France has just announced a record-breaking 22% increase in foreign investment in 2010, with 782 new business projects successfully established. This is the « highest figure in 15 years » the « Invest in France Agency » reported last week, following the release of a report by the Minister for the Economy about Foreign Investment in France in the year 2009.
« High-added-value activities » helped France create or sustain 31.815 jobs last year, according to th IFA, citing the opening of a new logistics department by Amazon.com in Rhône-Alpes as an example of France attractiveness for foreign private investment.
A unique department tax for foreign investors
According to French minister of the Economy Christine Lagarde, a set of reforms helped boost foreign investment in the past two years. Recent changes involve a overhaul of the corporation tax, and a strengthening of the Research Tax Credit, intended as a push for business R&D and competitiveness. The new state-financed « programme d’investissements d’avenir » has also provided 35 billion € in public aid to various industrial sectors.
In order to foster foreign investment, French president Nicolas Sarkozy announced that a unique tax department for foreign investors will be created soon, which will help curb administrative delays.
Learn more
Check out the website of the Invest in France Agency (IFA), the national agency responsible for promoting and facilitating international investment in France.
