Porto and Braga appear in the ranking of fDi Intelligence magazine, “European Cities and Regions of the Future 2022/23 - the Best and the brightest among Europe investments destination”, published by the British newspaper Financial Times. The two cities are in the top 10 of two different categories, which demonstrates, once again, that Portugal remains on the radar of investors.

According to a report by idealista/news, Porto is in third place in the ranking of medium-sized European cities, in the category of best strategy for attracting foreign direct investment, having risen two places compared to the previous edition of the study (2020/21). Vilnius (Lithuania) and Belfast (United Kingdom) occupy, in that order, the first two places on the podium.

Braga is considered the fifth city of the future in the category dedicated to the strategy of attracting foreign investment, with regard to cities with a population of up to 200,000 inhabitants, having also risen two positions in the hierarchy compared to the previous study (2020/2021). Doncaster (United Kingdom) leads this ranking, ahead of Londonderry (United Kingdom), Plovdiv (Bulgaria) and Middlesbrough (United Kingdom).

Porto praise

“The result reflects the priority that the municipality of Porto gives to economic dynamism and job creation by attracting foreign companies and investors to Porto. The municipal strategy is led by InvestPorto, a municipal division specialising in the promotion and facilitation of direct investment. Since its creation, in 2015, InvestPorto has already contributed to the capture of more than 1,700 million euros in investment and to the creation of more than 18,000 new jobs in Porto”, reads the Porto.pt website, produced by the municipal department of communication and promotion of the Municipality of Porto (CMP).

According to the municipality, to prepare this ranking, the panel of judges invited by fDi Magazine evaluated the investment promotion strategies of 75 European cities and regions, grouped according to their population. Among the various indicators considered are the type of investments attracted in the last 18 months, the fastest growing sectors and the initiatives taken to promote post-pandemic economic recovery.