Kate Forbes: The world is ignoring those who talk Scotland down
Despite persistent global headwinds, recent data from EY highlighted Scotland's attractiveness to global investment, and comparatively greater resilience in the face of general economic turbulence.
EY's data places Scotland firmly as the UK's top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) outside of London – for the tenth year in a row – while Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow remain among the top six UK cities for FDI projects.
Although the total number of new projects in Scotland fell 4.9% from record figures in 2023, that number is marginal compared to a drop of 13% in the rest of the UK, 14% in France and 17% in Germany.
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Despite a slight dip in the total number of projects in 2024 (135 projects, down from a record 142 in 2023), Scotland's share of overall UK projects actually increased to 15.8% (from 14.4% in 2023).
This shows Scotland's relative strength compared to broader declines in FDI across the UK and Europe.
EY's survey of global investors found that a quarter of those planning to invest in the UK are targeting Scotland, maintaining the country's long-standing position in investors' eyes as the UK's preferred FDI destination outside of London.
I recently visited the Glasgow offices of Canadian IT and business consulting services firm CGI Inc, which employs around 750 people across its Glasgow, Edinburgh, Borders and Aberdeen offices, and has nearly 100,000 employees globally.
CGI Inc is one of the many thriving international businesses choosing to call Scotland home. The fascinating ZeroAvia, hailing from the US (and developing full hydrogen-electric aircraft engines), is another new resident, along with the Australian not-for-profit ticketing hub Humanitix, who recently opened an office in Edinburgh. 2025 is bringing further significant investment and exciting projects to Scotland.
I realise some may be wondering why this is important, or what Scotland's leading place in FDI means. How does FDI benefit the people of Scotland?
FDI plays a crucial role in Scotland's economy, contributing significantly to job creation, economic growth, innovation and exports. Quite simply, foreign-owned companies in Scotland, although representing a smaller percentage of all businesses, have a disproportionately large impact on the economy.
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These companies account for a substantial share of employment in Scotland, contributing significantly to job creation.
These jobs often offer higher average wages than those in domestically owned businesses. Foreign-owned businesses contribute a disproportionately high percentage to Scotland's Gross Value Added (GVA), indicating that these companies possess high productivity and make an outsized economic impact. Inward investors have outstripped domestic businesses in investing in business research and development spending, which fosters innovation and technological advancement within the nation.
These innovators also generate a large portion of the total business turnover in Scotland and become major drivers behind Scottish exports.
FDI can bring new skills and management practices, which can 'spill over' and benefit domestic Scottish businesses through supply-chain opportunities, hiring and knowledge sharing.
Geopolitical headwinds are clearly affecting investor confidence globally. Scotland's FDI resilience in the face of this crisis of confidence is an incredible endorsement of Scotland as a destination for global investment.
Scotland's ability to maintain high project numbers and even increase its share of UK projects comes against a backdrop of a marked decline in FDI across Europe and the UK overall.
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A huge amount of work, across both the private and public sectors, goes into securing these projects, which are vital for economic growth, job creation and bringing benefits across our towns and cities.
It's a privilege to work with Team Scotland to secure these global opportunities, and the Scottish Government will continue to work with business partners to build our country's reputation as a world-class location for investment.
In this digital and hyper-connected world, the continued pursuit of strategic inward investment will propel Scotland towards being a fairer and more prosperous nation.
It's also a sign that investors from abroad don't listen to the relentless whingeing of the opposition in the Scottish Parliament about Scotland.
Where the opposition see weakness, international allies see strengths.
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