Even in these turbulent times, NRW remains popular as an investment location: According to the latest figures from NRW.Global Business, the state once again took first place in the Germany-wide ranking for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022. In 390 new settlement and investment projects, almost 8,000 new jobs were created by foreign companies. In total, approximately 22,000 companies headquartered abroad employ around one million people.
"The results show that NRW as a business location enjoys an excellent reputation in the world, despite global challenges. Now in particular, international networks count more than ever. Our goal is to diversify our economic relations more and, with the help of international cooperation and partnerships, to advance the energy transition and the climate-friendly transformation of our economy. Foreign investors in the region make a key contribution to this," says NRW Economics Minister Mona Neubauer. With investments from 36 countries, NRW remains an important and globally connected business location. Over 60 percent came from other countries in Europe. Turkey topped the list of investor countries with 91 projects, ahead of Greater China (68 projects) and the USA (39 projects).
"Following the Corona pandemic, we are seeing strong growth in the area of B2B services and IT projects. But settlements from sectors such as mobility, hydrogen or medical technology also underline the potential of the innovation location," says Felix Neugart, CEO of NRW.Global Business, in summary. The Düsseldorf region remains the most important gateway to NRW, accounting for 40 percent of FDI projects, followed by the Ruhr Metropolis and the Cologne/Bonn region.
For more results FDI Reports for 2022, please see our Fact Sheet.
