Over 90% of foreign companies in Spain expect to increase or maintain their investment in 2020 (ICEX)

Foreign companies’ assessment of the business climate in Spain has remained unchanged since last year. Specifically, the business climate in Spain scored an average of three out of five.

Foreign investors’ forecasts are positive for the close of this year and the coming year. Foreign investment companies confirm their good performance in 2018 and continue to have favorable forecasts in all the aspects analyzed, including investment, workforce, turnover and exports for 2019 and 2020.

This is one of the main conclusions of the “Barometer of the Business Climate in Spain from the Foreign Investor’s Perspective”. This publication was prepared jointly by ICEX-Invest in Spain, Foreign Multinationals for the Spain brand and the IESE International Center for Competitiveness.

The 2019 Barometer was presented this Wednesday at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, in a event that analyzed its main results. Taking part in the presentation were Xiana Méndez, Secretary of State for Trade; María Jesús Fernández, executive director of ICEX Invest in Spain; Beatriz Blasco, president of Multinationals for the Spain Brand; María Coello de Portugal, associate director of the Madrid Campus: Beatriz Blasco of the IESE Business School; and María Luisa Blázquez, associate researcher at the International Center for Competitiveness at IESE.

Future prospects

As in previous years, the most important area for investors in the present edition was human capital, followed by market size. Other areas of note are infrastructures, the labor market and quality of life.

Foreign companies in Spain foresee a highly favorable outlook for investment in the coming year. 91% of the companies surveyed expect to close 2019 with the same or higher investments in Spain, and 92% also plan to increase or maintain their investments in 2020.

Employment forecasts are also very positive and improving: the percentage of companies expecting to increase or maintain their workforce in Spain by the close of the year rose to 90% in 2019 from 88% in 2018. 91% of the respondents also plan to increase or maintain employment in Spain in 2020.

The forecasts for turnover in Spain are also positive. 85% of the companies surveyed expect to increase or maintain their turnover at the close of 2019, compared to 79% in 2018, and are also optimistic about 2020, with 93% expecting to increase or maintain their turnover in Spain.

Finally, in terms of export volume, 74% of the foreign companies surveyed export to third markets from Europe. Only 6% expect to close the present year with a reduction in their exports, and only 4% consider that their exports will decrease in 2020.

This edition of the Barometer gathers the opinions of 580 foreign companies, their assessment and the importance they award the Spanish business climate in 2019, as well as their forecasts for the next two years. It identifies – in the medium term – both the strengths that must be maintained and the main spheres of action requiring greater efforts.

The 12th edition of this “Barometer of the Business Climate in Spain from the Perspective of the Foreign Investor” is based on surveys completed in May, June and July of 2019.

Spain, an attractive country for investment

According to the Investment Registry at the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, the total foreign direct investment received by Spain in 2018 was up 37% to over 55 billion euros. This is the highest figure received in Spain since records began. In fact, according to UNCTAD, Spain is the eighth largest receiver of foreign investment worldwide in 2018.