Porto maintains its top position in Financial Times' 'European cities of the future' ranking

Porto's economic development strategy for attracting foreign direct investment remains solid. This is once again stated by fDi Intelligence, the Financial Times magazine which, for three consecutive years, has placed the Invicta at the top of the European Cities and Regions of the Future. In this edition, Porto came third on the 'Large European Cities' podium, led by Glasgow in Scotland and Antwerp in Belgium.

The Councillor for the Economy, Employment and Entrepreneurship believes 'this result consolidates the city's top position in terms of economic development strategy, particularly in the area of investment attraction'.

'Being in the top 3 for the third consecutive year demonstrates the sustainability of the strategy and the city's competitive capacity', Ricardo Valente underlines, recalling that 'the work developed by InvestPorto is reflected in the 1.8 billion euros of investment and the more than 22,000 jobs created'.

'All in all, this award plays a crucial role in promoting the city and acknowledges the vision of a Porto with a future', the Councillor believes.

The fDi Intelligence jury compared the foreign direct investment promotion strategies of 64 European cities, taking into account criteria such as the profile and number of foreign investments attracted over the last 12 months, the fastest-growing activity sectors and local policy results in terms of attracting talent, energy resilience and sustainability.

Behind Porto were other European cities of similar size, such as Bilbao (Spain), Gothenburg (Sweden), Düsseldorf (Germany), Katowice (Poland), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Izmir (Turkey) and Poznán (Poland).

This year, the British magazine emphasises how 'the foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape in Europe was challenging', with a year-on-year reduction 'both in terms of number of projects and capital pledges'.

'Overall, Europe's share of total foreign investment 'decreased in 2023, representing around 29% of all projects announced in 2023 - below the around 36% in 2022', the publication specialised in international investment highlights.

Despite the trend in Europe, the results achieved by Porto in recent years reflect the success of the international investment promotion strategy implemented by the Municipality through InvestPorto.

We should bear in mind that Porto headed the fDi Intelligente ranking last year, receiving the award in Cannes (France) during the MIPIM, the world's largest event dedicated to the real estate market.