Dublin and Cork tap Brexit in rankings
Dublin has already outpaced Paris and is catching up fast with London as Brexit fears helped the city to attract a raft of foreign direct investment projects, while Cork has been named the best small city in Europe for business friendliness, according to a major study.
The findings of the Financial Times’ fDI Magazine will be welcomed by the IDA after critics questioned Ireland’s Brexit dividend after the Government lost out in EU-wide pitches to attract the high-profile medicines regulator and the European banking regulator.
“London celebrates more than a decade at the top in foreign direct investment ranking” but “Dublin is closing the gap, while Paris Region shines at the regional level,” said the study.
In the survey of 301 cities, London cemented its leading role in Europe attracting 1,880 foreign investments in the five years to the end of the September 2017, the study found, though only 12% of its new projects were in financial services.
Dublin attracted “the same number of projects in the financial services sector in the first three quarters of 2017 as it received in the whole of 2016 and 2015 combined” and leaped from fifth to second place in the city rankings ahead of Paris, which had more than 1,000 projects from overseas in the last five years.
The Paris region secured the top slot in the regional category.
Cork’s “business-friendly” award was hailed by Cork City Council chief executive Ann Doherty.
“We have a strong track record in attracting and retaining FDI” and the region is making a name for itself globally, she said.
Dublin has already outpaced Paris and is catching up fast with London as Brexit fears helped the city to attract a raft of foreign direct investment projects, while Cork has been named the best small city in Europe for business friendliness, according to a major study.
