There are more than 18,400 of them, they generate 173 billion euro of added value (equal to 17.4 per cent of the national total) and employ 1.7 million people (9.7 per cent of the employed in Italy). This is the picture of foreign-controlled companies in our country that emerges from the VII Report of the Osservatorio Imprese Estere (OIE) of Confindustria and Luiss.

Produced with the scientific collaboration of Istat, Liuc, Ice and Scuola Imt Alti Studi Lucca and entitled 'Global competitiveness, local innovation. The role of foreign enterprises for Italy in the new international scenario", the study was presented today in Rome, on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the Advisory Board for Foreign Investors (ABIE) of Confindustria, "Italy and foreign enterprises: innovating to compete in the new global scenario" held at The Dome - Campus Luiss.

The report describes the increasing role in Italy's economic development assumed by foreign companies, their contribution increased, compared to 2021, by 10.7% in industry and 15.3% in services. The average company size also increases, from 95.8 to 99.4 employees per company. In confirming the strategic value of foreign multinationals for our country, the study also sends out a clear signal: attracting new ones requires systemic actionthat improves the competitive environment and removes the obstacles that still discourage international investment. In 2022, compared to the previous year, the incidence of turnover of foreign subsidiaries was 21% compared to the total produced by Italian resident companies.

Foreign companies lead the way in innovation, exports and skilled employment. They invest more than EUR 6 billion per year in research and development, accounting for 37.6% of the national total, with a higher incidence in technology-intensive sectors. They are digitally more advancedThe 77% has a high digital intensity, with a strong propensity to adopt artificial intelligence.

In the three-year period 2020-2022, 71.2% of foreign-controlled enterprises in Italy introduced innovations, compared to a national average of just under 60%.

On the export side, foreign companies take the lead with around 200 billion euro worth of exported goods in 2022or more than one third of Italian exports - over 35% of the national total -, highlighting their centrality in the country's international projection. The figure for exports to the United States is also significant: one third are made by companies with foreign capital.

The main investors come from the United States (19.9% of the employed), France (19.4% of turnover) and the Netherlandswhich together account for the bulk of the value generated. In particular, the Netherlands and the United States lead in R&D investment, confirming the link between foreign capital and innovative growth.

The territorial picture remains concentrated: Lombardy, Latium, Piedmont, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany collect 82% of the added value of foreign companies. However, the Single SEZ can represent a concrete opportunity to rebalance the investment map and boost competitiveness in the South. The weight of international private equity funds, increasingly active players in financing the transformation and expansion of Italian SMEs, is also growing.

"Foreign companies are not just investors: they are engines of innovation, competitiveness and internationalisation. Without their contribution, the Italian economy would be less dynamic and less ready to face the major transitions underway,' he explained Barbara Cimmino, Vice President for Export and Investment Attraction and ABIE President of Confindustria - Our aim is to strengthen their roots and attract new ones by removing the obstacles that still discourage investment. To do this, we need to act decisively on five leverssimplify bureaucracy to make it easier for investors, focus on human capital to offer skills adapted to the technological challenges, strengthen the retention to retain those who have already invested, enhance the Single Economic Zone as an engine for the relaunch of southern Italy, and promote Italy's image internationally as a stable, attractive and dynamic country'.

'We want Italy to be recognised in the world not only for its manufacturing and cultural excellence,' Cimmino added, 'but also as a strategic platform for high value-added global investments.

In the same vein is the comment of Giorgio FossaPresident of Luiss University, who said: 'In a complex geopolitical context, attracting investment is no longer just an economic necessity, but above all a strategic choice for Italy. Foreign-controlled companies represent, in fact, an important vector of innovation, productivity, development of qualified skills and global connections. In this scenario,' he added the Foreign Companies Observatory promoted by Confindustria and Luiss confirms itself as a virtuous example of collaboration between universities and the business worldcapable of combining the rigour of academic analysis with the operational experience of companies to offer concrete proposals and effective tools for the international competitiveness of our country'.

WHAT IS ABIE
The Advisory Board of Foreign Investors (ABIE) of Confindustria brings together the top management of the main multinationals present in Italy and works to enhance the contribution of foreign-capitalised enterprises to the country's development. It works with policy makers to identify tools and conditions to make Italy a priority and stable destination for new investments.

See the Full report
Download the synthesis