More than 300 foreign companies like Yara and easyJet jointly invested € 1.87 billion in the Netherlands last year. Together these companies created an additional 9,300 jobs. The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) and its regional partners, like the WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency (WFIA), assisted in the attraction of these investment projects. In the past year they joined forces under the Invest in Holland label.
WestHolland
The WFIA helped a record number of 44 foreign companies last year to establish new offices or relocate within the region. These companies account for a total of 350 new jobs. In addition to new job creation, WFIA has also contributed to the retention of hundreds of jobs in the Hague region during 2015.
Since 2015, WFIA is part of ‘Invest in Holland’, the acquisition platform of the central government. Invest in Holland is a partnership between all regional acquisition parties. Their primary role is to position and market the Dutch business climate. As well as this they assist foreign investors to settle in the Netherlands successfully.
Attractive for foreign investors
Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Henk Kamp noted: ‘In 2015, foreign companies added thousands of new jobs in the Netherlands. This confirms once again that our country offers an attractive location for foreign investors. The Dutch are highly educated, we have an excellent infrastructure and our digital highways are among the top in the world. These investments are important, they boost our economy and create jobs for a lot of people. That’s why it’s a good thing that the NFIA has strengthened ties with its regional partners and will continue to devote itself to attracting new Dutch jobs in years to come.’
New jobs
NFIA’s work also comes within the Minister Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation’s area of responsibility. Minister Lilianne Ploumen said: ‘Thanks to the NFIA, jobs are added in the Netherlands. Companies from the US and Canada gladly establish themselves in our country and we will continue to encourage that. For example, this year we will try to attract even more Canadian companies via the Dutch Consulate in Toronto. However, upcoming markets remain of interest as well: more than a quarter of projects in 2015 came from China, India, Turkey and Brazil.’
Foreign Investments
Most jobs are created at new headquarters (2,500), production facilities (1,200) and distribution centers (1,190). Other examples of foreign investment projects in the Netherlands are the American fashion brand Michael Kors, which is building a large distribution center in Venlo, and the American fashion chain Forever 21, which decided to expand its European distribution capacity in Bergen op Zoom. Moreover, ExxonMobil will construct a hydrocracker in Rotterdam and Tesla expanded in the Netherlands with a new factory for electric cars in Tilburg. As for other parts of the world, Indian pharma and biotechnology company Cipla opened a laboratory in Bilthoven, and the British easyJet opened a new hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.
Network
The Invest in Holland network promotes the Netherlands abroad as an attractive country to invest and set up business, and helps interested foreign companies establishing or expanding their international activities in the Netherlands. The network started early in 2015 and will focus mainly on projects in key sectors like Chemicals, Agrifood, High Tech Systems, Life Sciences & Health and IT.
Source: WFIA