Spain strengthens its appeal as a key destination for foreign direct investment despite geopolitical fragmentation and growing competition.

 

The meeting of experts, held in Madrid, underlined the essential relevance of FDI for macroeconomic and business analysis. Andrés García, managing partner of SIfdi, highlighted that, although global FDI flows fell by 11%, Spain demonstrated its resilience. The year 2024 recorded the second best historical data in productive investment, with a gross volume of 38.835 millones de euros.

 

A crucial aspect is the investment diversification. In the first half of 2025, the 40% of the flows corresponded to new productive investments (compared to 29% of acquisitions), a trend that strengthens investor confidence. This flow translates into more than 20.500 foreign-owned companies that report to the Investment Registry and 2,07 million jobs linked to FDI, which represents 9,7% of the working population.

 

Spain, a strategic hub and productive engine

 

Spain's role is strengthened as "strategic hub within the European market", supported by its network of financial operations centers, with Netherlands and Luxembourg channeling 36% of the stock total FDI.

 

The contribution of the more than 15.600 foreign subsidiaries to the national productive fabric is key:

• They provide a 30% of turnover national.

• They generate a 43% of exports.

• They represent a 33% of gross investment in tangible assets.

 

Furthermore, foreign investment is distributed in more than 36.000 companies controlled by foreign capital throughout the different autonomous communities, without concentrating solely on the main economic centers. The *projects greenfield —a leading indicator—reached an all-time high in 2024 with 1.054 new projects for a value of 61.758 millones de euros, with a forecast of creating more than 70.500 jobs.

 

 

Reindustrialization emerges as a strategic factor for economic reactivation and territorial cohesion in Spain

 

 

The challenge of the global landscape and reindustrialization

 

At the opening of the Forum, Ana Fernández-Ardavín, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at Nebrija University, described FDI as “the engine of economic growth, job creation, and the transfer of knowledge and technology”. For its part, Irina Balteanu, head of the European and Global Policy Division at the Bank of Spain, described the investment landscape as “very complex”, with high trade and geopolitical tensions and the uncertainty of economic policies, pointing out that European policies should be oriented towards “Strengthen the unity of the European project, its institutional framework, and the competitiveness and resilience of the economy.”.

 

The Forum also highlighted the vital role of FDI in the development of less developed regions and in the fight against depopulation, according to Fernando Carballada, Head of the Information Systems Service of the Subdirectorate General for Investment Regulation. To maximize this effect, the design of Specific attraction policies, adequate infrastructure and public-private cooperation.

 

La reindustrialization is postulated as a strategic factor for economic recovery and territorial cohesion. Lucía García Callealta, Director of Reindustrialization at LHH, a key company in the sector, detailed its role in the search for investors and the implementation of industrial projects in plants affected by closures, citing as an example of success the reindustrialization of the former Siemens Gamesa factory in Cuenca by the Japanese company Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze.

 

The closing was carried out by Marta Font, Deputy Director General of Foreign Investment (State Secretariat for Trade), who summarized the current situation and future challenges: “Despite the difficult international context, Spain remains an attractive destination for foreign direct investment and, in this sense, performs better than other countries in its environment.Looking ahead, Font concluded that Spain must be aware of the transformation and base its attraction strategy on three priorities: security, agility and added value.