Espanya: Invertir a Espanya
After falling as a result of the financial crisis, Spanish FDIs recovered in recent years due to an increase in competitiveness and investor confidence in the country. According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2024, FDI inflows decreased by one-fifth year-on-year in 2023, totalling USD 35.9 billion (10th position worldwide). At the end of the same period, FDI stock stood at USD 897.2 billion. Geographically, the U.S. was the main investor in Spain, accounting for 28.9% of the investment flows into the country in 2023, followed by the U.K. (13.1% of the investment), Germany (10.6%) and France (9.2%). By sector, more than half of the total foreign investment in Spain (54.3%) went to the services sector, followed by industry (42.2%) and then construction (3%) and the primary sector (0.4% - official government data). In terms of subsectors, the main ones were oil extraction (12.1%), wholesale and retail trade (10.7%), telecommunications (8.8%), and energy (7.4%). Looking at a broader time frame and comparing the last two five-year periods, it's notable that foreign investment has shifted away from sectors like construction (which dropped from over 11% of total foreign investment in 2014-18 to 8.3% in the most recent period) and real estate activities (from 11.6% to 6.5%). Instead, there has been an increase in investment in information and communications (rising from 5.6% to 13.5%) and the manufacturing industry (which grew from 15.2% to over 19%). The Community of Madrid, Catalonia, Valencia and the Basque Country were the regions that received the most foreign investment in 2023. These four regions accounted for 89% of all foreign investment received (with Madrid taking the lion’s share, at 54%). According to the latest figures from the OECD, FDI inflows to Spain totalled USD 20.9 billion in the first half of 2024, compared to USD 31.6 billion in the same period one year earlier (-33.7%).
The country’s strengths in terms of FDI attractiveness include a restructured financial sector, the boom in tourism, its highly efficient transport network, its development of renewable energies and the cultural proximity to Latin America, with the presence of a number of Spanish multinational companies, a well-educated workforce, and a large domestic market. Spain also aspires to become one of the world's key research actors. On the other hand, the country has high levels of private and public debt, a very negative net external position and a high level of structural unemployment. However, Spain suspended the FDI liberalisation regime and government authorisation is now required for direct investments of more than 10% of a Spanish company's capital made by residents of non-EU or EFTA countries (including the UK) in certain sectors, including critical infrastructure and technologies, media and food safety. In 2023, the Spanish Government approved additional regulations (Royal Decree 571/2023) pertaining to FDIs in Spain. These updated provisions officially took effect on September 1, 2023, and include providing clarity as to which transactions are caught by the FDI regime, as well as a new consultation procedure to confirm whether doubtful investments are subject to an FDI screening mechanism. The timeframe for issuing decisions regarding the FDI screening mechanism is shortened from 6 to 3 months; if no decision is rendered within this period, the request for FDI authorization is considered denied. Spain ranks 36th among the 180 economies on the 2023 Corruption Perception Index and 55th out of 184 countries on the latest Index of Economic Freedom.
Foreign Direct Investment | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
FDI Inward Flow (million USD) | 17,948 | 21,957 | 34,811 |
FDI Stock (million USD) | 804,418 | 782,903 | 787,311 |
Number of Greenfield Investments* | 558 | 849 | 861 |
Value of Greenfield Investments (million USD) | 13,626 | 32,652 | 44,588 |
Source: UNCTAD, Latest available data
Note: * Greenfield Investments are a form of Foreign Direct Investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.
Country Comparison For the Protection of Investors | Spain | OECD | United States | Germany |
Index of Transaction Transparency* | 7.0 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Manager’s Responsibility** | 6.0 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Shareholders’ Power*** | 6.0 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Source: Doing Business, Latest available data
Note: *The Greater the Index, the More Transparent the Conditions of Transactions. **The Greater the Index, the More the Manager is Personally Responsible. *** The Greater the Index, the Easier it Will Be For Shareholders to Take Legal Action.
The country's main strong points are:
The country's weak points are
The Re-industrialization Aid and Industrial Competitiveness Program 2019 is intended to encourage new industrial plants either by transfer of productive activity from another previously existing site or creating a new establishment, as well as increasing production capacity through the introduction of new lines of production in existing facilities. It aims also at developing the “Connected Industry 4.0 technologies”.
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Actualitzacions: February 2025