the world’s top 500 universi-ties and three of the city’s businessschools feature in the Global MBARankings for 2016 – factors thatalso contributed to its first placeranking in the Human Capital andLifestyle category.

The UK’s capital city also toppedthe ranking for Business Friendliness

following the UK’s high performancein various indices, including theWorld Bank’s Ease of Doing Businessranking and the HeritageFoundation’s Index of EconomicFreedom. London is home to nine ofthe Top 1000 World Banks of 2017according to The Banker’s Top 1000World Banks ranking, and scored thehighest of all cities in the InnovationCities Index.

Irish eyes smilingSecond placed Dublin’s FDI successstory continues, as the Irish capitalrises above Paris in fDi’s ranking ofEuropean cities. With eyes on theunfolding Brexit negotiations acrossthe Irish Sea, Dublin is seeking to ben-efit from companies that might con-sider leaving London to find a new

financial services hub to call home.Dublin received the same num-

ber of projects in the financial ser-vices sector in the first three quartersof 2017 as it received in the whole of2016 and 2015 combined. In August2017, Canada-based TD Securities (asubsidiary of Toronto-DominionBank) announced it was to expand itsoperations in Dublin with the open-ing of a post-Brexit EU hub, while inJuly 2017, Bank of America subsidiaryMerrill Lynch said it would establishnew EU headquarters in Dublin.

Dublin, which at 12.5% offers oneof the lowest rates of corporation taxin Europe, fares well against its mainfinancial services competitors,Amsterdam (ranked fourth overall)and Frankfurt (seventh). In 2015,Dublin attracted the lowest num-

Dublin saw soaring project numbers in the financial services sector in the first three quarters of 2017



ber of projects in the financial ser-vices sector out of the three cities.However, by the end of third quarter2017 it had surpassed both its rivals.All three cities saw an upswing infinancial services investment in thefirst nine months of 2017 comparedwith the 12 months of 2016.

Dublin received the highest levelof capital investment in R&D of allthe cities studied, welcoming morethan $1.6bn in R&D investments inthe five years to September 2017. Latein 2015, the Irish government pub-lished its Innovation 2020 –Excellence Talent Impact report,which laid out its policy plans forattracting R&D investment and sup-porting full employment.

As part of the plan, the govern-ment aims to increase the numberof research personnel in the countryby 60% to 40,000 people; to developthe network of research centres inthe country; and to reach an R&Dintensity target of 2.5% of grossnational product. Russia-based soft-ware company Kaspersky Lab’s voteof confidence in Dublin came withthe opening of a research lab inSeptember 2016. The company saidthe city was becoming known as theSilicon Valley of Europe and creditedopportunities to hire quality techtalent and collaboration with otherIT companies as the main driversbehind its decision.

Oui to ParisParis, France’s most populous city aswell as its capital, has ranked third ofall European cities and attracted thesecond highest number of FDI pro-jects of all locations examined. Atotal of 728 investments were madeinto the city during the five years toSeptember 2017. More than 43% ofthese were sales, marketing and sup-port functions; over one-quarter inbusiness services; and more than 15%in headquarters operations.

US-based software companyIntuit acknowledged the city’s tal-ented workforce as a reason for open-ing a new development centre inParis – its first move in continentalEurope. Thirty-seven higher educa-tion institutions in Paris educate650,000 students and more than halfof the population aged between 25and 64 is educated to degree level.Paris is also home to 10 of the world’stop 500 universities, more than anyother European city, which alsohelped it to rank third of all majorEuropean cities for Human Capitaland Lifestyle. ■

Source: fDi Markets0 500 1000 1500 2000

LONDON

PARIS

DUBLIN

BERLIN

MUNICH

FIGURE1 TOP FIVE DESTINATIONCITIES BY PROJECTS, INWARD FDI,2012-2017

Source: fDi Markets

0 500 1000 1500 2000

DUBLIN

LONDON

BELFAST

MILAN

BERLIN

FIGURE3 TOP FIVE EUROPEANCITIES FOR CAPITAL INVESTMENTIN R&D, BY $M

Other

Software andIT services

Businessservices

Communications

Realestate

Financialservices

Source: fDi Markets

FIGURE2 INWARD INVESTMENTSECTORS IN LONDON,2012-2017

FIGURE4 FINANCIAL SERVICES FDI BY PROJECT NUMBERS INTO DUBLIN,FRANKFURT AND AMSTERDAM, 2012-2017

02012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

5

10

15

20

Dublin

Frankfurt

Amsterdam

Source: fDi Markets

Rising from the financial crisis in late2000s, Portugal has become a hotspotfor foreign investment in recent years.

Porto, the country’s second largest city andnorthern economic capital, is also rapidlyemerging on international investors’ map.According to EY Portugal Attractiveness Survey2017, the number of projects and jobs createdby foreign investors in Northern Portugal grewby 75% and 302% from 2013 to 2016, respec-tively. Porto and Northern Portugal was theregion with the most foreign investments inPortugal in2016andwasconsideredby foreigncompanies established in the country as themost attractive region in Portugal. Examples ofrecent investments include technology andservice centres of prestigious internationalcompanies such as Vestas, Natixis, Euronext,BNP Paribas, Bosch and Sitel. Investors are find-ing success inPorto, asmanyhaveexpandedorare considering expanding existing operations.The reasons for choosingPorto are plenty.

Home to over 1.7 million people in themetropolitan area andmore than170,000uni-versity students in the catchment area, Portostands out for its highly qualified talent. Porto’sworkforce is underpinned by a world-classeducation system that includes more than 40higher education institutions. About 27% ofthe population in Porto holds a higher educa-tion degree. Portugal was the fourth Europeancountry with the highest rate of PhD holdersper 1000 inhabitants aged20 to29 in2012. Its

workforce is highly flexible, open, committed,multicultural andmultilingual. Over 60%of thePortuguese population speaks a second lan-guage. The city’s ability to attract internationaltalent is equally noteworthy.

Porto is also a remarkable place for inno-vation and entrepreneurship. The city hosts aconsiderable number of prestigious R&D cen-tres which have established formal pro-grammes with reputed organisations such asMIT, UTAustin, CarnegieMellonUniversity, andHarvard Medical School. The excellence inR&D and innovation enabled Porto to attractthe first subsidiary of the Fraunhofer Instituteoutside Germany. Furthermore, Porto has avibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. The recentstrong growth of Porto’s startup ecosystem ishighlighted by a Startup Europe Partnershipreport, which considered Porto as the mostentrepreneurial region in Portugal. Numeroushigh-tech startups and companies in Porto,such as Farfetch, BLIP, Critical Software,

Feedzai, Talkdesk and Veniam, have caughtinternational media’s attention and have beenlisted among the most promising businessesin theworld.

Another reason for investors to choosePorto is its strategic location. Located at thecrossroads between Europe, Africa and theAmericas, in a time zone that suits differentregions, with excellent connectivity by air, landand sea, Porto is an ideal gateway to theEuropeanmarketwithover 500millionpeople,Portuguese-speaking countries with morethan 250million people, as well as other partsof theworld.

Porto’s attractiveness for internationalinvestors and talents has alsomuch to dowithits exceptional quality of life. Portugal wasranked the second country in the world in theMigrant Integration Policy Index and the thirdmost peaceful country in the world accordingto Global Peace Index. Being awarded the titleof European Best Destination in 2012, 2014and 2017, Porto provides expatriates a wel-coming, inclusive and safe city, a mild andpleasant climate with around 220 sunny daysa year, a vibrant and dynamic cultural life, aswell as high-quality health services and inter-national schools.

In Porto, investors can also findworld-classinfrastructure. Portugal has Europe’s best fibreoptic network and the fourth best road net-work. Porto Airport was the best EuropeanAirport in 2016 in the category of 5-15millionpassengers per year and is well connected tothemainhubs in Europe andother continents.

All the above-mentioned benefits thatPorto offers come at extremely competitivecosts. Labour costs, real estate costs, and costof living inPorto are among the lowest inmajorWestern European cities.

INVESTPORTOOne-stop-shop support services for investorsin Porto (www.investporto.pt).

DISTINCTIONS• 3rd Best City to Invest in Southern Europe,fDi Intelligence European Cities and Regionsof the Future 2014/15• 8th BestMid-Sized City for FDI Strategy,fDi Intelligence European Cities of the Future2018/19

THE NORTH REGION OF PORTUGALIN NUMBERS• 3.6million inhabitants• 100 higher education institutions• 117,000 university students• 1200 foreign companies

“HOMETOOVER1.7MILLIONPEOPLE INTHEMETROPOLITANAREAANDMORETHAN170,000UNIVERSITYSTUDENTS INTHECATCHMENTAREA, PORTOSTANDSOUTFOR ITSHIGHLYQUALIFIEDTALENT”

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PORTO:FINDTHESOURCEOFYOURCOMPETITIVENESSPortugal’s second city combines an outstanding talent pool, cost competitiveness,strategic location and quality of life to be amagnet for investment



RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Dublin Ireland3 Paris France4 Amsterdam Netherlands5 Moscow Russia6 Helsinki Finland7 Warsaw Poland8 Berlin Germany9 Stockholm Sweden10 Bucharest Romania

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Moscow Russia3 Paris France4 Madrid Spain5 Prague Czech Republic6 Bucharest Romania7 Berlin Germany8 Istanbul Turkey9 Oslo Norway10 Vienna Austria

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITAL ANDLIFESTYLE

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Stockholm Sweden3 Amsterdam Netherlands4 Copenhagen Denmark5 Paris France6 Barcelona Spain7 Brussels Belgium8 Oslo Norway9 Helsinki Finland10 Madrid Spain

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Dublin Ireland3 Paris France4 Amsterdam Netherlands5 Helsinki Finland6 Moscow Russia7 Berlin Germany8 Stockholm Sweden9 Milan Italy10 Copenhagen Denmark

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Tbilisi Georgia2 Sofia Bulgaria3 Kiev Ukraine4 Minsk Belarus5 Bucharest Romania6 Riga Latvia7 Zagreb Croatia8 Saint Petersburg Russia9 Warsaw Poland10 Prague Czech Republic

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Dublin Ireland3 Warsaw Poland4 Bucharest Romania5 Moscow Russia6 Prague Czech Republic7 Paris France8 Oslo Norway9 Istanbul Turkey10 Amsterdam Netherlands

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

Winners: Major European cities

“BOTH LOCALS ANDNEWCOMERSLOVE THE COMFORTABLE SIZEOF RIGAAND ITS VERY SPECIALMENTALITY:A FRIENDLY, HARMONIOUSMIXBETWEENANCIENTHISTORYAND ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT”ARMANDSKRŪZE, RIGA CITY COUNCILCITY DEVELOPMENTDEPARTMENT


Winners: by European zone

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Paris France2 Amsterdam Netherlands3 Munich Germany4 Frankfurt Germany5 Zurich Switzerland6 Luxembourg Luxembourg7 Berlin Germany8 Basel Switzerland9 Geneva Switzerland10 Stuttgart Germany

TOP10WESTERN EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Moscow Russia2 Warsaw Poland3 Bucharest Romania4 Prague Czech Republic5 Bratislava Slovakia6 Budapest Hungary7 Wrocław Poland8 Poznań Poland9 Kraków Poland10 Plzeň Czech Republic

TOP10 EASTERN EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Istanbul Turkey2 Barcelona Spain3 Madrid Spain4 Milan Italy5 Lisbon Portugal6 Rome Italy7 Ljubljana Slovenia8 Zagreb Croatia9 Bilbao Spain10 Valencia Spain

TOP10 SOUTHERN EUROPEAN CITIES OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 London UK2 Dublin Ireland3 Cambridge UK4 Helsinki Finland5 Stockholm Sweden6 Limerick Ireland7 Shannon Ireland8 Cork Ireland9 Copenhagen Denmark10 Reading UK

TOP10 NORTHERN EUROPEAN CITIES OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

PARISRIDINGHIGHThemood in Paris is buoyant as thecapital region continues to attractmultinational companies and start-upsalike, landing it the award of top overallEuropean region in the fDi rankings

There’s something of a feel-good factorinFrance thesedays, and it isbeing felt inparticular in theParis region,wherebusi-nesses are optimistic about the futureand investment is thriving. Since the elec-tion of Valérie Pécresse as head of the region

inDecember 2015, theParis regionhas greatlychanged the actions deployed to attract inter-national companies. Already in 2016, theregion had an increase of 15% in the numberof international companies setting up busi-ness and 2017’s figures should look even bet-ter, the election of President Macron being animportant step in changing the perception ofFrance by international companies.

