Italy has leapt up eight places in a ranking of the world’s most attractive countries for foreign investment, mostly due to a revamp of its sclerotic labor market.
Italy ranks 12th in the 2015 foreign direct investment confidence index by AT Kearney, the management consultancy firm, rising from 20th place last year, The Local reported.
The country, which is still grappling with one of the highest rates of unemployment in Europe, came ahead of sturdier economies including Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Despite weak growth in 2014, Italy “continued to attract high levels of investment”, the report said.
“In the face of a mounting unemployment crisis, the government worked to pass controversial labor market reforms under the Jobs Act that ease firing restrictions and address Italy’s rigid labor market.”
Foreign investors are also closely watching progress on other reforms being steered by premier Matteo Renzi, such as an overhaul of the public administration and judicial system.
Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told reporters last week that the reforms would build the foundation for Italy’s long-term economic growth.
Investors have also been buoyed by recent deals between foreign and Italian companies, such as the acquisition of the household appliance firm Indesit by the US-based Whirlpool last year, and the merger between Alitalia and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, which helped save the flagship carrier from bankruptcy.
Chinese Investors
Italy is also aggressively targeting Chinese business investors. More than 200 Italian companies are now in Chinese hands, AT Kearney said.
Italy has over the past 12 months become the biggest destination for Chinese investment, ahead of the US and UK.
In March, China National Chemicals announced it would buy the tyre manufacturer Pirelli for $7.7 billion – one of the largest acquisitions by a Chinese state company.
Padoan said last week that the economy, which is expected to grow by 0.6 percent this year, is facing a “window of opportunity”, especially with an improvement in the macro-economic environment.
A reform clause in European Commission budget rules has given Italy, and other EU states in the midst of structural reforms, more room for new spending.
In April, the government said it had found €1.6 billion ($1.78b) extra to spend this year by letting the national deficit rise slightly to 2.6 percent of GDP from 2.5 percent. The money will likely be spent on social initiatives.
Along with reforms, another priority is attracting more investment and helping businesses, especially when it comes to simplifying administration and improving access to finance for companies.
Expo 2015
After a run-up marred by corruption scandals, delays and fights over costs, the Expo 2015 world fair in Milan opened to the public on Friday amid hopes that the event will help return the recession-bound Italian economy to growth.
“The bet we’ve made on Expo is that it will restart the country,” Matteo Renzi, Italy’s prime minister, said at the opening ceremony, held in the shadow of Milan’s soaring Gothic cathedral and featuring recitals by opera singer Andrea Boccelli and pianist Lang Lang.
The most high-profile recent world’s fair was staged in Shanghai in 2010 — a vast, glittering event estimated to have cost as much as $50 billion (Dh184 billion) that showcased the growing wealth and power of China.
But with Italy struggling to come out of more than a decade-long stagnation, the mood in Milan — where the sound of building works that has filled the air for the past month continued well into the night — is markedly different.
Expo 2015’s price tag will be a rather more modest €3 billion.
Intesa Sanpaolo, the bank, expects Expo 2015 to boost growth locally by 0.7 per cent, helping bring Italy out of a three-year recession.
