Director General for Promotion of the Italian Economic System, Ambassador Lorenzo Angeloni gave an address at the Conference “Foreign-owned companies and relaunch of the territory” on 18 October last, organised by the Piedmont Confindustria. His address emphasised how the present rapidly changing international situation “means that we have to make increasingly accurate decisions on what to do to support the internationalisation of our manufacturing system from the standpoint of promoting our exports and also attracting foreign investment”.
In view of the distortive components on chains of value triggered by the pandemic and amplified by the war in Ukraine, “we have to reflect on the best way to position Italy in the eyes of potential foreign investors” said Ambassador Angeloni, noting that “foreign investments have always represented a driving force for growth in the territory. There are more than 15 thousand foreign controlled companies in Italy, employing about 9 per cent of total persons employed and generating 19 per cent of the turnover produced by all Italian enterprises”.
“Piedmont is now the second region in Italy in terms of contribution towards industrial added value realised in Italy by foreign multinationals” continued Director General Angeloni, going on to review some of the most well-known and appreciated Piedmont districts in the world such as the textiles in Biella, machine tool manufacturers in Turin, Ferrero and the entire confectionary industry and the car industry with the new investments by Stellantis in Mirafiori.
“The signature of the Memorandum of Understanding to consolidate and attract foreign investments signed last year by Confindustria Piedmont, Confindustria and the Piedmont Region aims at organising the enormous knowledge assets of companies and action by the competent administrations into a system” explained Ambassador Angeloni, stating that on its part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation is committed to identifying and supporting potential foreign investors. “In order to do this, we are strengthening the investment attraction desks of the Italian Trade Agency (ICE) which operate in close cooperation with our diplomatic and consular offices and we are taking an active part in the considerations being made within the scope of the control booth with the Ministry of Economic Development” explained the Director General for Promotion of the Italian Economic System, who added that just as in London and San Francisco, pilot projects had been launched to attract qualified investments in the priority sectors of the PNRR (national recovery and resilience plan): digital transition, training and research, green transition, inclusion and cohesion, sustainable mobility infrastructures, health and resilience through an initiative that will soon be extended to Seoul and Taipei in the semi-conductor area.
