ROME: The number of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Italy rose 62% in 2016, the second-biggest gainer after Sweden, according to the annual EY European Attractiveness Survey.
The improvement comes amid efforts by the Italian government and tax authorities to tackle Italy’s chronic red tape, byzantine tax system and prohibitive labor laws. The results echo a study by AT Kearney in April also showing improved FDI.
Nearly half of the investors interviewed for the survey said they had a positive view of policies put in place by Italy to attract investment. Of the factors most appreciated, 79% said they liked the quality of Italy’s labor force, the stability of the social climate (79%) and the potential to increase productivity (64%).
The total number of projects rose to 89 in 2016, the highest since the 103 registered in 2010, the survey found. In 2015 the number of projects was 55.
The principal investors in Italy came from the US, Switzerland and the UK. The main investment sectors were sales and marketing (with 52% of the total), research and development with 15% and manufacturing with 13%.
Italy’s gains outperformed the EU over all, which still performed very well delivering a 15% increase to 5,845 new projects. The UK, Germany and France were the main destinations for FDI in Europe.
