Malta second globally in IBM foreign investment ranking

According to the authoritative IBM Global Location Trends Report (2014), Malta places second worldwide for the quality of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) that it attracts. The report takes into account the FDI projects approved during 2013

Reacting to the report, Minister for Industry and Small Business, Dr. Chris Cardona said, “This report gladdens us because despite of our small size we are prominently featuring on the global FDI map. What is even better is the fact that we are featuring so prominently because of the high quality of FDI that we are attracting. It is a clear indicator that the strategy that we have embarked on is already paying.”

The IBM Global Location Trends Report measures FDI success on different tracks, including the type of investment projects and their value to the economy. IBM claims that this type of evaluation of FDI investments is “an increasingly important metric for gauging inward investment performance”. This value indicator assesses the added value and knowledge intensity of the jobs created by the investment project.

Ireland placed first in the quality and value of FDI Index. Malta placed second, followed by Denmark, South Korea, Japan and Sweden.

“Last year Malta Enterprise had a record year in the number of FDI projects that it managed to attract. This year looks better. This government has a comprehensive strategy to attract more high value FDI and we are optimistic that with the opening of the Life Sciences Park and the Digital Hub in the coming months we will perform even better,” Cardona said.

In 2013, Malta Enterprise managed to attract 36 completely new FDI projects. Till June 2014, Malta Enterprise had already approved 17 new FDI projects. The fastest growing sector of FDI attracted to Malta is that of health-related investments. However, precision engineering and niches requiring a high degree of digital creativity are also thriving.