Chief Executive of IDA Ireland, Barry O’Leary, has welcomed IBM’s 2010 Global Location Trends Report which ranks Ireland as the number one destination globally for jobs by inward investment per capita.Ireland ranks ahead of other leading Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) locations including Singapore, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The report highlights that significant gains in inbound investment were achieved, particularly as a result of the country’s strengths in Services and Research and Development.
Despite the global economic downturn, Ireland is placed 9th globally for estimated total jobs in Research and Development moving up one place on last year, ahead of Hungary, Singapore and Brazil. Ireland ranks 10th, by estimated total jobs in Business Support Services, ahead of France, Canada and Singapore, which represents a move into the top 10 countries from being unranked the previous year. Dublin, which did not make the top 20 last year, moved to 15th place globally, in the list of cities by number of investment projects.
Welcoming the report Barry O’Leary, IDA CEO said, ‘Ireland’s ranking in first place globally, for jobs by inward investment, injects renewed confidence into Ireland’s reputation as a leading location for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This positive impact is further enhanced with top ten rankings for both estimated total jobs in Research and Development (R&D) and for jobs in business support services.’
‘IDA’s strategy for the coming decade, ‘Horizon 2020’, is firmly focused on employment intensive services and R&D. As part of the Strategy, IDA is committed to building on Ireland’s existing reputation as a leading location for these sectors and the results of this focus can be seen in recent investment announcements in service activities from Merck, D&B, Lilly, Axa, eBay, Paypal and Stream Global Services. Research and Development announcements in 2010 have been made by IBM, Helsinn, United Technologies, and Intel.’
‘A renewed emphasis on manufacturing as a result of Ireland’s improving competitiveness has seen recent investments in manufacturing from MCI, Merit Medical, Valeo, Lufthansa Technic, Kostal, Biotrin and Hollister. This increased competitiveness has also strengthened the pipeline of opportunities in the manufacturing sector.’
Commenting on the report, Roel Spee, Global Leader, Plant Location International, Global Location Strategies, IBM Global Business Services said, ‘The ranking of global top performers brings countries forward with strong economic development programs and organisations. In times of economic uncertainty these prove to be very important instruments to attract and retain business for those countries. Ireland is a perfect example where such efforts are very well organized and recognized as valuable by foreign investors already present in the country and those interested to come. The results as in this year's ranking speak for themselves".
Posts
