Paris more attractive than London for business investment, says consultancy firm EY
For the first time, Paris is ahead of London as the most attractive European city for businesses to invest in, according to a report by consultancy firm EY.
EY convened a panel of 502 international business leaders who concluded that Paris was preferable to London in this respect.
This comes as France’s overall attractiveness to investors continued to improve in 2017, for the second year in a row, partly thanks to President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms, according to the same report, published on June 11.
More than 1000 projects to build or expand business infrastructure, such as industrial sites or research centres, were put in place in France in 2017, according to EY’s report. This marked a 31 percent increase on the previous year, following a 30 percent increase in 2016.
France ranks third in Europe for such projects, behind the UK and Germany.
Not so good for job creation
However, when it comes to the number of jobs created through such projects, France comes in fourth place. The UK ranks first, followed by Germany and Russia.
As for sources of foreign investment, the US is France’s biggest benefactor, with Germany and the UK in second and third place respectively.
“The Europe-wide economic recovery is a big factor behind France’s improvement,” EY partner Marc Lhermitte told AFP.
But France’s gains are also due to a “catch-up effect” and “the reforms put in place in some areas and announced in others”, Lhermitte added.
The EY study also stated that international investors’ satisfaction in France reached its highest point in a decade in 2017 – 81 percent, an eight point increase from 2016.