It is against this backdrop that the regionnotched up high positions in major categoriesin this year’s fDiCitiesandRegionsof theFuture2018/19 rankings. This includes: the highlyprestigious top overall European Region of theFuture placement; the top Western Europeanregion overall; the top large European regionoverall; the top large European region for eco-nomic potential; and top 10 positions amonglargeEuropeancities for humancapital and life-style, connectivity and FDI strategy.

ATTRACTING BLUE CHIPSWith anareaof 12,012 square kilometres andapopulation of 12million, the Paris region is thelargest in Europe, boasting GDP of €649bn.

It is no surprise that major tech firmsincluding Facebook and Google have chosenrecently to invest in Paris region, as haveglobalbanks such as HSBC and Bank of AmericaMerrill Lynch. The region’s position as a bank-ing hub was further solidified by theannouncement that the European BankingAuthority will be moving to Paris in 2018. The

French capital already hosts Europe’s highestconcentration of Fortune 500 companies.

The Paris region is well equipped to wel-come new investors that appreciate the abun-danceof high-quality and competitively pricedoffice space that is helping it to keep ahead ofitsmajor rivals.

What is more, this gateway to continentalEurope boasts great infrastructure, with its air,rail, road and waterways links to the rest ofEuropeputtingamarketof510millionEuropeanconsumerswithineasy reachof investors.

Innovation rules throughout the Parisregion, whose support for the innovation eco-system is encouraging tech companies fromoverseas either to establish R&D bases thereor to capitalise on business opportunities forstart-ups and corporates in the region.

Investors in this sector enjoy having spaceto grow as well as the business-friendly envi-ronment that is encouraging both start-upsandmore established firms to locate here.

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SPOTLIGHTONPARISREGIONADVERTISEMENTFEATURE


RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Munich Germany2 Frankfurt Germany3 Stuttgart Germany4 Hamburg Germany5 Düsseldorf Germany6 Manchester UK7 Glasgow UK8 Rotterdam Netherlands9 Cologne Germany10 Kraków Poland

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Lyon France2 Munich Germany3 Hamburg Germany4 Stuttgart Germany5 Dresden Germany6 Cologne Germany7 Leipzig Germany8 Frankfurt Germany9 Kraków Poland10 Hannover Germany

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITAL ANDLIFESTYLE

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Rotterdam Netherlands2 Frankfurt Germany3 Antwerp Belgium4 Manchester UK5 Hamburg Germany6 Düsseldorf Germany7 Cologne Germany8 Lyon France9 Birmingham UK10 Glasgow UK

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Munich Germany2 Frankfurt Germany3 Stuttgart Germany4 Düsseldorf Germany5 Hamburg Germany6 Manchester UK7 Hannover Germany8 Cologne Germany9 Antwerp Belgium10 Nuremberg Germany

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Kharkiv Ukraine2 Odessa Ukraine3 Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine4 Belgrade Serbia5 Samara Russia6 Rostov-na-Donu Russia7 Nizhny Novgorod Russia8 Kazan Russia9 Novosibirsk Russia10 Yekaterinburg Russia

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Manchester UK2 Kraków Poland3 Frankfurt Germany4 Glasgow UK5 Birmingham UK6 Munich Germany7 Leeds UK8 Katowice Poland9 Belgrade Serbia10 Hamburg Germany

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

Winners: Large European cities


“EXCELLENT PLACEMENTS INTHE fDi RANKING SPURUSON TOCONTINUEMUNICH’SSUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTIN THE FACEOFGLOBALCOMPETITION. THEDIGITISATIONOFUSERINDUSTRIES IN PARTICULARHAS EMERGEDAS APOWERFULDRIVEROFINNOVATIONANDGROWTH”JOSEF SCHMID, HEADOFDEPARTMENTOF LABOURANDECONOMICDEVELOPMENT, CITYOFMUNICH


RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Zurich Switzerland2 Edinburgh UK3 Bratislava Slovakia4 Vilnius Lithuania5 Bristol UK6 Gothenburg Sweden7 Wrocław Poland8 Coventry UK9 Bonn Germany10 Poznań Poland

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Zurich Switzerland2 Edinburgh UK3 Bonn Germany4 Bristol UK5 Bratislava Slovakia6 Wrocław Poland7 Tyumen Russia8 Coventry UK9 Vilnius Lithuania10 Gothenburg Sweden

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Luhansk Ukraine2 Mykolaiv Ukraine3 Chisinau Moldova4 Zaporizhia Ukraine5 Iași Romania6 Vilnius Lithuania7 Bydgoszcz Poland8 Yaroslavl Russia9 Lviv Ukraine10 Kaliningrad Russia

TOP10MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Zurich Switzerland2 Wrocław Poland3 Poznań Poland4 Bratislava Slovakia5 Coventry UK6 Edinburgh UK7 Tallinn Estonia8 Bristol UK9 Nottingham UK10 Newcastle upon Tyne UK

TOP10MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Zurich Switzerland2 Bordeaux France3 Vilnius Lithuania4 Bratislava Slovakia5 Toulouse France6 Brno Czech Republic7 Lille France8 Utrecht Netherlands9 Aarhus Denmark10 Gothenburg Sweden

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITALAND LIFESTYLE

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 The Hague Netherlands2 Gothenburg Sweden3 Liverpool UK4 Zurich Switzerland5 Utrecht Netherlands6 Duisburg Germany7 Nottingham UK8 Essen Germany9 Sheffield UK10 Fife UK

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

Winners: Mid-sized European cities


“POZNAN IS ANOPENCITY FOR PEOPLE.ITS RESULT IN THE FDI RANKINGPROVES ITSOPENNESS FOR FOREIGNINVESTORS.WE KNOWHOWIMPORTANT THEY ARE FORTHE CITY DEVELOPMENT”JACEK JASKOWIAK, MAYOROF POZNAŃ

DERRYANDSTRABANE–THEGATEWAYTOSUCCESSNorthern Ireland’s second largest city is a prime investmenttarget thanks to its highly competitive business environment

Situated in theNorthWest of Ireland, theDerry City and Strabane District Councilarea is a connected, competitive andcohesive city region, a place ripe forinvestment opportunity. The second larg-est city in Northern Ireland and fourth largeston the island of Ireland, Derry is a regional cityboasting long established links with Londonand strong international relations with the USand China.

A SMALL REGION WITH A BIGGLOBAL OUTLOOKAdd to the list quality healthcare, housing, edu-cation and the vibrant culture which saw it winUKCity of Culture in 2013and you’ll find it hardnot to agree that it’s the perfect place to invest,live andwork.

CONNECTIVITYWith three airports located within 90 min-utes of the city and flights to more than 180destinations worldwide, getting therecouldn’t be easier. The UK’s capital is only anhour away, with a twice-daily flight from thecity’s airport to London. Foyle Port andBelfast Harbour are also on the doorstep,both key gateways for commerce.

Twomajor infrastructure projects will fur-ther improve accessibility to the region. TheA5Western Transport Corridor (Derry-Dublin)is the largest road scheme ever undertakenin Northern Ireland, and the completion ofthe A6 Derry to Belfast will soon mean that

getting there will be faster, easier and com-mercially, better.

COMPETITIVEThe facts speak for themselves. A strong trackrecord in attracting FDI is proven by the city’splace among the “Top10European small citiesfor FDI strategy”.

Some34%of thepopulation areunder 25,with a well-established university/third levelcommunity of 40,000 students. Thirty-onepercent of school leavers are educated to degreelevel, 22% are under 16, and all are reaping therewards of a world renowned education sys-tem. Some 65% are of working age, providinga diverse range of skills to the local economy.

Working with central government, thelocal Council provides investors with a securepipeline of talent to rival the best in the world,with initiatives such as Assured SkillsAcademies and an apprenticeship hub, seeinga 19% rise in employment opportunities overthe past threemonths (NIJobs.com).

With a formal agreement recently forgedbetween Ulster University, North West

Regional College and Letterkenny Institute ofTechnology, the area is emerging as Ireland’sleading cross-border learning region.

The benefits don’t stop there. Labourcosts are more than 30% lower than in otherEuropean cities, including London andDublin.There’s an abundance of high-quality office,retail and industrial space at the lowest pricesin Western Europe. With a government com-mitment to reduce Corporation Tax inNorthern Ireland, it’s little wonder 80% ofinternational investors continue to invest orplan to expand.

It’s easy to see why global leaders in R&Dexcellence are already here, supporting localindustry and driving innovation: ClinicalTranslational Research & Innovation Centre,Intelligent System Research Centre andCognitive Analytics Research Lab, alongsidethe NW Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.Also located there are the big players in dataanalytics, advanced manufacturing, transla-tional medicine and clinical research, AI andautomated systems.

COHESIVEWhile the Irish border continues to play a piv-otal role in Brexit negotiations, cross-borderrelations in this cohesive city region havenever been stronger. With collaborative worktaking place on a civic, local and central gov-ernment level, the relationship with DonegalCounty Council is a unique string to the NorthWest’s bow. By investing in the North West,you’re investing in the only UK city region tostraddle the ROI border, with access to UK, ROIand Europeanmarkets.

The region’s Inclusive Strategic GrowthPlan outlines economic, social and environ-mental growth plans for the next 15 years.With key projects such as the expansion ofUlster University, including a graduate entrymedical school, by 2032, it forecasts that aninvestment of £3.4bn will deliver 15,100 newjobs, 10,000 additional people, £203m addi-tional wages and £1.1bn additional GVA. TheCouncil is also pursuing a Growth Deal (or UKCity Deal) which will further accelerate theeconomic transformation of the region.

