The city of light is the brightest stop for foreign investors

The city of light is the brightest spot for foreign investors

Oct 15, 2019 | Invest in France

The Institute for Business Value, part of the IBM Services Group, publishes every year the Global Location Trends Report, which presents the key trends in international investment. The 2019 edition of the report enlighten us about three mains observations related to France: Paris is the most attractive city in the world for foreign investments and France is in the top 3 of the most attractive European countries. France is also the 6th largest investor and the 6th most attractive country in the world for foreign investments.

Paris is the world-leading city for foreign investments

Paris is more attractive than ever for foreign investments. In 2018 Paris is the city that welcomes the largest number of foreign investment projects in the world. Nearly 250 projects have been identified. London that used to be the most attractive city for foreign investment projects in 2017 has been downgraded to second place of the ranking with a 15% decrease of projects in 2018.

France in the top 3 of the most attractive European countries

France is the third most attractive European country for foreign investment projects in 2018, after Germany and the United Kingdom. 789 projects have been identified according to the Institute for Business Value. This has led to the creation of more than 30 000 jobs.

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France, the 6th largest investor and the 6th most attractive country in the world

On the one hand, France is a major foreign investor. It is the 6th largest investor in 2018, with nearly 80 000 jobs created abroad thanks to French foreign direct investments. On the other hand, France is a key country for foreign investment projects leading to job creations. In 2018, France is ranked as the 6th most attractive country in the world, in the number of jobs created by foreign direct investment. While the European trend is downward (-9% job creation in 2018), France recorded a 16% increase in job creations generated by foreign direct investment in 2018.

Good to know – The global trend of foreign investment

The Brexit crisis and its uncertainties had a significant impact on foreign investment in the United Kingdom. Indeed, there was a 17% decrease in identified projects.
Trade tensions between the United States and its main partners, the European Union and China, contribute to delaying business investment decisions. Indeed, there was a 15% decrease in foreign direct investment projects made by American companies.
Investment decisions are focusing on projects that facilitate access to the local market, rather than to projects dedicated to export. This trend is particularly visible in some countries such as China, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The digital revolution changes the structure of global value chains by making companies reduce the average size of their projects (an average of 104 jobs creation in 2014 and 84 jobs creation in 2018) and making them favor job creation with high added value.