Breaking finance and business news, tax information, jobs and more for finance directors and senior finance professionals.

One year on from the global credit crunch and despite the worsening economic climate Kent is continuing to attract a high level of international investment into the county.

Locate in Kent’s foreign direct investment (FDI) figures reveal that international investors created nearly 1,500 jobs between April 2007 and July 2008; an average of 100 jobs a month.

Locate in Kent’s annual review for 2007-8 revealed that Kent attracted a record number of investors to the county of which 51% of jobs attracted and more than 80% of capital investment was by overseas companies.

North West Europe, in particular France and the Netherlands, were the largest investors in the county, creating a high volume of jobs particularly in the ICT and food and agriculture sectors.

North America (the US and Canada) continues to remain a prominent investor particularly in the life sciences sector, with Kent giving companies such as Solace Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Laboratories easy access to the European marketplace.  
 
Locate in Kent’s strong pipeline so far indicates that this year is set to see a further increase in FDI projects, for example, 21.4% of new projects in Q1 2008-9 are FDI related compared to 18% in Q1 2007-8. Importantly, recorded capital expenditure from FDI for April-July 2008-9 totals just under £1m and has increased three-fold compared to the same period last year, leading to a multiplier effect throughout the local economy.
 
Paul Wookey, Chief Executive of Locate in Kent said, “there is no denying that the county and the UK economy as a whole are starting to feel the effect of the downturn;
however, we have good reason to be optimistic in Kent. We have worked hard to develop the infrastructure and networks needed to support and foster innovation in the industry. Last year we saw the opening of Ebbsfleet International, and with the introduction of domestic services from December 2009, we are already starting to see plenty of interest from international companies."
 
Kent County Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Roger Gough also offered comment saying, “while domestic investment is still strong, I believe that it is international investment that will drive the Kent economy in the near future and we are exploiting every opportunity to promote the county to an international audience. We have been running campaigns in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region for many years and were recently involved in an event at The British Embassy in Paris to promote investment opportunities around Ebbsfleet International Station. Our Brussels office has also just celebrated its 21st anniversary – displaying Kent’s long-standing connection with its European neighbours.”
 
Future growth is expected as there are many new projects in place, Wookey says, "we are confident we will continue to be able to deliver high value, sustainable economic growth and knowledge-based jobs.”