There’s never been a better time to investin a place that has never been better.

Invest in Derry and Strabane, the gatewayto success.

Please contact the teamon:

Tel: +44 (0)28 71253253Ext: 6661/6662Email: [email protected]

Twitter: twitter.com/InvestDCSDC

“SOME34%OF THEPOPULATIONAREUNDER 25,WITHAWELL-ESTABLISHEDUNIVERSITY/THIRDLEVEL COMMUNITYOF 40,000 STUDENTS”

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RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Cambridge UK2 Luxembourg Luxembourg3 Cork Ireland4 Basel Switzerland5 Geneva Switzerland6 Eindhoven Netherlands7 Reading UK8 Belfast UK9 Lund Sweden10 Aberdeen UK

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Luxembourg Luxembourg2 Cambridge UK3 Cork Ireland4 Geneva Switzerland5 Basel Switzerland6 Eindhoven Netherlands7 Belfast UK8 Espoo Finland9 Aberdeen UK10 Reading UK

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Nicosia Cyprus2 Basel Switzerland3 Geneva Switzerland4 Oxford UK5 Espoo Finland6 Lund Sweden7 Linz Austria8 Bergen Norway9 Innsbruck Austria10 Salzburg Austria

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 –HUMANCAPITAL/LIFESTYLE

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Skopje Macedonia2 Bijeljina Bosnia-Herzegovina3 Pleven Bulgaria4 Ruse Bulgaria5 Burgas Bulgaria6 Melitopol Ukraine7 Ternopil Ukraine8 Kremenchuk Ukraine9 Berdiansk Ukraine10 Plovdiv Bulgaria

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Štip Macedonia2 Prilep Macedonia3 Prijedor Bosnia-Herzegovina4 Zvornik Bosnia-Herzegovina5 Yuzhnoukrainsk Ukraine6 Vranje Serbia7 Zaječar Serbia8 Sremska Mitrovica Serbia9 Zrenjanin Serbia10 Sombor Serbia

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Limerick Ireland2 Shannon Ireland3 Waterford Ireland4 Galway Ireland5 Inverness UK6 Mechelen Belgium7 Drogheda Ireland8 Coburg Germany9 Lincoln UK10 Nitra Slovakia

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Shannon Ireland2 Limerick Ireland3 Galway Ireland4 Waterford Ireland5 Coburg Germany6 Inverness UK7 Szekesfehervar Hungary8 Drogheda Ireland9 Monaco France10 Mechelen Belgium

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Tartu Estonia2 Pau France3 Coburg Germany4 Bangor UK5 Limerick Ireland6 Monaco France7 Inverness UK8 Limassol Cyprus9 Östersund Sweden10 Nitra Slovakia

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 –HUMANCAPITAL/LIFESTYLE

Winners: Small andMicro European cities

“CORK IS IRELAND’S SOUTHERNPOWERHOUSE, A PLACEOF COLLABORATIONANDCONNECTIVITYWHERE BUSINESSES AREENABLED TOGROWANDSUCCEED. GLOBALGIANTS ARE BEING JOINED BY ANEWWAVEOF INVESTORS IN CYBER, TECHANDPHARMA”TONY FITZGERALD, LORDMAYOROF CORK


RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Cork Ireland2 Reading UK3 Cambridge UK4 Belfast UK5 Brighton UK6 Milton Keynes UK7 Hemel Hempstead UK8 Slough UK9 Kecskemét Hungary10 Aberdeen UK

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Lund Sweden2 Slough UK3 Malmö Sweden4 Eindhoven Netherlands5 St Albans UK6 Hemel Hempstead UK7 Basel Switzerland8 Geneva Switzerland9 Ghent Belgium10 Stavanger Norway

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Mechelen Belgium2 Lincoln UK3 Hartlepool UK4 Shannon Ireland5 Halifax UK6 Pau France7 Jelgava Latvia8 Drogheda Ireland9 Great Yarmouth UK10 Newry UK

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Limerick Ireland2 Shannon Ireland3 Galway Ireland4 Waterford Ireland5 Drogheda Ireland6 Inverness UK7 Nitra Slovakia8 Zrenjanin Serbia9 Székesfehérvár Hungary10 Tartu Estonia

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

“MECHELEN’SWELL-DEFINEDVISION FORTHE FUTUREHAS ALREADYCONVINCEDMANYCOMPANIESTOCHOOSEUS. THEIREXAMPLEINSPIRESOTHERS”BART SOMERS,MAYOROFMECHELEN

WHYKATOWICEMEANSBUSINESSExcellent transport links mayhave brought investors toPoland’s Katowice, but the city’sbusiness-friendly attitude, skilledlabour pool and great quality oflife is what keeps them there

The southern Polish city of Katowice isbuildinga reputation forattracting inves-tors in the business services and auto-motive sectors, thanks to its skilledworkforce, convenient locationandgoodinfrastructure.

These factors, alongwith competitive costsfor salaries, rent, establishing a business, energyandtax,haveallhelpedthecity toachieveeighthplace in the Top 10 Large European Cities forBusiness Friendliness category in this year’s fDiCities andRegionsof theFuture ranking.

BSS IS BOOMINGThe city has become the fifth largest locationin Poland in terms of people employed in thebusiness services sector, with an estimated20,000working in the industry.

Investors report that it is easy to do busi-ness in thecity and theyareenthusiastic aboutthe attractive investment incentives on offer,particularly those available through theKatowice Special Economic Zone.

As well as Katowice’s rich cultural heritageand location, they appreciate its transportinfrastructure, which includes one of Poland’sbest road networks. In addition, there is easyaccess to three international airports, whichare all within a short distance of the city.

As the biggest urban area in Poland andcentral Europe,Katowiceoffersaccess toa largeconsumer market and a considerable pool ofskilledworkers. For example,more than 2.2mil-

lion people live in themetropolis and its 20 uni-versities produce25,000graduates annually.

GREEN AND CULTURED CITYKatowice is the fifth largest regional market inPoland for office space, with about 460,600square metres on offer, much of it available atcompetitive prices.

The city’s inhabitants enjoy a good qualityof life and have access to excellent medical,sports and recreation centres. There are plentyof open spaces,with45%of the areagivenoverto green areas or forests. Its culture zone fea-tures the International Congress Centre, thenew headquarters of the Polish National RadioSymphonyOrchestraand theSilesianMuseum.What ismore, the city has also beendesignatedaUnescoCreativeCity in the field ofmusic.

For this reason, major names to haverecently set up in the city include Accenture,ArvatoBertelsmann,Altium,Groupon,GuardianIndustries, Knauf, ITINeovisionand JamfPolska.

KatowiceCityHallInvestorsAssistanceDepartmentwww.invest.katowice.eu; [email protected]

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CITIES: FDI STRATEGYEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

BARCELONA RETAINS ITS CROWN AS THE LEADING MAJOR CITY FOR FDI STRATEGY IN fDi’SEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2018/19 RANKING, WHILE BIRMINGHAMTOPS THE TABLE OF ITS LARGE PEERS. CATHYMULLAN EXPLAINS WHY THESE CITIES,ALONG WITH BORDEAUX, DEBRECEN AND LIMERICK, ARE THE BEST IN THEIR CATEGORIES

FDI Strategy: Barcelonacontinues its winning streak


Barcelona, the capital ofCatalonia, hit the headlinesrecently for the political

upheaval that followed an independ-ence referendum that was judgedillegal by the Spanish government.Reports of companies abandoningtheir operations in the region rolledforth (according to The Economist,more than 3200 companies havefled). However, despite these majorupheavals, what fDi found was a citythoroughly engaged with its FDIlandscape and ready to adapt to thenew challenges it was facing, andsuch factors are behind it winningfDi’s European Cities and Regions ofthe Future 2018/19 FDI Strategyaward formajor cities.

The City Council of Barcelona hasrecently launched its city brandingproject, which brings together localprivate and public bodies and pro-motes knowledge sharing betweenthem. The project aims to coordinatestrategies to promote and protect thecity’s reputation on the world stage.

A transparency policy has beenimplemented to promote the mes-sage of a positive business climate tothe world, while measures are inplace to retain talent and attract for-eign companies, supported by busi-ness initiatives that encouragegrowth and reinvestment.

The city is focused on the techindustry, playing a role as an urbanlaboratory in order to attract start-upcompanies and entrepreneurs.Grants and funding are available toR&D investors, including tax breaksfor labour costs and rebates for strate-gic projects.

As a socially progressive city,Barcelona is encouraging businessesto include gender diversity in theirHR policies (to that end, an LGBTprojects coordinator has been hiredto support businesses). Meanwhile,special grants are available for com-panies hiring previously unem-

ployed young staff and candidatesover 45 years of age.

BoomingBirminghamBirmingham has ranked first of alllarge European cities for its FDIStrategy. The West Midlands GrowthCompany, which is responsible forpromotion and attraction of inwardinvestment, works in conjunctionwith local enterprise partnerships,local authorities, universities and arange of private sector entities topromote the city and the widerMidlands region.

Birmingham is home to fiveenterprise zones, each specialisedand designed to attract certain inves-tors. The Enterprise Zone boasts 39sites and aims to attract digitalmediaand tech companies, while theAdvanced Manufacturing hub inAston, Life Sciences Campus inEdgbaston and the Food Hub innorth Birmingham all offer space,facilities and business support fortargeted sectors.

Investors choosing Birminghamwill also benefit from the new High

Speed 2 (HS2) rail service, which willallow investors to travel betweenLondon and Birmingham in about 50minutes, and has brought with itinvestment in housing and officespace around two HS2 stations in theGreater Birmingham area.

There are residential and com-mercial projects currently underdevelopment in the city. Theseinclude Birmingham Snow Hill,offering companies more than200,000 squaremetres of office spaceand 4000 residential units; andParadise, a £500m ($695m) grade Aoffice space development, offering33,000 square metres of office spacein the first phase and 27,000 squaremetres in the second.

The West Midlands GrowthCompany assists investors with set-tling into the city, helping withrecruitment for their operations andlinking R&D businesses with highereducation institutions. The agencyorganises business networking eventsand its research arm, the RegionalObservatory, provides companieswith data and analysis to guide

Barcelona’s city branding project unites private and public bodies to promote knowledge sharing

DEBRECEN:ARISINGSTARINTHEEASTDebrecen in Hungary has a labour force that is renownedthroughout central and eastern Europe for its skills andlow costs. It is particularly strong in the business servicessector andmanufacturing industry

A historically noteworthy trading hub,the Hungarian city of Debrecen remainsan important regional centre for centraland eastern Europe. The country’s primeminister recently referred to it as “the othercapital”; in fact Debrecen has twice, briefly,been the nation’s capital when – as localsremark –Hungary was in trouble.

