Belgium attracts foreign investors
According to an international study, Belgium remained one of the top 5 most attractive European countries for investors in 2019.
Every year, Ernst & Young (EY), one of the world's leading financial audit firms, publishes its report on the attractiveness of each country as an investment location. As was the case in 2018, Belgium finished fifth in this European ranking, behind France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.
The country is attracting more new foreign investment than ever before. Of the 267 projects registered in 2019, 197 were entirely new, while the others were extensions of existing projects. As Marie-Laure Moreau, partner at EY Belgium points out, "The fact that there have never been as many new investment projects as there were in 2019 shows that we are actually in a better position than last year and that a solid basis has been created for growth in the coming years."
The sales and marketing sector easily topped the list with 105 projects, followed by manufacturing with 60 projects and logistics with 51 projects.
Together, these three sectors accounted for more than 80% of foreign investment in Belgium in 2019.
Geographically, Wallonia and Brussels have never done so well, with 64 and 76 investment projects respectively in 2019. Despite a decline compared to 2018, Flanders remained by far the region that attracted the most foreign investment in Belgium.