Invest in Italy

Italy is one of the most attractive countries for foreign investment. This is the conclusion of the Kearney Foreign Direct Investment – July 2024

The report ranks the 25 most attractive countries for foreign direct investment (FDI) based on a survey of senior executives from the world’s leading companies. Italy was ranked 11th.

This year’s survey again shows that investors favour advanced markets, accounting for 17 of the 25 economies included in the analysis. However, this is down from 19 last year, indicating a recovery in confidence in emerging markets. The United States tops the list for the 12th consecutive year. Canada remains in second place, while Japan drops four places to seventh, probably reflecting the recession in the last quarter of 2023. The regional breakdown shows that Europe retains the largest share (10 countries represented) of the 25 largest markets, although the number of economies is down from 15 in 2021. The top European country is Germany, but it loses a position (from 4th to 5th), along with Spain (from 8th to 9th) and Portugal (from 14th to 17th); France remains in 6th place, as does Italy in 11th. The United Kingdom (from 5th to 4th place) is the only advanced European economy to show an improvement. Among the emerging economies in the overall index (eight, up from six in 2023), China gains four positions to take 3rd place. The United Arab Emirates (from 18th to 8th) and Saudi Arabia (from 24th to 14th) have made significant progress, reaping the benefits of economic and regulatory reforms. Brazil, which was excluded last year, reappears in the rankings at 18th, while Mexico, Taiwan, Poland, and Argentina (between 21st and 24th) enter the index for the first time.

More generally, the report presents an overall very positive view of FDI prospects. Indeed, the reported results suggest that optimism among operators remains high and has the potential to increase further in the coming years. 88% of respondents said they planned to increase their FDI over the next three years, 6% more than in last year’s edition. In addition, 89% – up from 86% in 2023 – said they consider FDI to be very important for their company’s profitability and competitiveness over the same period. The outlook for the global economy has also improved significantly, with only 29% of respondents (down from 35% last year) saying they were ‘pessimistic’.

At the same time, however, concerns remain about certain risks that could lead to a reduction in investment. On the one hand, the majority of investors believe that heightened geopolitical tensions will influence their investment decisions and note that companies are making clear ‘near-shoring’ and ‘friend-shoring’ decisions in response to these ongoing pressures. Investors also expect a more restrictive regulatory environment in both developed and emerging markets in the coming year. The proliferation of industrial policies, some of which are protectionist in nature, and the use of restrictive trade measures, including those related to emerging technologies, will, at the very least, add to the regulatory complexity that investors in all markets will need to monitor and comply with.

This year’s edition of the report then explored investors’ perspectives on artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to foreign direct investment. A significant 72 percent of respondents say they are significantly or moderately using AI in their business operations, particularly for customer service and chatbots, automating manual processes, and improving supply chains. 63 percent of investors say their organisation will significantly or moderately increase the use of AI in their investment decisions, citing cost or efficiency savings and accuracy in decision-making as the main benefits of using the technology. It is also highlighted that gaining a competitive advantage in the use of AI will be determined not only by investments in physical and human capital but also by the regulatory environment in which they are made. The vast majority of investors agree that policies and regulations governing the use of such technologies will have a significant impact on the scale of their investments, highlighting the importance of regulation keeping pace with the pace of technological development.

Source: www.esteri.it

A strategic logistics hub connecting global markets. Its strategic position, located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, makes Italy the main crossroads linking all of Europe. For this reason, it represents a key gateway to the European Market as well as to the close Northern African and Middle Eastern countries.

Primary exports for Italy include things such as metals and metal products, clothing and footwear, and motor vehicles. This industry alone contributed $314 billion to the national economy in 2018.

From a more sectoral point of view, according to the European Commission’s Report on economic, social, and territorial cohesion published in Dec 2021, Italy is the European country with the highest percentage of recycling of all waste (79.3%, double the EU average of 39.2%), as well as one of the most sustainable agriculture in Europe.

A highly competitive machinery sector and a strong ‘Made in Italy’ brand. Made in Italy is a driving force of the Italian economy: to invest in Italy means having access to its unique export know-how in sectors such as machinery and automation, fashion, design, and food. Italy has also opened up to foreign investment in sensitive sectors such as energy, networks, telecommunications and transport in recent years.

Excellence in R&D. Italy claims a strong network of research institutes, technological hubs, and innovative incubators, often linked to universities. An example is the big project that is being developed in the ex-Expo area, which is called Human Technopole, and will collect research groups, research centers, and core facilities focused on Genomics and Data Science.

An unparalleled cultural offer and the country brand. Italy is gifted with traces of a cultural heritage formed over 2,500 years. All of this, combined with its world-famous art, music, and food culture, gives the ‘Bel Paese’ an unrivalled quality of life. In fact, Italy is ranked 1st at a global level for UNESCO World Heritage sites (53), and it is one of the world’s top tourism destinations, with over 50 million visitors each year.

Finally, Italy is firmly open to foreign investment: Italy’s open economy welcomes investors. The country has implemented significant reforms to gain investor trust and confidence, including forming a high-level committee within the MISE. The Italian Trade Agency offers a “one-stop shop” for pre-investment information, business set-up support, and ongoing after-care for incentives and contracts.

Moreover investing in a genuine Italian company would allow you to gain experience in trading a Made in Italy product, which represents an incomparable added value to the investment, independently to the sector you will invest in.

Italy covers 0.5% of Planet Earth, and 0.83% of human beings live there. Bio-climatic conditions are unique, and for this reason, Italy is the first country in the world in terms of biodiversity:
• It has 7,000 different plants, followed by Brazil with 3,000 plants;
• 58,000 animal species, followed by China with 20,000;
• 1,800 spontaneous grape varieties, followed by France with 200;
• 997 honey types, we have 1,227 globally;
• 140 wheat types, the United States has 6.
Italy has 70% of artistic and humanitarian heritage, while the remaining 30% is spread all over the planet. In conclusion, we dwell in the Garden of Eden, but not all Italians recognize and respect it.

The 2017 Budget Law introduces in the Immigration Law a new “entry visa for investors” which will entitle foreign investors to an advantageous treatment, only provided that they will carry out a durable investment in Italy or a large donation involving benefits for Italian culture and research. The decree-law 19 May 2020, n. 34, reduced the minimum investment amount in the capital of an ordinary company from EUR 1,000,000 to 500,000, and from EUR 500,000 to 250,000 if in the capital of an innovative startup, respectively.
Investors and golden donors seeking to conduct their business activity in Italy will be allowed to enter and stay in Italy, initially for two years with the possibility of a three more years extension. The visa is also extendable to family members.

Moreover, if you move your fiscal residence to Italy you’ll also have considerable tax benefits.

Getting your visa is easy and quick: InvestorVisa.it is the service created to help you select the best investment or donation opportunity and manage all the bureaucratic procedures for visa and residence permits.

See the Entry Visa Italy website…

A Guide provided by the Italian Notariat