It ranks first in top 10 Small EuropeanCities for FDI Strategy in the fDi Cities andRegions of the Future rankings, scoring par-ticularly well in areas such as unemployment,inflation and labour force participation rates.

It also rated highly for salaries for skilledand semi-skilled workers; rents for grade-Aoffice and industrial space; costs of establish-ing a business and registering a property; con-struction permits and electricity connections;corporation tax rate; distance to nearest inter-national airport; and number of days taken tostart a business.

DIVERSE SECTORSThe city’s diverse and balanced business sec-tor, where no single industry segment domi-nates, contributes to its stability and encour-ages firms to set up shop. For example, in 2017,Flowserve announced plans to establish its

global financial centre in Debrecen and createmore than 400 jobs. In the same year, DiehlAircabin said it planned to launch its engineer-ing centre here, employing more than 150engineers.Other companies alreadyoperatingin the city, such as BT, are continually expand-ing their capacity.

The University of Debrecen has alwaysplayed a key role in the city’s development andis now the biggest in Hungary. It offers morethan 100 courses and teaches 14 languages,educating students fromHungary and aroundtheworld.

Well positioned as the second largest cityin Hungary, Debrecen has ambitions toincrease its population from 210,000 to250,000 by 2050. To achieve this, it is workingto expand its student numbers. Key to this isthe continued improvement in the varietyand capacity of courses offered by theUniversity of Debrecen. City authorities arealso working with partners to create newhigh-value jobs, and provide high-quality busi-ness infrastructure and favourable conditionsfor new foreign investors. This two-prongedapproach aims to help Debrecen attractskilled local workers and provide careeropportunities for new graduates.

BUSINESS SERVICES HUBHungary has long been favoured for sharedservice centre (SSC) investments, andDebrecen is emerging as an important hub.With 3300 employees working in local servicecentres, the business services sector is enjoy-ing the strongest growth. Investors in this sec-tor are attracted by the ready availability of tal-ent in key service areas such as technologyand languages; fully serviced A-class offices atmoderate prices; and competitive operationalcosts. More andmore high-value activities arebeing added to the range of functions offeredby the local service centres, including softwaredevelopment and IT solutions, engineeringR&D, finance and accounting, procurement,human resources and legal services.

In 2017, Debrecen gained internationalrecognition at the CEE Shared Services andOutsourcing Awards in Warsaw, Poland, whenit was named Emerging City of the Year and itsBT service centrewas awardedBestUniversity-Business Cooperation of the Year.

ELECTRONICS, AUTOMOTIVE ANDMACHINERYIn recent years the electronics, automotiveand machinery sectors have become increas-ingly important tomanufacturing inDebrecen,with multinationals such as FAG-SchaefflerGroup and National Instruments reinvesting.These companies have not only expandedtheir production capacity and R&D infrastruc-ture, but have also created hundreds of high-quality jobs. In addition, ThyssenKrupp isinvesting €35m that will lead to 250 extra jobs,while Krones is building a €49m productionunit that will create 500 new jobs in the city.

Keen to develop its position in the CEE fDiscene, the city has implemented a localinvestment incentive programme whereby itprovides direct cash support to new invest-ments, in addition to national VIP grants. Themaximum regional aid offered is 50% of thetotal investment value, the highest rate per-missible in the EU.

For businesses interested in making amove to Debrecen, the municipality estab-lished EDC Debrecen Urban and EconomicDevelopment Center offering one-stop-shopassistance, including looking for a suitablebusiness location with transparent and up-to-date information, and a wide range of pro-fessional services throughout the wholeinvestment process, from data collection toafter-care.

[email protected]

Sponsored by the Municipalityof Debrecen

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“THE AWARD ISTESTAMENT TOGREATERBIRMINGHAM’SROBUSTGROWTHSTRATEGY, CRITICALMASSOF TALENTANDCONTINUOUSLYEVOLVINGLANDSCAPE”IANWARD, LEADEROFBIRMINGHAMCITY COUNCIL

and support their business decisions.Public relations support is also pro-vided through the agency’s channels.

VintageBordeauxBordeaux, a city ofmore than250,000people in south-west France, hasranked first of allmid-sized Europeancities for its FDI Strategy. Invest inBordeaux is the main agency for thepromotion of the city and the attrac-tion of foreign investment. As part ofthe Bordeaux Attractiveness Missioninitiative, Invest in Bordeaux workswith other organisations such as thecity’s tourist office, BordeauxAirport,the Port de Bordeaux, Congrès etExpositions de Bordeaux as well aslocal entrepreneurs and others to“fuel the vitality and dynamism” ofthe city’s business environment andto put it on a world stage.

Investors coming to Bordeaux canbenefit from the new high-speedtrain line, which will bring Pariswithin two hours’ reach. The city’sspecialist investment park for theaerospace industry, BordeauxAéroparc OIM, welcomes investors inthe aerospace, space and defence sec-tors, and offers 2500 hectares ofdevelopment space. Its aim is tohouse 45,000 employees (up from thecurrent 35,000). The Bordeaux Inno-Campus spans 1350 hectares and hasa focus on health, research and inno-vation. There are eight hospitals anda university on site, and the park sup-ports employment for 40,000 people.

Debrecenon the riseDebrecen, Hungary’s second largestcity after Budapest, has ranked firstof all small cities for FDI Strategy.The city’s economic developmentagency, EDC Debrecen, is proactivein creating a welcoming and success-ful environment for investors. Theagency has coordinated the develop-ment of grade-A office space in thecity (‘Forest Offices Debrecen’),which offers investors 22,000 squaremetres of offices. A 584-hectareindustrial park (Debrecen SouthIndustrial Park) has also been initi-ated and established.

EDC Debrecen has worked toimplement a local incentives pro-gramme, which comes in addition tonational VIP grants and allows themunicipality to provide cash incen-tives to investors, as well as initiatingthe establishment of the city’s firstInternational School of Debrecen,offering an educational programmein English to international baccalau-reate standard, which may be attrac-

tive to international investors.Investors can access a comprehensiveproperty database from EDCDebrecen, and benefit from site visitsand business meetings organised bythe agency with key actors in theinvestment process.

Irish enterpriseLimerick City and County Council isresponsible for the promotion of thecity – the winner in the micro cityranking – as an investment location,and was instrumental in the imple-mentation of the Limerick 2030 Plan,a strategic economic developmentplan. The Limerick Twenty ThirtyStrategic Development DAC(Designated Activity Company) hasbeen created as part of the plan, andwill aim to deliver more than €500mof transformational investmentinfrastructure to attract foreigninvestors to Limerick.

The city’s local enterprise officeimplements a business and retailincentive scheme that encouragesthe use of vacant commercial proper-ties in the city. Four sites are cur-rently under development as part ofLimerick 2030. The Opera site’s 1.5hectares have amix of public and pri-vate sector investment that will pro-vide 5109 squaremetres of accommo-dation; the Gardens InternationalOffice site will provide more than10,219 square metres of space; andthe mixed-use Cleeves RiversideCampus measures 3.25 hectares andwill house education, tourism, resi-dential, incubator and commercialoffice spacewhen completed in 2020.

Limerick recently welcomed theTroy Film Studios Film Hub, a31,587-square-metre film studio thatincludes 6503 squaremetres of soundstages and provides opportunities toinvest in a new sector in the city.■


RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Barcelona Spain2 Amsterdam Netherlands3 Paris France4 Berlin Germany5 Dublin Ireland6 Vienna Austria7 Milan Italy8 Warsaw Poland9 Budapest Hungary10 Kiev Ukraine

TOP10 MAJOR EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Birmingham UK2 Glasgow UK3 Rotterdam Netherlands4 Düsseldorf Germany5 Frankfurt Germany6 Antwerp Belgium7 Cologne Germany8 Hamburg Germany9 Gaziantep Turkey10 Kazan Russia

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Bordeaux France2 Szczecin Poland3 Vilnius Lithuania4 Liverpool UK5 Poznań Poland6 Ostrava Czech Republic7 Bilbao Spain8 Porto Portugal9 Newcastle upon Tyne UK10 Brno Czech Republic

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN CITIES OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Debrecen Hungary2 Derby UK3 Plovdiv Bulgaria4 Plzeň Czech Republic5 Reading UK6 Derry/Londonderry UK7 Niš Serbia8 Oulu Finland9 Middlesbrough UK10 Belfast UK

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

RANK CITY COUNTRY1 Limerick Ireland2 Waterford Ireland3 Valmiera Latvia4 Ventspils Latvia5 Mechelen Belgium6 Rēzekne Latvia7 Maribor Slovenia8 Pardubice Czech Republic9 Prijedor Bosnia-Herzegovina10 Šabac Serbia

TOP10 MICRO EUROPEAN CITIES OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

“MIDDLESBROUGHHASA RICHHISTORYOF INDUSTRY, INNOVATIONANDPIONEERING EXPLORATION, ANDWE’RE BUILDINGON THAT IN THE21st CENTURYWITH A BOOMINGCITY CENTRE ECONOMY, BURGEONINGDIGITAL ANDCREATIVE SECTORS ANDA THRIVINGUNIVERSITY”DAVID BUDD, ELECTEDMAYOROFMIDDLESBROUGH

“WITH AHIGHLY SKILLEDWORKFORCE,INVESTMENT IN INFRASTRUCTUREANDPUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS,WHICH SUPPORTNEWBUSINESSESAND INVESTORS INTO THE CITY, DERBYIS ANATTRACTIVE PROPOSITION FORFOREIGNDIRECT INVESTMENT”MARTINRAWSON,DEPUTYLEADEROFDERBYCITYCOUNCIL



Matthew

Jones


REGIONSWINNERSEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

Dublin to secondRising from fifth place in 2016/17’sranking, the Irish region of Dublinhas placed second and has also beennamed fDi’s Northern EuropeanRegion of the Future, top smallEuropean region overall, as well astop small region for EconomicPotential and Business Friendliness.Nearly 9% of all companies in theDublin region are in the knowledge-based sector, testament to the area’sreputation as a location for high-quality investments.

South Africa-based Synexa LifeSciences established its interna-tional headquarters in Dublin inmid-2017, noting the city’s ecosystemof hi-tech companies, innovativeresearch institutions and the skilledworkforce as reasons for investment.The company’s chief executive also

Home to eight départmentsincluding the country’s capi-tal, Paris Region is the jewel

in the crown of France’s FDI achieve-ments. The region attracted morethan 1000 investments betweenOctober 2012 and September 2017,greater any other region in thestudy, and this is why it is ourregional winner in the EuropeanCities and Regions of the Future2018/19 ranking.

More than one-quarter of theregion’s investments came from com-panies headquartered in the US,including a €200m investment fromshipping services provider FedExExpress and a new logistics centre setup in Moissy-Cramayel by Coca-Cola,which created 1000 jobs. Job creationfrom foreign investments in theregion peaked in 2016, at almost11,000, increasing just over 78% fromthe level in 2012.

