City among world’s best for foreign investment
MANCHESTER is among the world’s top 10 cities for foreign direct investment, according to a new report.
Specialisms in cyber security, FinTech and advanced materials helped the city bring the largest number of investments into the UK, outside London, during last year, IBM’s annual Global Location Trends report found.
In order to compare regions around the world more appropriately, IBM looked at metropolitan areas based on equal labour catchment areas.
On this basis they looked at a joint Manchester-Liverpool area, which attracted a combined 68 FDI projects last year, beating Dublin, Barcelona and Toronto.
Top of the global pile was London, followed by Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam-Rotterdam, Chicago, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich and Dubai.
Manchester and Liverpool pulled in the 10th highest number of FDI projects which jointly created 7,000 jobs, according to IBM.
Liverpool’s core sectors include digital manufacturing, health and life sciences.
Commenting on the report, Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency, said: “This report once again confirms Manchester as a globally significant business destination and, together with Liverpool, illustrates the potential of the Northern Powerhouse.
“Greater Manchester is ambitious, visionary and passionate about the future. Billions of pounds are being invested to create inspiring, connected business environments that support innovation and reflect future needs, and ensure that the region continues to be a draw for the world’s most innovative companies and biggest brands.
“Talent is one of the key attractors for global businesses and with student retention figures at an all-time high in Manchester, it is creating an even more compelling case for investment.
“There are some exciting new developments still to come to Manchester, including the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre which opens this year, plus the Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials coming in 2019.
“Booking.com has been announced as the anchor tenant for the St John’s development while Airport City Manchester will expand over the next 12 months. There is also a high demand around developments such as NOMA, Mayfield Depot and Circle Square.
“Media City UK also continues to grow at pace with significant announcements like The Hut Group announcing they will take up residency there.”
IBM’s annual report presents and analyses where companies establish new operations or expand existing business around the world.
The results, which focus on the world’s top 50 most influential countries for FDI, place the UK in fifth position, up one place from last year and now behind only China, Mexico, India and the US.
The UK is also the fifth most popular destination for FDI jobs creation, having put 51,500 people into work, and now has 4.6 per cent of global job-share.