Gross foreign investment in Spain, excluding Foreign Securities Holding Entities (ETVE), grew by 20.3% in the first quarter of the year, to €9.912 billion, representing a growth of 50.8% compared to the five-year average, according to the Secretary of State for Trade's Foreign Investment Register, DataInvex.
Similarly, total gross foreign investment in Spain during this first quarter rose by 8.1% compared to the same period of the previous year.
As for sectors, industry gained ground and became the main recipient sector, practically levelling with the services sector, as 48.8% of total foreign investment went to industry, 48.5% to the services sector and 2.6% to construction.
The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, pointed out that the data show how the government's economic policy is being instrumental in generating confidence abroad.
Moreover, the Ministry has stated that Spanish industry tops the ranking of sectors receiving investment.
USA, main investor and Madrid, main recipient
Data show that the United States was the leading investor in Spain in the first quarter of the year, as it allocated 58.1% of non-ETVE investment flows to Spain and, together with Australia and France, accounting for 72.6% of investment. Following them were Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan as the main countries investing in Spain.
Concerning Autonomous Communities, the Community of Madrid, which received €6.699 billion in foreign investment, two-thirds of the total received by Spain, leads the ranking of the Autonomous Communities, with the Community of Valencia following a long way behind with €2.032 billion.
Behind are Catalonia (€450 million) and the Region of Murcia (€363 million) at a considerable distance from the first two. In all four regions, industry stands out, accounting for almost 96.3% of the total foreign investment received from Spain during the first quarter of the year.