In part owing to its FDI perfor-mance, the region has also rankedfirst of all large European regions forEconomic Potential. Paris Regionalso boasts the highest GDP of allregions studied (more than $800bnat purchase power parity) and hasthe highest level of outward FDI ofall regions (more than 2600 projectsbetween October 2012 andSeptember 2017).

The region is well connected asinvestors can reach 269 internationaldestinations from its two interna-tional airports, Orly Airport and ParisCharles de Gaulle. France also per-forms well on the LogisticsPerformance Index and the LinerShipping Connectivity Index, which,along with a high quality of overallinfrastructure including rail androads, helped the region to rankthird of all large European regions inthe Connectivity category.

Paris rises to leadregional rankingPARIS REGION HAS RANKED FIRST IN THE fDi EUROPEAN CITIES ANDREGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2018/19 REGIONAL RANKING, CLINCHING THETOP SPOT FROM PREVIOUS WINNER NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, WHICHNOW FINDS ITSELF IN THIRD PLACE. CATHYMULLAN REPORTS

Investors in Paris Region can reach 269 international destinations from its two airports, Orly and Charles de Gaulle



acknowledged Ireland’s reputationas a business-friendly location,where companies can be started injust five days. Ireland has a corporatetax rate of just 12.5% and a highranking on the World Bank’s Ease ofDoing Business Index.

Engine ofGermanyGermany’s largest state with nearly18 million citizens, North Rhine-Westphalia has ranked third amongall European regions. The regionincorporates some importantGerman cities, including Cologne,Düsseldorf and Dortmund. Almosthalf of investments into the regionwere into three cities – Düsseldorf(36.1%), Cologne (10.1%) andDuisburg (3.1%).

Sales, marketing and supportoperations were the primary busi-ness functions in the region, account-ing for over 50% of total investments.North Rhine-Westphalia is an estab-lished centre of Germany’s automo-tive sector, attracting almost one-quarter of all Germany’s automotiveinvestment, more than any otherstate in the country.

Car manufacturer Adam Opel, asubsidiary of US-based GeneralMotors, invested more than $70m ina spare parts facility in Bochum inAugust 2017, creating 700 jobs; andbrake manufacturer TMD Friction, asubsidiary of Japan-based NisshinboGroup, expanded its production inthe state, investing nearly $60m toincrease the production of brakepads from 18 million to 60 millionper year.

North Rhine-Westphalia had thethird highest number of patents reg-istered with the US Trade and PatentOffice of all regions studied, withnearly 15,500 registrations between2007 and 2016. ■

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Source: fDi Markets

4

6

8

10

12

FIGURE1 JOBS CREATED FROM FDI IN PARIS REGION, 2012-2016

North Rhine-Westphalia

Baden-Württemberg

Bayern

Hessen

Other

Sachsen

Source: fDi Markets

FIGURE2 TOP STATES FORAUTOMOTIVE INVESTMENT INGERMANY, 2016-2017

Cologne attracts more than 10% of NRW’s FDI



RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Dublin Region Ireland2 South-east England UK3 Uusimaa Finland4 Scotland UK5 East of England UK6 Greater Copenhagen Denmark7 Stockholm County Sweden8 Oslo County Norway9 West Midlands UK10 North-west England UK

TOP10 NORTHERN EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Central Federal District Russia2 Bratislava Region Slovakia3 Prague Region Czech Republic4 București-Ilfov Romania5 Masovian Voivodeship Poland6 Central Hungary Hungary7 Lower Silesia Poland8 Sofia City Region Bulgaria9 Plzeň Region Czech Republic10 South Moravia Czech Republic

TOP10 EASTERN EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Catalonia Spain2 Comunidad de Madrid Spain3 Lombardy Italy4 Istanbul Turkey5 Lisbon Region Portugal6 Emilia-Romagna Italy7 Lazio Italy8 City of Zagreb Croatia9 Basque Country Spain10 Comunidad de Valencia Spain

TOP10 SOUTHERN EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Paris Region France2 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany3 Baden-Württemberg Germany4 Bavaria Germany5 Canton of Zurich Switzerland6 North Holland Netherlands7 Hamburg Region Germany8 Berlin Region Germany9 Hesse Germany10 Canton of Geneva Switzerland

TOP10 WESTERN EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

Winners: by European zone“WE AIMED FORAWELCOMENETWORKWHERE THE PUBLICADMINISTRATION ISNOTSEENAS ANOBSTACLETO ENTREPRENEURIALINITIATIVE, BUT AS ANEFFICIENCY FACTORCAPABLEOF FACILITATING”MAUROPAROLINI, REGIONALMINISTER FOR ECONOMICDEVELOPMENT, LOMBARDY REGION

“GLASGOW ISNOWCONSISTENTLY ACHIEVINGRECOGNITIONASONEOFEUROPE’S TOPCITIES FORFDI STRATEGY ANDBUSINESS FRIENDLINESS.THESE IMPRESSIVERESULTS CONFIRM THATGLASGOW IS TRULY AWORLDCLASS CITY”SUSANAITKEN, LEADER,GLASGOWCITY COUNCIL

HAMBURG–ACENTREOFSCIENCE INNORTHERNEUROPEThe city’s new research facilities have put it on themapas a hotspot for start-ups and innovators in all industries

In 2017, Hamburg was in the limelight ofinternational attention like no other cityinGermany.Major events included theopen-ing of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the G20summit, and the launch of the European XFELsuper-laser – to name but a few. In particular,Hamburg has made a name for itself with sev-eral new research facilities. Dr Rolf Strittmatter,managing director of Hamburg Invest, talksabout the background to this and Hamburg’sbold plans for the future.

In a well-received speech a couple ofweeks ago, Hamburg’smayorOlaf ScholzannouncedhisvisionofHamburgasacitythat is on its way to become a centre ofscience in Northern Europe. Is Hamburgnow turning away from its centuries-oldtraditionofbeinga trading town?Not quite, but it is certainly a step forward andit is pointing the way towards Hamburg’sfuture. Hamburg will always remain a mer-chants’ town, and yet it has always had amuchbroader profile too. Even in the old days, theport and trade provided the basis for innova-tive stakeholders from industry and servicesassociatedwith such industry.

Could you explain this in more detail? Iwould figure that innovation isn’t thefirst thing to come to mind when think-ing ofHamburg.And yet not rightly so. I suppose this notion isdue to Hamburg’s understatement. Take, forinstance, Nivea, Leukoplast, Tesa orMontblanc– all of these areworld-renowned brands fromHamburg. Or take the cruise industry, the chipcard, and navigation devices: all of these areinventions from Hamburg that have changed

our lives. In areas such as medical technology,pharmaceuticals and aviation, Hamburg busi-nesses are innovation champions even at thisstage. And we would like to strengthen andpromote this facet ofHamburg’s economy toagreater extent.

So what exactly are your plans forthe future?Hamburg is strengthening its research and sci-ence landscape. Our beacon project, theEuropeanXFEL, canbe regardedas the “sciencesector’s Elbphilharmonie”. In addition to this, wehavealsobeensupportingapplication-orientedresearch. Our agenda includes the foundationof science institutes, an expansion of existingones, and further support to university-basedresearch. Prominent names here include theMaxPlanckSociety, theFraunhoferGesellschaft,and theGermanAerospaceCenter (DLR).

Andwhat is the roleofHamburg Invest inthis process?

In Hamburg there are currently four researchand innovation parks underway, and these arebeing developed and operated by HamburgInvest. What ismore, we serve as themain portof call for knowledge- and technology-basedstart-upbusinesses. Andof coursewepromoteHamburg as a start-up and innovation locationat both national and international levels.

When thinking of start-ups in Germany,the UK audience would tend to think ofBerlin rather thanHamburg, though.Berlin iscertainlyveryappealing toyoungentre-preneurs. That said, Hamburg has actuallyreplacedBerlin asGermany’snumberonestart-up city since 2016. Hamburg performs particu-larly well when it comes to linking up the oldeconomy with the new. Traditional Hamburgbusinesses invest heavily in fresh ideas andpro-vide room for growth. This is something Berlincannot offer to suchanextent. As regards lowerrents, the gap is becoming narrower with eachyear. Commercial leases are nearly at the samelevel now.

Ever since the Brexit referendum, Berlinhas been prompting London-based busi-nesses to relocate to Berlin. Is Hamburgalso active in this regard?Yes of course, butmostlywith targeted activitiesand less “loud”. We focus on start-ups that haveconnecting factors with Hamburg businesseswithin their field and on those that can be pro-videdwithspecific sciencepartners inHamburg.There are a number of recent examples e.g. inlogistics and in the pharmaceuticals industry.And then there are start-ups that may sufferfrom themore restrictive immigration policy inLondon and the skills shortage resulting fromthis.Wewill behappy tohelp thesecompanies.

So how does Brexit affect your overallwork?In fact, it affects ourwork considerably. And yetwe are currently focusing on businesses fromAsia and North America who are expandinginto Europe and who don’t consider Londontheir first choice anymore. At this point in time,companies outside the financial and pharma-ceutical sectors are not under pressure todecide. They are currently preparing and willbase their decision on the final conditionsagreed. While we do not believe in an exodusof UK-based companies, there will certainly beadditional activities to be launched inContinental Europe. And of course Hamburgprovides an ideal gateway to the EuropeanUnion. This has also been confirmed by manyUK businesses we have spoken to to date.

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&Elbphilharmonie/www.mediaserver.ham

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RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Paris Region France2 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany3 Baden-Württemberg Germany4 Bavaria Germany5 South-east England UK6 Scotland UK7 East of England UK8 Central Federal District Russia9 Hesse Germany10 West Midlands UK

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany2 South-east England UK3 Paris Region France4 Central Federal District Russia5 Bavaria Germany6 Baden-Württemberg Germany7 Comunidad de Madrid Spain8 Hesse Germany9 Saxony Germany10 South-west England UK

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITAL ANDLIFESTYLE

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 East of England UK2 Flanders Belgium3 Paris Region France4 North-west England UK5 Catalonia Spain6 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany7 Scotland UK8 Hesse Germany9 Yorkshire and the Humber UK10 South-east England UK

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Paris Region France2 Baden-Württemberg Germany3 Bavaria Germany4 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany5 Scotland UK6 South-east England UK7 Hesse Germany8 Central Federal District Russia9 East of England UK10 Flanders Belgium

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Southern Federal District Russia2 Volga Federal District Russia3 Silesia Poland4 Siberian Federal District Russia5 Far Eastern Federal District Russia6 Ural Federal District Russia7 North-western Federal District Russia8 Central Federal District Russia9 Masovian Voivodeship Poland10 Yorkshire and the Humber UK

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 South-east England UK2 West Midlands UK3 Central Federal District Russia4 Scotland UK5 East of England UK6 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany7 Bavaria Germany8 Baden-Württemberg Germany9 North-west England UK10 East Midlands UK

