Düsseldorf. In 2014, North Rhine-Westphalia further strengthened its position as the leading location for foreign investors in Germany. Overall, 330 new settlements and expansion investments were realized last year, creating around 4,300 new jobs. This is the balance recorded by the state-owned economic development agency NRW.INVEST. The most popular destination for foreign investments in NRW is still the Rhineland, with the Düsseldorf region being followed by the Cologne/Bonn region. The Ruhr region is catching up rapidly: Compared to the prior year, settlement figures there increased sharply in 2014 – from 28 to 47 projects.
"This record result shows once again: NRW is a top location for foreign companies. We are posting more than a quarter of all foreign direct investment in Germany. Companies from abroad want to profit from the possibilities offered by our attractive business location. It is particularly pleasing that the Ruhr is gaining significantly in terms of appeal," said Economics Minister Garrelt Duin.
A key factor in the positive settlement balance is the increase in projects from China, Turkey and Western Europe. "By far the largest number of investment projects in 2014 came from China. With 79 projects, Chinese companies were responsible for almost a quarter of all investments and lead the list of investors in NRW," says Petra Wassner, CEO of NRW.INVEST. In second place are the Netherlands with 36 investment projects and in third place Turkey with 33.
Nearly a quarter of all investment projects in 2014 came from sectors that are involved in the digitization of the economy, from the information and telecommunications industry to mechanical engineering and the electronics industry. "The high proportion of these companies illustrates which qualities NRW possesses in the digital economy. However, logistics and business services remain important investment sectors," said Dr. Herbert Jakoby, CEO of NRW.INVEST.
North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's No. 1 investment location. Around 18,000 foreign companies control their German or European operations from here. In total, foreign companies in NRW employ more than 850,000 people.
Press contact:
Mirjam Grotjahn, mirjam.grotjahn@mweimh.nrw.de, tel. +49 (0)211/61772-124
Annette Peis, peis@nrwinvest.com, tel. +49 (0)211/13000-162
