The latest figures reported by the Register of Foreign Investments (RIE) for 2023 show 15.323 billion gross investment in the region of Madrid.
So the volume of acquisitions in 2023 was once again very significant in the figures for Madrid (44%), higher than other increases (35%) and new investments (21%).
Major investor countries
Over the last year, the United States consolidated its lead as the biggest investor in the region, with a total of 5.056 billion euros, thanks to operations such as the entry of EIG into Repsol’s exploration and production business (Upstream) (3.4 billion euros) and major investments in the Telecommunications sector (551 million in the fourth quarter) and in real estate activities (353 million).
The United Kingdom was the second biggest investor in the year, with 1.842 billion invested in Madrid, including strong investments in Wholesale trade and intermediaries (1.106 billion, with 761 million concentrated in the fourth quarter in the wholesale of solid, liquid and gas fuels).
France (1.405 billion, with almost 500 million in Telecommunications and 288 million in Storage and related transport activities), followed by Australia (1.207 billion, with investments in Telecommunications – 561 million -, Water collection, purification and distribution – 425 million – and Energy supplies -178 million -) and finally Canada (1.101 billion, including 965 million in Decontamination and waste management activities) also exceed the level of 1 billion invested in Madrid in 2023.
Investment by sector
In terms of sectors, after the oil industry, the information and communications sector (2.353 billion) absorbs the largest volume of investments (most of which relates to investments made by Australia, France and Switzerland in Lyntia), significantly ahead of Real estate activities (1.281 billion) and Wholesale trade and Intermediaries (1.247 billion)
Madrid, Europe’s second biggest destination for greenfield projects
In 2023, Madrid was Europe’s second biggest destination for greenfield projects, sixth globally. Over the course of the year, 180 new projects were announced, 18% more than the previous year, for a value of more than 3.3 billion dollars, which will create 11,658 jobs in the city. These are the second best employment figures since records began, after the exceptional numbers from 2019.
Looking at a longer time span, Madrid is Europe’s third most important city in terms of greenfield projects launched since data have been collected (2013), the second in terms of employment generated.
The capital city accounts for 81.5% of the projects received within the wider Region of Madrid since 2013, 79.4% of investment, and 77.9% of employment.
Madrid, also leading employment linked to foreign investment
Madrid has also led the recovery of employment levels linked to foreign investment in Spain. After seven years of continuous growth in employment from the low figures recorded in 2014, and despite the health crisis that affected the figures for 2020, at the end of 2021, the last year for which the Registry provides data on this variable, there were 569,948 jobs linked to foreign investment in the Region of Madrid, 9% more than the previous year.
Employment figures in Madrid are 46% higher than those recorded in 2007, and represent 18.2% of the total jobs in the region, the highest employment intensity linked to FDI in the Spanish regions. Madrid accounts for 32.3% of national employment in foreign companies.
The city of Madrid is home to 11,119 foreign capital companies, with investors from almost a hundred countries. The Services sector concentrates the largest number of these companies in the city (79%), followed by Industry (13%), Construction (8%) and the Primary Sector (0.5%)
