In the first half of 2022, non-ETVE (foreign holding company) gross foreign direct investment flows in Spain increased by 87.7% compared to the same period in 2021. As a result, foreign investment in Spain amounted to 15.66 billion euros in the first six months of the year, which represents a growth of 4.6% compared to the average over the past five years.

As the Secretary of State for Trade, Xiana Méndez, explained, Spain has significantly increased investment levels, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. This is due to the strong appeal of Spain as an investment destination, and the confidence of investors in our country, which is due to the advantages offered by our market, the open and competitive economic model and the legal security it offers.

 Meanwhile, Spanish gross non-ETVE investment abroad amounted to over 4 billion euros, down 75.6% compared to the same period last year, according to investment data included in the latest DataInvex report.

Two countries, the US and the UK, account for 57%, over half of the investment flows in Spain. These two countries, together with Australia, France and Hong Kong accounted for 74.1% of investment in the first half of the year.

Broken down by sector, 59% of the overall foreign investment in Spain went to the services sector, 37.4% to industry, 3.5% to construction and 0.2% to the primary sector.

With respect to Autonomous Communities, Madrid continues to top the ranking, accounting for almost 70% of foreign investment. It is followed by Catalonia (10.8%), Navarra (3.7%) and the Basque Country (3.5%), which means that four Communities attracted almost 88% of total foreign investment in Spain.

The full report and the methodology note can be found via the following link for the Trade Portal.