FDI STRATEGYAWARDS2016

30 www.fDiIntelligence.com December 2016/January 2017

IN THE INAUGURAL fDi STRATEGY AWARDS 2016, BARCELONA’S INVESTMENTPROMOTION AGENCY HAS TAKEN TOP HONOURS, WITH AWARDS GOING TOCITIES ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR THEIR EFFORTS TO PROMOTE, ATTRACT

AND RETAIN INVESTMENT. CATHYMULLAN REPORTS

Strategy Awards 2016Winners

IPAoftheYearThe City Council of Barcelona has beennamed as our IPA of the Year in the inau-gural fDi Strategy Awards 2016. The cityoffered the judging panel a well thoughtout andclearlydefined strategy,marryingthe clever use of technology and urbanplanning strategies with overall promo-tion effectively. The city’s successful FDIrecord is testament to these efforts, withthe support of a top-class regional agency,Catalonia Trade & Investment. During atime when FDI flows to Europe have beenin decline, both Barcelona and widerCatalonia have seen increases.

Trade missions, networking eventsand a sense of community engages theagencywith investors at every stage of theprocess, while practical assistance forcompanies is a standard offering.

ExpatsupportAmsterdam, Netherlands (AmsterdamInbusiness)The city’s Expatcenter aims to meet theneeds of international companies andtheir expatriate employees, includingproviding a single point of contact for allpractical information.

Brno, Czech Republic (Brno CityMunicipality)The city’s Expat Centre helps foreignprofessionals working and living in thecity, providing information and consul-tancy services.

ChinastrategyEdinburgh, UK (City of Edinburgh Council)Edinburgh has a strategic alliance withShenzhen, and provides incubator spacein the city for investors from Shenzhen,with a reciprocal facility in China forinvestors coming fromEdinburgh.

Manchester, UK (Manchester InvestmentandDevelopment Agency Service)The city is engaged in the ManchesterChina Forum in order to build linkswiththe Chinese market, efforts that havebeen bolstered by the BeijingConstruction Engineering Group’s workon the city’s airport, securing links toHong Kong.

Nottingham, UK (NottinghamCityCouncil)Nottingham City Council operates anoffice in Ningbo, which has been identi-fied as a target area for attracting invest-ment. Trade delegations have been sentto China to promote this strategy.

Chicago, US (World Business Chicago)The city’s China strategy has generated amemorandum of understanding, mak-ing Chicago the US FDI gateway for sev-eral Chinese cities, including Beijing,Shanghai and Tianjin. World BusinessChicago also has an office in China.

IndiastrategyManchester, UK (Manchester InvestmentandDevelopment Agency Service)Manchester’s India Steering Group wasestablished to leverage opportunitiesand build links with the Indianmarket.

Nottingham, UK (NottinghamCityCouncil)Nottingham City Council has officespace in Chandigarh, while also sendingtrade delegations to India.

PerformancemanagementBarcelona, Spain (City Council ofBarcelona)In addition to workshops and roundta-ble gatherings to improve staff’s profes-sional skills, employees at the CityCouncil of Barcelona are encouraged toattend regular industry seminars andevents. Barcelona’s Information SystemsInstitute allows management to meas-ure and track personal performance anddevelopment goals.

Out in front: Barcelona is our IPA of the Year, and also takes our performance management award

ISLANDSOFOPPORTUNITYHungary will not have Europe’s lowest corporatetax rate in 2017: the Canary Islands will

After the surprising announcement byHungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbánlast month about slashing the country’scorporate tax rates from19%to9%–evenlower than the 10% found in Bulgaria, or the12.5% applied in Cyprus and Ireland – it is saidthat Hungary will have the lowest corporatetax rate in the EU. The Eastern European coun-try will no doubt climb the business-friendlytax systems ranking should this measurematerialise in 2017. Nonetheless, the title of‘lowest corporate tax rate in the EuropeanUnion’ goes in fact to the Canary Islands, anultra-peripheral Spanish region, so far mostpopular as a tourist destination thanks to itsunique climate and varied landscapes.

A recent piece of legislation passed late in2015 – the Economic and Fiscal Regime,approved and backed by the EU – has grantedthe Canary Islands, special status allowing for a4% corporate tax rate, among other appealingincentives that can bemixed andmatched fora somewhat unprecedented benevolent taxframework for companies in Europe.

Tax-free dividend distribution to share-holders, further tax bonuses of up to 50% formanufacturing activities and low VAT rates

(7%) are some of the advantages this newly-minted tax regime is offering investors.

The EU’s fresh stamp of approval on thefiscal framework has sparked several institu-tional initiatives to raise awareness and buildinternational relevance.

Hence, the authorities of this Spanishregion, accustomed to welcoming a largeexpat population (372,000 in 2015), andwith abuoyant production and recording industrythat has been home to, for example, the film-ingof the JasonBourne sagaandFast&Furious6, are positioning themselves as a business-friendly group, willing to make things easy forforeign investors.

PERFECT SETTING“Not only is our strategic geopolitical situa-tion an advantage for anyone wanting to do

business in the EU, Africa or the Americas,”says president of theCanary Islands FernandoClavijo. “With the latest improvements to theEconomic and Fiscal Regime, we offer anunparalleled setting for companies wantingto operate in Europe while having interna-tional reach. What we are proposing to inves-tors is unique and cannot be found elsewherein the EU.”

In office since 2015, Mr Clavijo has madeFDI attraction a clear priority. “We are certainthat FDI will bring significant growth to theregion, and we are willing to work togetherwith companies from all over theworld to helpthem set up in the Canary Islands,” he says.“Our vision is to become a leading businesshub in the coming years.”

Can a Spanish ultra-peripheral regionbecome ‘a leading business hub’ in Europe?The answer seems to be yes. While it is truethat the Canary Islands are first and foremost atourist destination, having receivedmore thanof 13million tourists in 2015, the current inter-nationalisation strategy shows a clear under-standing of the wide array of factors that mustbe put in place.

STRONG OFFERING“We know it is not only about the tax regime,”says one representative of the region’s eco-nomic council. “We have a long-term strategybased on leveraging our assets: easiness forattracting talent – for example, someof our cit-ies are often cited as the best destinations inthe world for digital nomads – and great infra-structure (we have six international airportsand 26 commercial ports), a strong telecom-munications infrastructure, best-in-classhealthcare system, twomajor universities andclose to 40 bilingual schools. Very competitivecosts and low employee turnover are alsomain strong points.”

The special status granted by the EU isdesigned not to make the Canaries a taxhaven, but a home for international talent andbusiness. To be eligible for the special ratesandbonuses, companiesmust invest between€50,000 and €100,000, and create betweenthree and five jobs.

An official institution has been put inchargeof fostering FDI. PROEXCA (www.canar-yislandshub.com), the local investment pro-motion agency, works with the authoritiesresponsible for providing the authorisations tooperate in the Canary Islands Special Zone,and claims the process is painless, quick, andeasy. It seems the government of the CanaryIslands is set to have investors getting sand intheir shoes building the European California.

“WEOFFER ANUNPARALLELEDSETTING FORCOMPANIESWANTING TOOPERATE INEUROPEWHILEHAVINGINTERNATIONAL REACH”

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