IBM’s 2011 Global Location Trends Report has ranked Ireland as the top destination in the world by quality and value of investments. Ireland also ranks as one of the top destinations globally for jobs by inward investment per capita.
The report further highlights that significant growth in foreign investment was achieved in Ireland in the past year.
Ireland’s position as the top-ranking destination for quality and value of investments is based on global measures of productivity, knowledge intensity and occupational profile composition represented by wages and skills, and highlights the value and exceptionally strong contribution that foreign direct investment makes towards Ireland’s economic development.
Ireland leads a group followed by South Korea, Taiwan, Austria, Switzerland and Singapore. The report highlights Ireland’s move to higher-value investment types and, in particular, a strong performance in high-value sectors and business activities, such as R&D in life sciences and high-end electronics.
Ireland continued to attract significant inward investment in 2010, remaining one of the top-performing countries by inward investment jobs per capita. Compared to the previous year, Ireland saw an increase of almost 30pc in both the number of investments and jobs created from foreign investment, higher than the global trend.
The report highlights the attractiveness of Ireland as an investment location due to its structural competencies, such as a favourable business environment, skills availability and track record of cluster/sector strengths.
Dublin 17th globally in top city destinations
Dublin ranks 17th globally in top destination cities by number of investments. Of the world’s top 25 destination cities, seven are from Asia, 12 are form Europe, three are from North America, one from Latin America, one from the Middle East and one from Oceania.
Welcoming the report, Barry O’Leary, IDA CEO, said, “The IBM Global Location Report highlights Ireland’s continued high standing in the world as a leading location for foreign direct investment.
“Ireland’s ability to rank as a top destination country for jobs and quality of inward investment is in line with IDA Ireland’s strategy, Horizon 2020, which is focused on winning high-value, knowledge-intensive investments.
“Ireland has a long-established reputation as a leading FDI destination and this reputation has been endorsed further by recent investments from world-leading companies such as Coca Cola, IBM, Intel, Google, EA, Facebook, Amgen, Quest, Analog, Allianz and D&B”.