fDi Return on Investment Ranking 2019: the results

Each year, fDi publishes its Return on Investment ranking, determining how efficiently locations are using their resources to attract investment. Budget and staff information provided to fDi throughout the year in the FDI Strategy category of our rankings is compared with the corresponding FDI data collected from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets.

In the study for 2019, Lithuanian capital Vilnius has topped the ranking for Return on Budget Investment. A young agency, established only in 2006, Go Vilnius uses its operating budget for FDI promotion and talent attraction. Recent wins for the city include US-based internet giant Google, which established an office and subsidiary in Vilnius in October 2018. Denmark’s Danske Bank opened an IT services centre in the city in February 2018, creating 800 jobs. The bank is planning to expand in 2019 and this investment was its sixth in the city.

Madrid ranks second for its return on budget investment. Invest in Madrid is a public-private partnership, backed by the regional government and the city’s chamber of commerce. Six staff are employed at the agency to work with foreign investors, and this has helped the city to rank first for the Return on Personnel Investment. In 2017, the city welcomed 86 greenfield FDI projects, the highest number of investments since 2007.

Irish capital Dublin ranks second in the Return on Personnel Investment table. Eleven staff are employed to attract investment and promote the city to foreign investors, as part of the economic development and international relations teams. Dublin attracted 123 projects in 2017, the highest level since fDi Markets records began in 2003. US-based software behemoth Microsoft announced a new EMEA sales centre in the city in October 2017, creating 500 jobs.

Methodology

For the ranking, the budget and staff information provided on the FDI Strategy submission was recorded, alongside FDI data for the corresponding year where applicable. This data was collected from fDi Markets, the online FDI tracking tool from fDi Intelligence. Analysis was carried out on this data to determine the efficacy of these resources employed by investment promotion authorities and those responsible for attracting FDI. These results were then scored, with 10 being the highest score available.