Investments in Spain

Investments situation in Spain

Spain as many other countries in the world was really affected by the big crisis of the last years, and therefore investors did not really trust in the Spanish market. The systemic nature of the crisis and the fact that two of the crisis’ main symptoms were the closure of wholesale funding markets and the collapse of interbank liquidity channels explains the sharp slowdown in Spain’s investment flows. As in the expansion period, most economies were affected by this dynamic, but it was much more acute in economies that relied more heavily on bank financing, carried a high current account deficit and that sustained more significant private borrowing levels, as was the case of Spain.

But the crisis is finishing and today investments seem to be flowing into Spain, and investors recovered the trust in Spain. In 2013, Spain received 29.5 billion euros in Foreign Direct Investment, a 48% increase over 2013 indicating a clear recovery. This reflects a changing perception of the Spanish economy on the part of foreign investors. An example of this recuperation comes from data published lately on the Spanish newspapers, that showed how capital from France, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, and Hong Kong last year boosted inflows which the Bank of Spain (have jumped by 40 percent to almost 30 billion euros).

What makes Spain attractive for investors today?

Spain was this year one of the leading global economic powers, the 7th largest in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) worldwide. Spain also has an extensive industrial fabric and excellent transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructure, so is an attractive destination for foreign companies aiming to minimise risks in their investments while gaining access to excellent services and high profitability. So Spain has a really important infrastructure network: public roads, highways, high speed trains, airport connections, hotels, high quality medical and services centers, are the basis...