Business France published its “Annual Report 2020: Foreign investment in France”
Despite the context of health uncertainty weighing heavily on the global economy, and a sharp decline in investments due to the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign investors trust France as a place to set up business.
France attracted 1,215 new foreign investment decisions in 2020, a -17% decline on 2019, versus -33% worldwide. The crisis interrupted the positive momentum of 2019 but has not challenged the attractiveness of France as an investment location. Jobs created or maintained by foreign subsidiary investments were also down by 13% since last year. The shock was nevertheless softer on the creation of employment, as with 34,567 jobs, 2020 was the second best year in the last decade.
SIXTY-FOUR PERCENT OF INVESTORS ARE EUROPEAN
Foreign investments were received from 60 different countries in 2020, with European investments continuing to hold the upper hand: 64% of job-creating foreign investments in France originated in other European countries, followed by North America (20%) and Asia (10%).
The ecological transition is indeed a key part of France’s attractiveness, as seen
by 89% of the leaders of foreign businesses. However, we should remember that certain sectors are suffering severely from the pandemic, in particular the hospitality/catering and
aerospace industries, where the number of projects has fallen by half, as well as in
transport and storage.
Read our interview with CEO of Business France, Christophe Lecourtier HERE.
Renewable energy attracted 13% more projects and the number of jobs
generated has almost doubled. The American firm Clarios is investing in the
Lorraine area of the Grand Est region to manufacture batteries, the Irish producer
of photovoltaic energy Amarenco is expanding in Lagrave (Occitanie) and
Canadian company Boralex is continuing to build wind power plants in Montélimar
(Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).
This Annual Report is also marked by the size and share of projects of European
origin, which equates to nearly two thirds of the total. Beyond geographical proximity, this demonstrates the strength of the internal market for businesses, but also the will of the EU
member states to actively build the strategic and industrial autonomy, by creating more European and more integrated value chains.
Source/Image Credit: Business France