TOP10 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

Winners: Large European regions

“THIS AWARDWILL BEANADDITIONALMOTIVEFOROURREGION TOCREATE AN EVENMOREBUSINESS-FRIENDLYENVIRONMENT. TO THATEND,WEWILLMAKEEVERY EFFORT TOENCOURAGEINVESTMENTS”ZDENKOĆOSIĆ, PRESIDENT,WESTHERZEGOVINACANTON


RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Uusimaa Finland2 North Holland Netherlands3 Greater Copenhagen Denmark4 Hamburg Region Germany5 Stockholm County Sweden6 Berlin region Germany7 Brabant Netherlands8 București-Ilfov Romania9 South Holland Netherlands10 Vienna Region Austria

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Stockholm County Sweden2 Berlin Region Germany3 Greater Copenhagen Denmark4 București-Ilfov Romania5 Uusimaa Finland6 Hamburg Region Germany7 Vienna Region Austria8 North Holland Netherlands9 Västra Götaland County Sweden10 Central Hungary Hungary

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITALAND LIFESTYLE

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 South Holland Netherlands2 Brabant Netherlands3 Stockholm County Sweden4 Greater Copenhagen Denmark5 Västra Götaland County Sweden6 North Holland Netherlands7 Wallonia Belgium8 Lisbon Region Portugal9 Hamburg Germany10 Wales UK

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Uusimaa Finland2 North Holland Netherlands3 Hamburg Region Germany4 Berlin Region Germany5 Greater Copenhagen Denmark6 Stockholm County Sweden7 Brabant Netherlands8 București-Ilfov Romania9 Vienna region Austria10 South Holland Netherlands

TOP10MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Sud-Vest Romania2 Nord-Est Romania3 Bosnia Bosnia-Herzegovina4 Sud Romania5 Sud-Est Romania6 Centru Romania7 Vest Romania8 Nord-Vest Romania9 Kuyavian-Pomeranian Poland10 Kiev Oblast Ukraine

TOP10MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 București-Ilfov Romania2 Northern Ireland UK3 North Holland Netherlands4 Stockholm County Sweden5 Greater Copenhagen Denmark6 Central Hungary Hungary7 Lower Silesia Poland8 Wales UK9 North-east England UK10 Greater Poland Poland

TOP10MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONSOF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

Winners: Mid-sized European regions


“THE AMBITIONOF THE SILESIANVOIVODESHIP UNTIL 2020 IS TOBECOMEA REGIONWITHADIVERSIFIEDMODERN ECONOMIC STRUCTURETHANKS TO INNOVATIONANDCREATIVITYOF ENTERPRISES”WOJCIECH SAŁUGA , MARSHAL, SILESIANVOIVODESHIP


RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Dublin Region Ireland2 Canton of Zurich Switzerland3 Oslo County Norway4 Bratislava Slovakia5 Canton of Geneva Switzerland6 Prague Region Czech Republic7 Canton of Zug Switzerland8 South-west Region Ireland9 Luxembourg Luxembourg10 Vilnius County Lithuania

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Prague Region Czech Republic2 Oslo County Norway3 Canton of Zurich Switzerland4 Canton of Zug Switzerland5 Bratislava Region Slovakia6 Canton of Vaud Switzerland7 Vilnius County Lithuania8 Canton of Geneva Switzerland9 Utrecht Region Netherlands10 Kaunas County Lithuania

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITAL ANDLIFESTYLE

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Skåne County Sweden2 Canton of Geneva Switzerland3 Southern Denmark Denmark4 Brussels Capital Region Belgium5 Rogaland County Norway6 Canton of Zurich Switzerland7 Utrecht Region Netherlands8 Oslo County Norway9 Canton of Vaud Switzerland10 Vilnius County Lithuania

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Dublin Region Ireland2 Luxembourg Luxembourg3 Canton of Zurich Switzerland4 Oslo County Norway5 Canton of Geneva Switzerland6 Canton of Zug Switzerland7 South-west Region Ireland8 Bratislava Region Slovakia9 Mid-west Region Ireland10 West region Ireland

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Stara Zagora Region Bulgaria2 Ruse Region Bulgaria3 Skopje Statistical Region Macedonia4 Burgas Region Bulgaria5 Plovdiv Region Bulgaria6 Varna Region Bulgaria7 Srem District Serbia8 Sofia (province) Bulgaria9 Kaunas County Lithuania10 Sofia City Region Bulgaria

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Dublin Region Ireland2 Prague Region Czech Republic3 Bratislava Slovakia4 Canton of Zurich Switzerland5 Canton of Zug Switzerland6 Oslo County Norway7 Mid-West Region Ireland8 Canton of Geneva Switzerland9 Harju County Estonia10 South-west Region Ireland

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS

Winners: Small European regions

“ZUGOFFERS STABILITY,ATTRACTIVE TAXATION, QUALITYOF LIFE, HIGH LEVELOFEDUCATION, ANDA BUSINESS-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT”BEAT BACHMANN, HEADOF ECONOMICPROMOTION, CANTONOFZUG


SABACPLANS ITSROUTETOSUCCESSThe city of Sabac responds to all the demands of investors, in terms of completelyequipped industrial zones as well as themost efficient administration in the country

Sabac, the city of rich tradition andgreatpotential, is situated in the north-westpart of Serbia, on the right bank of theriver Sava. Set in a modern urban planningway, with good traffic connections (only80km from Belgrade, 40km from Croatianborder, 35km from the border with Bosniaand Herzegovina and 24km from the high-way), Sabac always gladly accepts all progres-sive ideas.

More than 115,000 people live in Sabacarea, with 53,000 in the city itself. Sabac is thecentre of the Macva region, with almost300,000 inhabitants.

Sabac is the first city in Serbia to reach theinternational standard ISO9001:2000 for qual-ity management. The National Alliance forLocal Economic Development (NALED)meas-ures the efficiency of all municipalities inSerbia, and according to their results, Sabac isthemost efficient city in Serbia in issuing con-struction permits (five days), use permits (twodays) and location conditions (11 days) whichis one of the keymeasures of administration.

Even thoughSabac is thecitywith the low-est number of public servants per inhabitant,two years ago we received the BFC SEE certifi-cate from NALED, and the city of Sabac wasdeclared as the best investment destination inthe country.

The city of Sabac has formed the biggestindustrial zone in this region. The North-westWork Zone covers 600 hectares of land. When

we say land, wemean a fully developed indus-trial plot with road access and connectivity toall utilities – and no hidden costs. Urban plan-ning created blocks of land so every investorcan choose the shape and the size of the plot.Last year we built a modern public parkingcovering four hectares. The Zone is also con-nected to the Wastewater Treatment Plantwhich makes a significant saving for investors,and, of course, the environment. Some 208hectares in the Zone are part of the Free Zoneregime, which provides additional benefits forall investors operating in it.

We are currently adding 32.5MWof powerin the Zone as a preparation for future growthactivities, because investors in the city, as wehave seen, targetmore value-added projects.

Top management leads this city on thebasis of five policies, and the first one of themis support to the economy, the backbone ofthe city. This is why the city has formed theLocal Economic Development Departmentwhich is at the disposal of all investors, anytime of the day. Investor’s representatives aremembers of the Business Council which holdsregular meetings, and in that way they canexpress their opinion and needs in develop-ment strategies. None of the city’s decisionsand strategies is made without canvassingcompanies’ opinion.

There is a quality workforce in Sabac, butas a local government, we are ready to helpour unemployed citizens to become more

competitive at the labour market throughtraining and educations. We will also provide aquality workforce for every investor, that wewill prepare for specific jobs in their companiesthrough training.

We are working to make Sabac an evenbetter place for living, and to retain youngpeo-ple. That is whywe invest in culture, education,science and sports. Close to 2000 childrenlearned to swim through a free training pro-gramme at the newly built City Pool in Sabac.This programmewill continue until all childrenin our city learn to swim.

However, the best way for measuring ourwork is the number of new investments in thecity. In the past three years, 38 investors madea decision to buy land in our Industrial Zoneand establish a business in Sabac.

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76

Wonderful CopenhagenGreater Copenhagen has ranked firstin the mid-sized region category.Copenhagen Capacity, Copenhagen’spromotion and investment attractionagency, has recently welcomed majorinternational investors includingUS-based IBMand Japan-basedHitachi.

CopenhagenCapacity is proactivein assessing the global economiclandscape, and works to ensureGreater Copenhagen is on investors’maps. In April 2017, the agencybrought together 70 fintech compa-nies based in the UK to explain theadvantages and opportunities

As Catalonia scoops the FDIStrategy award for largeregion, local investment

agency Catalonia Trade & Investment(CT&I) is taskedwith attracting finan-cial support and promoting theregion to companies around theworld. Supported by a strong team,the agency has an internationalvision, and prioritises its efforts bycountries, top sectors and the typesof investment.

Its USA Plan initiative is primarilyfocused on attracting companiesinvolved in future technologies andUS unicorn start-ups. It is intended toencourage start-up companies thatwill eventually be valued at morethan $1bn. The agency’s interna-tional start-ups programme aims toput the region on the internationalstage and attract unicorn start-upsfrom around the world.

Major events planned for theregion include Mobile World Capitaland Congress and the Smart CityExpo, which are contributing to theregion’s reputation as a digital andstart-up hub.

Relevant investors can also takeadvantage of a multitude of researchfacilities, living labs and testing facil-ities, which include smart cities,autonomous driving facilities and aglobal 3D printing hub. The region ishome to MareNostrum4, Spain’s pre-mier (and Europe’s third largest)supercomputer.

Companies that invest inCatalonia – 146 of which did in 2017,according to data from investmentmonitor fDi Markets – have access toan aftercare manager at CT&I, whoholds meetings with all companiespost-investment to assess theirrequirements and challenges andhelp find solutions. Companies canalso participate in networking eventsorganised by CT&I, as well as interna-tional trade fairs and roadshows.

offered by Greater Copenhagen in apost-Brexit era.

In June 2017, the region hostedCopenhagen Fintech Week, whichattracted 1000 start-up companiesand investors from 30 countries. Theagency promotes other high-valueFDI sectors, as the region is home toCopenhagen Science City, a €1bn sci-ence facility for business andresearch, as well as the EuropeanSpallation Source. One of the world’slargest science and technology infra-structure projects it is jointly hostedby Sweden and Denmark in GreaterCopenhagen.


CATALONIA HAS BEEN NAMED TOP LARGE REGION IN fDi’S EUROPEAN CITIESAND REGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2018/19 RANKING FOR ITS FDI STRATEGY, WITHGREATER COPENHAGEN TOPPING THE TABLE FOR MID-SIZED REGIONS ANDGREATER HELSINKI FIRST OF ALL SMALL REGIONS. CATHYMULLAN REPORTS

FDI Strategy: Catalonia andNordicregions show their strength

REGIONS: FDI STRATEGYEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

Copenhagen is keeping an eye on its tech prospects in a post-Brexit Europe


Heaven inHelsinkiGreater Helsinki, which incorpo-rates the Finnish capital of Helsinkiand its urban area of Espoo andVantaa as well as some commutertowns, has ranked first of all smallEuropean regions for FDI Strategy.Helsinki Business Hub, which isinvolved in the promotion andattraction of investment, operates aclose network with local private andacademic sectors, as well as publicbodies, to offer investors a compre-hensive service.

