fDi Intelligence, the specialist division of the Financial Times, has just published its 9th ranking of European cities and regions of the future. Thanks to an effective strategy for attracting foreign direct investment and institutional-investor cooperation, the Pomeranian Voivodeship was ranked 5th in the Mid-Sized European Regions of the Future 2023 category. This places the region in the position of one of the most attractive investment destinations in Europe.
Pomerania as an investment region
For creating a friendly environment for foreign direct investment (FDI), the Pomeranian Voivodeship has risen from 7th to 5th place in the Mid-Sized European Regions of the Future 2023 category. This further distinction proves that the region has an attractive offer for foreign investors. This is confirmed by the presence of brands such as Intel, Amazon, Bayer, Nike, State Street, Aptiv, Lacroix, PwC, Nordea, EPAM, Sii and Capgemini. It is worth emphasising that the award is an appreciation of the entire region, both the potential of the large urban centres and the interior. The local government initiative Invest in Pomerania, coordinated by the Pomerania Development Agency, is responsible for implementing the policy of attracting investments and strengthening the investment attractiveness of the voivodeship. Over the past twelve years, 172 investment projects have been implemented, creating more than 22.500 jobs. According to the fDi Markets database, the value of all projects announced so far in Pomerania amounted to USD 7 billion.
In a broad context
Five factors were taken into account while creating the FDI Strategy ranking: economic potential, human capital and lifestyle, cost-effectiveness for business, transport accessibility and openness to investment. Pomerania ranked just behind Northern Ireland, Tuscany, Canton of Zurich and Dnipropetrovsk Region, and is the only Polish medium-sized region to be recognised for its holistic development concept. This year’s ranking also included Upper Silesia, Lesser Poland, Greater Poland and Łódź – awarded for their openness to investment (Mid-sized European Regions of the Future – Business Friendliness).
In the latest ranking, not only Polish regions, but also cities were recognised. Taking into account the size of population, the greatest potential was seen in the agglomerations of Warsaw, Krakow and Poznan. Among the smaller business-friendly cities, alongside Wrocław and Szczecin, was Gdańsk.
Looking at the FDI ranking from a broader perspective, one can see that the potential lying dormant in individual regions of the country is enormous, and the awareness of this fact among investors is growing. Against this backdrop, Pomerania and the Tricity – as the business centre of the voivodeship – has considerable opportunities for development.
World Bank evaluation
The achievements and rankings to date prompted Invest in Pomerania, to invite specialists from the World Bank to conduct an analysis and identify the priority sectors most beneficial for the direction of further development. As a result, following reports eports were prepared: Impact Evaluation of Invest in Pomerania and Inputs to FDI strategy for Invest in Pomerania. According to the analysis, the nature of investments in the region varied. Technological and business services projects were located in the Tricity. In the sub-regions, along the European transport corridors crossing the voivodeship, manufacturing and logistics investments were launched.
– Thanks to specialists from the World Bank and the estimation of the foreign direct investment inflow, we can see how significantly Pomerania has developed in recent years. The analysis showed that strategic activities in priority sectors increased the inflow of FDI by an average of 160 per cent and the number of FDI-related jobs increased by 230 per cent – says Wojciech Tyborowski, Director of Invest in Pomerania.
Sectors of the future
The World Bank study identified two investment groups. The first contains sectors that are already active and whose development is most likely and most expected in the region. This group includes, among others, the electromobility, SSC, BPO and IT industries. The second group of priority investments consists of sectors characterised by development potential and the dynamic growth observed recently – the semiconductor and offshore wind industries.
FDI – the key to the development of the entire region
The presence of foreign investors influences the Pomeranian economy in many ways. The residents seem to gain the most, as they not only get new jobs, also in an international environment. For a natural consequence of the presence of FDI is the exchange of experience with specialists from all over the world. Recognised brands attract qualified personnel and the growing talent pool increases the investment attractiveness of the region.
The World Bank report can be found at: https://investinpomerania.pl/baza-wiedzy/raport-banku-swiatowego/.
The FDI Ranking, on the other hand, is available here: https://www.fdiintelligence.com/European-Cities-and-Regions-of-the-Future-report-2023.
