Belgium reaches new highs in foreign investment index

Monday, 13 May 2019

Belgium’s stance as a hub for foreign investment has progressed significantly, reaching its highest score and climbing up three spots in American management consulting firm A.T Kearney’s yearly investment index.

The firm’s 2019 ranking places Belgium at the 18th spot in terms of its attractability to major foreign investors, placing it just above countries like New Zealand, Austria and Finland.

Belgium’s improved stance constitutes one of the largest score increases of the year, which the firm attributes to “stable economic indicators,” noting that investors appeared “unfazed” by recent political turbulence over migration policies.

The report additionally cites the Belgian Pledge Act, signed in 2018 which, as another element attracting investors through its simplification of borrowing and lending practices.

Information and technology (IT) investors are one group with a particular interest in investing in Belgium’s service-led economy, with the report noting that multinational IT companies already account for more than half of the country’s jobs in the sector.

The top spot in the ranking is occupied by the United States for the seventh year in a row, with Germany and Canada occupying the second and third positions, respectively.

Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times