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The latest study conducted by fDi Intelligence, part of the Financial Times Group, on the cities and regions with the best prospects for foreign investment once again highlights London in first place, followed by Dublin and Warsaw, both of which have climbed one spot in the rankings.
Despite criticisms, the Old Continent has once again attracted the highest number of cross-border capital commitments after the Asia-Pacific region.
Global technology giants providing data services, such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, have dominated the landscape.
Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest financial firms specializing in private equity, real estate investments, hedge funds, leveraged buyouts, investment strategies, and alternative investments, with more than $1 trillion in assets under management, committed in 2024 to the largest tech project ever recorded in Europe and the sixth-largest worldwide.
This has significantly boosted the level of investment in Europe.
Another standout sector in 2024 was pharmaceuticals, in which Germany attracted the two largest investments.
Besides the French company Sanofi, which invested $1.45 billion in Frankfurt, and the Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo, which committed $1.08 billion to Pfaffenhofen, the British company AstraZeneca made substantial investments in Spain (Barcelona) and France (Dunkirk).
The renewable energy sector, however, appeared weaker compared to the previous two years, although it remained the main attraction in Europe.
Foreign investors committed more than $80 billion to the sector in 2024, down from $132.7 billion in 2022 and $110.3 billion in 2023.
Solar energy accounted for approximately 40% of that amount, wind power for another 31.2%, while the remainder went to emerging renewable energy technologies (primarily green hydrogen).
North American investments in Europe have grown and continue to rise.
Chinese investments in Europe, while still at high levels, have experienced a significant slowdown, although Chinese companies have announced major European projects in clean technology, automotive, and energy sectors.
