Portugal was the 10th most attractive country for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe last year, according to a study by EY.

The EY Attractiveness Survey Portugal 2021, that annually assesses the perception of foreign investors regarding the attractiveness of the country as an FDI destination, shows that, last year, 154 FDI projects were announced in the Portuguese market, 70% with funds originating from Europe and 30% from the rest of the world, creating at least 9,000 jobs.

However, the 154 projects represent a 3% decrease compared to the 158 counted in 2019 due to the uncertainties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused the attractiveness of FDI in European countries to drop 13% compared to the previous year.

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Despite the slight downturn in FDI in Portugal, 37% of respondents in the study plan to set up or expand operations in Portugal in the next 12 months. The top three positions of the most attractive economies for foreign investors were France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

In 2020, Manufacturing was the most attractive activity in foreign investment intentions, with 37 announced projects (24%), although it recorded the largest drop compared to 2019 (60 announced projects).

Research and Development activity comes in second place, having attracted 21% of foreign investment (33 of the announced projects), especially in the areas of Digital and Information Technology.

Lisbon remained the most attractive region for foreign investment, with a total of 68 projects (62 in 2019), mainly in the areas of Digital and Business Services, followed by the North region, with 55 projects (51 in 2019), mainly in the sectors of Digital and Manufacturing and Transport Equipment Supply.