The agency is seeking to build onthe region’s reputation as a destina-tion for innovative and hi-tech com-panies, a region that boasts 116,000ICT professionals (75%with advancedprogramming skills). Investors inR&D projects can access grants andloans as part of the Finnish FundingAgency for Technology andInnovation, while Helsinki’sKalasatama neighbourhood offerscompanies a smart city platform,where solutions can be tested in anurban environment. ■

“THIS RANKING ENCOURAGESUS TOWORK EVENHARDER IN THE FUTURE TOMAKEHELSINKI REGIONTHE BEST POSSIBLEHUB FOR BUSINESSES TODEVELOP, GROW, CHANGE THEWORLD, AND FORCOMPANIES TO INNOVATE, DEVELOPANDGROW”JAN VAPAAVUORI, MAYOROFHELSINKI

VILNIUS,YOUROPENCAPITALOntheoccasionoflaunchinganewbranchof his company in Vilnius last summer,multi-millionaire founder of US paymentgiant Harbourtoch Jared Isaacman, said,“Aftermyfirstvisit toVilnius I just felt thatthis city is asmall versionofSiliconValley,and this was absolutely unexpected. Thecity, its infrastructure, and the prevalence oftechnologymadean impressiononme.”

Just some years ago Vilnius was the best

kept secret of the region. But the hidden gemis not so hidden anymore. Vilnius is constantlygrowing in terms of population, infrastructureand real estate. The growing demand for hotelrooms and office space in Vilnius as it attractsincreasingnumbersof tourists andbusinesses.

AN EXPLOSION OF TALENTYoung talent, openness, speed, technologyand entrepreneurship. This is the explosivemixture that is throwing the City of Vilnius intothe neworbit.

Investors are flocking to Lithuanian capitalVilnius, driven by its, ambitious and highlyskilled population, excellent infrastructure andvery attractive property market. Today Vilniushosts 44 shared service centres, with Booking.com set to open the city’s 45th – employing900people– later this year.Oneof the reasonsof Vilnius becoming a hotspot for CEE –human capital. Vilnius is home to more than60,000 students, 7000-plus ofwhomare stud-ying IT-related subjects.

A VIBRANT YOUNG CITYVilnius being the second youngest capital inEurope, has a well-deserved reputation as aninnovative and dynamic city. According to theEuropean Commission report on Innovationin the EU, Vilnius is one of the fastest growinginnovators in Europe. Plus, it won the MostDynamically Developing City of the Year inCentral and Eastern Europe at February

2018’s Annual CEE Shared Services andOutsourcing Awards.

The city has a favourable legal and taxenvironment, and is rated highly by fast-growth companies, as well as having a strongreputation for the ease of starting a business.Vilnius has highly digitalizedprocedureswhichmarks it out as oneof the leaders in the region.In fact, the fastest market entry recordedworldwide was made in Vilnius, when Uberwent from idea to full-scale operations in thecity in just onemonth.

These benefits have proven attractive toinvestors suchasWesternUnion,Barclays,Uber,Revolut and Trustpilot. As Šarūnas Šuipis, gen-eral manager of Western Union Lithuania, says:“Western Union invested in Vilnius because ofits large talent pool, highly educated, skilled andmultilingual professionals, good technical infra-structure andpositive economic trends.”

This Strategy in action was acknowledgedand Vilnius achieved third place in Mid-SizedEuropeanCities for FDI Strategy. This high posi-tion may be a result that Vilnius focuses notonly in attracting potential investors, but alsoproviding the tailored soft-landing programsand top-notch aftercare which makes Vilniusthe perfect host for a company that decidedexpandoperations or relocate to Vilnius.

Come join us in Vilnius!

Sponsored by: Go Vilnius

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RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Catalonia Spain2 North Rhine-Westphalia Germany3 Scotland UK4 Lombardy Italy5 Emilia-Romagna Italy6 Madrid Spain7 Paris Region France8 Silesia Poland

TOP8 LARGE EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Greater Copenhagen Denmark2 Brabant Netherlands3 Greater Manchester UK4 Province of Vojvodina Serbia5 Wallonia Belgium6 Lesser Poland Poland7 Basque Country Spain8 Lublin Voivodeship Poland9 Canary Islands Spain10 Noord-Holland Noord Netherlands

TOP10 MID-SIZED EUROPEAN REGIONS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

RANK REGION COUNTRY1 Greater Helsinki Finland2 Eindhoven Region Netherlands3 Niš Region Serbia4 Plovdiv Region Bulgaria5 Plzeň Region Czech Republic6 Podravje Region Slovenia7 Međimurje County Croatia8 Opolskie Region Poland9 Republic of Srpska Bosnia-Herzegovina10 West Herzegovina Canton Bosnia-Herzegovina

TOP10 SMALL EUROPEAN REGIONS OF THEFUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY


“IN THE YEARS TOCOMEWEWILL CONTINUETOWORKONOURBUSINESS CLIMATE. OURLEADING, HI-TECHREGIONWELCOMESINNOVATIONAND TRADE COLLABORATIONWITH FOREIGN PARTNERS”BERT PAULI, VICE GOVERNOROF THE PROVINCEOFNOORD-BRABANT

The Madrid region has risen two places since fDi’s last European Cities and Regions ranking

80

ports serve more than 330 interna-tional destinations, making the region extremely accessible for investors.

In establishing a new business cen-tre in Aylesbury in the south of the region, US-based Regus hailed the LEP as a “well-connected base” for its busi-ness. There are nearly 345 transporta-tion companies per 100,000 people in the LEP’s jurisdiction, including DHL Supply Chain, which expanded its packaging plant in Banbury in January 2017, and US-based Amazon, whose new fulfilment centre was established in Daventry in October 2016. The area is home to more than 13,200 companies in the knowledge-based sector, which includes hi-tech services and manufacturing compa-nies, accounting for 9.2% of the total companies operating there.

The leading of LiverpoolLiverpool City Region has been named top LEP for FDI Strategy. Invest Liverpool takes the lead in attracting investors to the Liverpool City Region LEP, and according to data from fDi Markets an estimated $226.4m was invested by foreign companies into the jurisdiction in 2017.

Almost half of this total was invested in manufacturing projects, including a £130m investment from India-based conglomerate Tata Group in its automotive factory in Liverpool and France-based Veolia Environne-ment, which announced a £10m investment in its St Helens manufac-turing facility.

The agency offers supply chain support to investors, hosting regular ‘meet the buyer’ events aimed at con-necting businesses with local supply chains. Invest Liverpool also arranges sector-specific events to help generate contacts. An LCR 4.0 initiative, sup-ported by Liverpool LEP and local uni-versities among others, helps SMEs with support in research and knowl-edge transfer to succeed in Industry 4.0 technologies. ■

In addition to winning the title of European City of the Future, London Local Enterprise

Partnership (LEP) – which incorpo-rates the UK capital – has also ranked first among all LEPs, as well as rank-ing as the top LEP for Economic Potential, Human Capital and Lifestyle and Business Friendliness.

London LEP’s jurisdiction boasts the highest GDP and highest GDP per capita of all 38 LEPs in the ranking. It is unrivalled in terms of investment attraction, attracting more FDI pro-jects than all other LEPs combined. It is home to 25 International Baccalaureate schools and 38 higher education institutions, while eight of the world’s top 500 universities are in the capital region, offering investors a highly educated workforce and help-ing London to rank first for Human Capital and Lifestyle.

Into the ValleyThames Valley Berkshire LEP remains in second place of all the UK’s LEPs, and includes towns such as Maidenhead, Slough and Reading within its boundaries. The region boasts a low unemployment rate of 3.6% and the second highest level of GDP per capita after London, more than $65,200 at purchasing power parity, contributing to its second place ranking for Economic Potential.

Thames Valley Berkshire has also received the third highest level of inward investment of all LEPs. In November 2016, engineering consul-tancy company Eurico Ferreira Portugal, a subsidiary of Portugal-based Proef Group, opened an office in the region. One-hundred jobs were created in Newbury and the invest-ment totalled £3m ($3.86m).

South East Midlands was the UK’s third highest ranking LEP (rising from sixth position in 2016/17), also topping the ranking of LEPs for Connectivity and ranking third for Business Friendliness. Six international air-


LONDON LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP IS THE LEADING LEP IN THE UK ACCORDING TO fDi’S EUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2018/19 RANKING, WITH NEARBY THAMES VALLEY BERKSHIRE IN SECOND PLACE. CATHY MULLAN REPORTS

London and Thames Valley are England’s LEP stars

LEPSEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONS OF THE FUTURE 2018/19

Liverpool City Region performs strongly in the LEP ranking

London

Greater Manchester

Thames Valley Berkshire

Greater Birmingham and Solihull

North Eastern

Other

Source: fDi Markets

FIGURE 1 TOP UK LEPs BY INWARD FDI PROJECTS, 2012-2017

LEPSEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19


RANK LEP1 London2 Thames Valley Berkshire3 South-east Midlands4 Greater Manchester5 Coventry and Warwickshire6 West of England7 Greater Birmingham and Solihull8 South-east9 Solent10 Greater Cambridge andGreater Peterborough

TOP10 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19

RANK LEP1 London2 Thames Valley Berkshire3 Greater Cambridge andGreater Peterborough4 Coventry and Warwickshire5 Greater Manchester6 Oxfordshire7 West of England8 Greater Birmingham and Solihull9 South East Midlands10 Enterprise M3

TOP10 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

RANK LEP1 Tees Valley2 Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly3 Black Country4 Humber5 Dorset6 The Marches7 Heart of the South West8 Greater Lincolnshire9 Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire10 Lancashire

TOP10 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS OFTHE FUTURE 2018/19 – COST EFFECTIVENESS

RANK LEP1 London2 Solent3 West of England4 South East5 Oxfordshire6 Coast to Capital7 Leeds City Region8 Greater Manchester9 Heart of the South West10 Leicester and Leicestershire

TOP10 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19 – HUMAN CAPITALAND LIFESTYLE

RANK LEP1 South-east Midlands2 Thames Valley Berkshire3 South-east4 London5 Cheshire and Warrington6 Enterprise M37 Hertfordshire8 Liverpool City Region9 Coast to Capital10 New Anglia

TOP10 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19 – CONNECTIVITY

RANK LEP1 London2 Thames Valley Berkshire3 South-east Midlands4 Greater Manchester5 Greater Birmingham and Solihull6 Coventry and Warwickshire7 Coast to Capital8 Hertfordshire9 Solent10 Leeds City Region

TOP10 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS OFTHEFUTURE2018/19–BUSINESSFRIENDLINESS

RANK LEP1 Liverpool City Region2 West of England3 Leeds City Region4 Sheffield City5 Leicester and Leicestershire

