Rome, 23 October 2023 - In 2020, 4,216 foreign enterprises were registered in Emilia-Romagna, with 123,925 employees and a turnover of approximately 41 billion euro, corresponding to 13.7% of the regional turnover and 5.6% of that of the North-Eastern region. These enterprises generate an added value of approximately 10 billion Euro, equivalent to 13% of the regional added value and 5.2% of that of the Northeast. The data emerge from the Report 'Foreign Enterprises in Italy: Emilia-Romagna', produced by the Foreign Enterprises Observatory of Confindustria and Luiss, in collaboration with Istat and the IMT Alti Studi School of Lucca, presented today at the headquarters of Philip Morris Manufacturing & Technology Bologna.

The Report shows that Emilia-Romagna stands out for its manufacturing vocation, with a manufacturing added value share of 27.5%, higher than the national average. It also contributes 13.5% of national exports, second only to Lombardy. Foreign companies play a significant role in the regional economy, impacting several economic indicators.

Foreign invested companies in the region are characterised by their business quality, innovation orientation and growth potential. They specialise in several key sectors, including the beverage and tobacco industry as well as the manufacture of motor vehicles and other transport equipment. These firms also show higher labour productivity than domestically controlled firms, with a productivity premium of around 3%, indicating greater capacity in the utilisation of factors of production. Finally, in the various stages of the value chain, foreign-controlled companies in Emilia-Romagna add more value than domestic companies, especially in the most strategic stages of the production cycle.

Overall, the presence of foreign enterprises in Emilia-Romagna contributes significantly to the regional economic ecosystem, with positive impacts on competitiveness, employment and sectoral specialisation.

'Foreign-controlled companies play a crucial role in the national economy, with particular relevance for Emilia-Romagna. Their sectoral specialisations, their contribution to productivity and workers' wages, as well as their strategic position in high value-added segments of global production networks, are elements of fundamental importance,' stressed Barbara Beltrame Giacomello, President of ABIE and Vice President for Internationalisation of Confindustria. 'These factors are decisive for the economic growth of the country and the territories, requiring a constant commitment to innovation on the part of companies and conscious attention on the part of government authorities, both at central and regional level. Last but not least, it is significant to point out that Emilia-Romagna is one of the regions with which we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to consolidate the presence of multinationals already established in the territory'.

"Foreign companies choose Emilia-Romagna for its renowned global production chains such as Food Valley, Motor Valley and Packaging Valley. The focus on exports, social cohesion and effective economic policies, combined with a strong push towards research and innovation, create an ideal environment for challenging projects. However, the strong development has not been accompanied by infrastructure development, with a lack of international schools, airports and strategic highway connections,' he said Maurizio Marchesini, Vice President for Supply Chains and Medium Enterprises of Confindustria. "The hope is that foreign investment will not only drive companies to grow and invest in R&D, but also lead them to rethink the region as a well-equipped ecosystem in networks and services. The massive entry of innovative technologies such as supercomputing, AI and digitisation will promote a virtuous positioning of companies in terms of ESG criteria, which are now an established business model'.

"There are several factors for which large international players invest in Italy and Emilia-Romagna: a strong manufacturing specialisation; a very high added value; the presence of a workforce and a number of districts. The presence of foreign capital companies also serves to raise the general level of competitiveness and also to bring SMEs into a virtuous circle by meeting very high criteria,' he pointed out. Valentino Valentini, Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy. "In this way, the international player becomes a significant player in the economic fabric in which it finds itself. In this sense, the collaboration with the Advisory Board of Foreign Investors (ABIE) of Confindustria is constant and fruitful, and the commitment, through Mimit, is to develop an ever greater collaboration with Abie, the Regions, and the major international players to facilitate investments and ensure that these generate other added value and enter the production fabric, making it grow". In this, the case of Philp Morris is 'one of the most virtuous examples of the relationship between companies and foreign capital: Philip Morris has developed Italian technologies, created a supply chain of 8 thousand companies and employs 41 thousand people'.

"To keep our territory attractive," he added Annalisa Sassi, President of Confindustria Emilia-Romagna, "we must continue to invest in the region's strengths, but also direct our expertise towards new sectors with high development potential. Two aspects are strategic for attractiveness: the availability of housing for managers and workers and a modern and efficient infrastructure and logistics system. For the first, we need a large and ambitious urban redevelopment plan in a green and sustainable key; for the second, we need to accelerate and focus decisively on the realisation of the planned infrastructural works, without forgetting the hydro-geological interventions'.

'We have been present in the country since 1963 with the opening of our first production plant in Zola Predosa in Emilia-Romagna. Today, Italy is the beating heart of our transformation towards a smoke-free future, and is home to an integrated Made in Italy supply chain of 8,000 Italian companies employing around 41,000 people across the country,' he commented Marco Hannappel, President and CEO of Philip Morris Italy. "The excellence of the territory and the strategic synergy with our partners have allowed us to inaugurate here in Crespellano the largest factory built from scratch in Italy in the last century, dedicated exclusively to innovative products without combustion. We are convinced that the attraction of foreign investments, the enhancement of territorial excellence, and the creation of supply chain ecosystems are indispensable elements for creating added value in the country in economic, social, and innovation terms'.