“We want to make Portugal the country where companies can come to produce state-of-the-art innovative products and services for a global market.”

As the world gets  more globalized and competition for new and high added value foreign projects keeps growing, it is important to understand how Portugal is positioning itself to show its key competitive advantages to investors.

Portugal is on a growth trajectory ,investment-wise. In 2021, Portugal reached a record level of investment, more than doubling the previous record high in 2019 with €2.7 billion, despite all the constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This record amount of investment is the culmination of consistent work done by Portugal in the previous years, which has not only attracted an increasing number of new investors, but also supports existing key investors to invest more  in their Portuguese businesses.

So what are the main factors at work here?

Portuguese talent is today the key driver behind many investments into the country. Without a competitive workforce, innovative investments cannot be raised. Portugal has the third highest rate of engineering graduates in Europe, all capable of creating industrial solutions that are one-of-a-kind. It’s not only Made in Portugal but Invented in Portugal too.

When you look at the profile of FDI in Portugal, you see that we now have a more diverse scene. It is no longer marked by pure industrial investment, but by one where technology plays a vital role. In the last edition of EY’s Attractiveness Survey Portugal’s R&D activities, especially in the areas of digital and information technology, were the second largest sector in terms of new projects.

Portugal now has more than 140 Tech Hubs with a global reach, developing a wide range of software and telecommunication solutions.  For example, Portugal has become the largest software development hub for the German automotive industry outside Germany.

Even Portugal’s manufacturing projects demonstrate this strong use of technology. As an example, Portugal’s  automotive industry is now working on the transition to  electric vehicles as new projects are developed nationally.

Portugal’s goal is to keep on attracting high added value projects. Our ambition is to attract new projects that can deliver the products and services which appeal to international markets and showcase  our skills, our talent and our innovative profile.

AICEP will strive to attract companies where the level of product complexity is higher, to ensure Portugal’s competitive advantages appeal to the most rewarding projects.

The challenge is quite clear. We want to make Portugal the country where companies can come to produce state-of-the-art innovative products and services for a global market.

For more information see: https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/pt_pt/topics/attractiveness/ey-attractiveness-survey-portugal-july-2022.pdf