TOP5 LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19 – FDI STRATEGY

ECONOMICPOTENTIAL• Population• Population growth rate• Unemployment rate (%)• Inflation• GDP (PPP current intl $) (millions)• GDP per capita (PPP current intl $)• GDP forecast (average annual growthrate - %)

• GDP average annual growth rate - %)• Outward FDI (October 2012-September2017)

• Outward FDI per 100,000 people(October 2012-September 2017)

• Inward FDI (October 2012-September2017)

• Inward FDI per 100,000 people (October2012-September 2017)

• Nominal growth in inward FDI projectsper 100,000 people (2007-2011 vs2012-2016)

• Inward FDI in R&D andDDT per 100,000people (October 2012-September2017)

• Inward FDI in advancedmanufacturingper 100,000 people (October2012-September 2017)

• Number ofmega projects by capex(over $100m) (October2012-September 2017)

• Number ofmega projects by capex (over$100m) (October 2012-September2017) per 100,000 people

• Number ofmega projects by jobs (over1000) (October 2012- September 2017)

• Number ofmega projects by jobs (over1000) (October 2012-September 2017)per 100,000 people

• Capital expenditure on R&D andDDTprojects ($) (October 2012-September2017)

JUDGING CRITERIA

• Number of patents 2007-2016• Number of patents per 100,000 people2007- 2016

HUMANCAPITALANDLIFESTYLE• Labour force participation rate, total (%of total population ages 15+) (modelledILO estimate)

• Secondary educational attainment• Tertiary educational attainment• Education expenditure (% of GNI)• Number of students• Number of students per 100,000people

• Number of higher education institutions• Number of higher education institutionsper 100,000 people

• Number of IB Schools• Number of Top 500 universities• Ability to attract and retain talent• Life expectancy• Social Progress Index• HumanDevelopment Index 2015• Number of physicians per 1000 people

COSTEFFECTIVENESS• Average annual salary ($) for a semi-skilled worker

• Average annual salary ($) for a skilledworker

• Annual rent for primeGrade A officespace ($ per squaremetre)

• Annual rent for primeGrade A industrialspace ($ perm squaremetre)

• 4*/5* hotel in city centre ($ per night)• Minimumwage ($)• Cost of establishing a business (absolutevalue using GNI)

• Cost of registering a property (% ofproperty value)

• Cost of construction permits (absolutevalue using GNI)

• Cost of establishing an electricityconnection (absolute value using GNI)

• Petrol prices ($)• Cost of electricity ($ per kwH)• Cost to export ($ per container)• Cost to import ($ per container)• Corporation tax rate (%)• VAT/ common indirect tax rate (%)• Total tax rate (% of profit)• Country PPP rate

CONNECTIVITY• Upload speed (kb/s)• Download speed (kb/s)• Percentage of people using the internet• ICT Development index• Number of airports within 80 kmof thecity

• Number of international destinationsserved

• Distance to nearest international airport(km)

• Number of ports within 100km(medium)

• Number of ports within 100km (large)• Number of ports within 100km (verylarge)

• Number of ports within 100km(medium+)

• Liner shipping connectivity index (2017)• Logistics Performace Index (2016)• Networked Readiness Index (2016)• Environmental Performance Index(2016)

• Quality of overall infrastructure 2017• Quality of roads 2017• Quality of railroad infrastructure 2017• Companies in the transportation sectorper 100,000 people

BUSINESS FRIENDLINESS• Total number of companies within thehi-techmanufacturing sector 2017

• Total number of companies within thehi-tech service sector 2017

• Total number of companies within theknowledge-based sector 2017

• Proportion of companies within thehi-techmanufacturing sector 2017

• Proportion of companies within thehi-tech service sector 2017

• Proportion of companies within theknowledge-based sector 2017

• Total number of companies within thehi-techmanufacturing sector 2017 (per100,000 people)

• Total number of companies within thehi-tech service sector 2017 (per100,000 people)

• Total number of companies within theknowledge-based sector 2017 (per100,000 people)

• Number of jobs created by all inward FDI(July 2012-June 2017)

• Number of jobs created by all inward FDIper 100,000 people (July 2012-June2017)

• Number of expansion/colocationprojects (July 2012-June 2017)

• Fragile States Index 2017• Number of top 1000World Banks 2017• Corporation tax rate (%)• Days taken to start a business• Ease of Doing Business index• Index of Economic Freedom• Corruption Perception Index• Strength of Investor Protection Index• Country risk score• Firing costs ($)• Credit rating

To create a shortlist for the fDiEuropean Cities and Regions of theFuture 2018/19, the fDi Intelligencedivision of the Financial Times col-lected data using the specialist onlineFDI tools fDi Benchmark and fDiMarkets, as well as other sources.

Data was collected for 489 loca-tions (301 cities, 150 regions and 38LEPs), under five categories: EconomicPotential, Labour Environment, CostEffectiveness, Infrastructure andBusiness Friendliness. Locations scoredup to a maximum of 10 points for eachdata point, which were weighted byimportance to the FDI decision mak-ing process in order to compile thesubcategory rankings as well as theoverall European Cities and Regions ofthe Future 2018/19 ranking.

In addition, surveys were collectedunder a sixth category, FDI Strategy,for which there were 146 submissions.In this category, locations submitteddetails about their strategy forpromot-ingFDI,whichwas then scoredby fDi’sjudging panel.

In a departure from the methodol-ogy of recent rankings, bonus pointswere awarded to locations ranking in

METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGYEUROPEAN CITIES AND REGIONSOF THE FUTURE 2018/19


the top10 for FDI Strategywithin theirpopulation brackets. The highest-rank-ing location was awarded an extrapoint, on a sliding scale to 10th posi-tion,whichwasawardedanadditional0.1 point. Bonus points contributed tothe scores for the overall results tables,but not the five categories as men-tioned above.

PopulationcategoriesmethodologyTo categorise cities, fDi took intoaccount both the population of theimmediate city and that of the largerurban zone (LUZ). In addition, wherelocations were in the large or majorcategories, we took into considerationthe location’s receipt of FDI as a per-centage of the country’s overall total.

City size categoriesMajor cities: The cities in this categoryhad an immediate city population ofmore than 750,000 plus a LUZ of morethan two million, or a LUZ of morethan four millionLarge cities: Cities with an immediatecity population over 500,000 plus aLUZ of more than one million, or aLUZ more than two million people

Mid-sized cities: Cities with an immedi-ate city population more than 200,000plus a LUZover750,000, or an immedi-ate city population over 350,000Small cities: Cities with an immediatecity population between 100,000 and350,000Micro cities: Cities with an immediatecity population below 100,000

City FDI parametersWhere a capital city was not classed asmajor by its population, we looked atits inward FDI figures. Any capital citywhich received more than 30% of itscountry’s FDI was upgraded to the‘Major’ category. In addition, welooked at FDI stats for any non-capitalcities whose populations were classedas ‘Major’. Any city which received lessthan 10% of its country’s FDI wasclassed as ‘Large’.

Regional size categoriesLarge regions: More than 4 millionpeopleMid-sized regions: Between 1.5 millionand 4 million peopleSmall regions: Fewer than 1.5 millionpeople

STARAZAGORA,READYFORBUSINESSA diverse workforce and engineering talents, a favourable business climate, strong support fromthe local authority and a high quality of life make Stara Zagora the right investment destination

Stara Zagora City, the centre of themostdynamically developing region ofBulgaria, invites investors and busi-nesses to thrive and growbecause:• It is the most rapid growing in the country,ahead of Sofia and Plovdiv• It has the largest growth rate by 19% on anannual basis• It has significant potential for new invest-ment attractionwith a new industrial zone anda hi-tech park establishment.

The dynamically developing and many-faced Stara Zagora is a cosy and vital city,located in the central part of Bulgaria, EU. It has8,000 years of history and a unique NeolithicDwellings museum exhibiting the remains ofhuman life on its land fromprehistoric times. Itis not surprising that the BBC History channelchose Stara Zagora for its documentary enti-tled “The Birth of Europe”.

The city went through many years of tur-bulent history, with a continuing sustainabledevelopment.

Stara Zagora is the perfect city in which tolive, invest and work. The city was awarded“The Best City to live” prize in 2017 because ofits achievements in areas such as environ-ment, green infrastructure, modern in-citytransport, rate of investments and growth,childcare, medical facilities, quality and diver-sity of educational institutions, host of the big-gest opera-house of the Balkans.

VERY GOOD AND SUPPORTIVEBUSINESS DESTINATIONStara Zagora is ready to provide full support forinnovative investment,providingappropriateplot

and assistance in the next steps throughout theadministrativeprocedurestothefinal investment,includingtrainingsof theworkforceneeded.

The well organized East Industrial ZoneZAGORE is currently being planned. It includes95 hectares of municipal land, available forbusiness development and High-TechBusiness Park of some50hectares, developedas a private-public partnership. The area islocated near theMetro Cash&Carry store, only6 km fromStaraZagora FreightRailwayStationand 15minutes away from Trakia Highway.

ELENINO Industrial Zone, located 6 kmwest of the city of Stara Zagora, only 15 kmfrom Trakia Highway and 6 km from StaraZagora Freight Railway Station includes 21hectares of land, which is suitable for businessdevelopment, including a logistics hub. Thereis a possibility to extend the zone area.

The CONSTRUCTION PERMIT goesthrough a clear workflow that takes up to 105days -ASHORTERTIMETHANOECDAVERAGE.

LOCAL TAXES AND FEESCompared to the nationally adopted tax rates,Bulgaria has one of the lowest corporate andpersonal income tax rates in Europe (10%).Costs of fixed intangible assets createdthrough research and development aredeductible. In addition, Bulgaria applies EUcustoms legislation and has signed double taxavoiding treaties with 68 countries. The samerates and rules for Stara Zagora, as the localproperty taxes and waste fees are among thelowest in Bulgaria. Income tax rates arenotice-ably higher in other CEE countries: Romania -16%; CEC – between 15 to 18%.

WORLD DIRECTIONS CONNECTEDThe City is a road intersection point of threePan-European corridors: IV, IX, VIII; it has also awell developed railroad network throughwhich major transport routes connect theeastern, western, northern and southern partsof Europe.

INTERNET: According to Cisco, Bulgariaranks 5th in the world and 3rd in Europe forInternet connection speed. Fiber-optic cableconnecting and ADSL connections are themost popular choices for Bulgarians. In 2018,LoRaWAN network is expected to be availablein Stara Zagora - a new generation communi-cation protocol used for IoT. Among its manyadvantages are security and dual data encryp-tion, the ability to work on terminals for up to10yearswithout changing thebattery, and theopen LoRa Alliance ecosystem, allowing for avariety of devices and solutions.

Acting on its strategy the City extends aninvitation to explore its investment opportuni-ties and the tax incentives Bulgaria provides.

STARA ZAGORA READY TO HOST YOURINVESTMENT!

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CONTENTS...48 InJune 2016,the UK votedtoleave theworld’s largesttrading bloc, ending decadesofco-operationon economic andregulatorymatters that coveredeverythingfromtrading and finance