There Was A 12.5% Growth In FDI Received In Spain In The Second Quarter

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Invest in Spain | According to the Foreign Investments Registry at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, gross FDI (holding companies and non-holding companies) received in Spain in the second quarter of 2020 amounted to 5,009 million euros, an increase of 83% over the figure for the previous quarter. Furthermore, foreign investment increased in all modalities. Net FDI (gross investment – disinvestment) amounted to 3,589 million euros and more than doubled compared with the first quarter of the year. Productive foreign investment (Non-holding company FDI) reached 4,642 million euros, representing 75% growth over the amount received in the first three months of the year.

These figures seem to show that, after the initial negative impact as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, investors have taken up their operations in Spain again, even showing some improvement over the figures for the same period in 2019. In fact, direct investment received by Spain in the second quarter of 2020 was 12.5% higher than that received in the second quarter of 2019 (holding companies and non-holding companies) and 8.2% higher if we only take non-holding company investment into account. Growth is even greater in net terms. Net FDI received by Spain in the second quarter of 2020 was 60% higher than that received in the second quarter of 2019.

Nevertheless, because the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the figures for FDI was especially felt in the first quarter of the year, total foreign investment received by Spain (holding companies and non-holding companies) fell from January to June 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, both in gross investment (-37.2%) decreasing from 12,322 million euros in 2019 to 7,744 million euros in the same period in 2020, and net investment (-43.4%). Gross non-holding company investment also fell by 37.6%.

However, the global COVID-19 crisis did not generate a significant volume of disinvestment by foreign companies in Spain. During the first six months of 2020, disinvestment by foreign companies decreased by 22% compared to the same period in 2019. Foreign companies still feel they have a future in Spain.

The figures for FDI received by Spain in the first six months of 2020 are in line with the forecasts at a global level published by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). According to the forecast made by this source, direct foreign investment fell by 49% worldwide in the first six months of 2020. This decrease had an impact especially on underdeveloped economies, where in the first six months of the year, they received FDI equivalent to 98,000 million dollars, just a quarter of that received in the first six months of 2019.

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The Corner
The Corner has a team of on-the-ground reporters in capital cities ranging from New York to Beijing. Their stories are edited by the teams at the Spanish magazine Consejeros (for members of companies’ boards of directors) and at the stock market news site Consenso Del Mercado (market consensus). They have worked in economics and communication for over 25 years.