Barcelona occupies 10th position among the major urban areas in the world in receiving foreign investment projects and ranks 19th worldwide and 10th in Europe for global competitiveness.

These are three of the findings from the Barcelona Observatory 2014, prepared by the Barcelona City Council and the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce from prestigious studies and a set of economic and social indicators. The study compares the Catalan capital with major cities in the world and makes it possible to confirm once again that Barcelona is strengthening its economic and business ranking in the global elite of cities. In this sense, we must highlight the strength of the Barcelona brand, which has become the 6th most powerful city brand worldwide.

The report highlights the fact that the Catalan capital in 2013 improved two positions in receiving international investment projects, and fifteen positions in the ranking of European cities with most prospects, ranking ahead of Berlin, Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Paris, all linked to a growing internationalization of the city’s economy. The Barcelona Observatory 2014 also stresses that the city is the first in the world in number of delegates and fourth in number of organized international conferences, only behind Paris, Madrid and Vienna, and that the rate of entrepreneurial activity in the province of Barcelona is maintained above those of Germany, France and Finland.

Moreover, according to data from the Department of Enterprise and Employment, foreign investment in Catalonia reached, in the period from January to September 2014, 2,654 million euros, representing an increase of nearly 35% over the same period in 2013, and amounting to approximately 28% of the state total.

Source: BCL
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