Reactions from the leaders of Europe’s most promising locations for future investment on what the recognition means for them and what makes their area special.

The UK sweeps the board in this year’s European Cities & Regions of the Future, with London and Scotland leading the rankings. Charles Piggott reports on the results

The UK sweeps the board in this year’s European Cities & Regions of the Future, with London and Scotland leading the rankings. Charles Piggott reports on the results.

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A strategy to promote high-tech industries and new tax breaks make Germany, which enjoyed 2.5% economic growth in 2006, an enticing location for international investors.

Regional co-operation between Vilnius and Kaunas looks set to bring benefits to Lithuania as a whole.

On the outskirts of Istanbul, the Hektas Construction Companies Group is building a new, environmentally friendly residential neighbourhood for upper income families on 82.5 acres of land. Scheduled for completion in 2008, Idealist Kent (kent means ‘city’ in Turkish) will be the home of 4000 inhabitants.

London is the city winner and Vilnius and Kaunas is the region winner in fDi’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2006/07 awards. Charles Piggott reports on the winners and other top ranking competitors across Europe.

CITIES:

Western Europe: PARIS (France)

Runner up: Barcelona (Spain)

The votes for the first round of the European Cities and Regions of the Future 2006/07 have been counted. Charles Piggott reports on the locations that scored highest in the 28 individual criteria across the seven main categories.

REGIONS

CENTRAL EUROPE/AUSTRIA:

Winner: Vienna region

fDi’s awards ceremony for the magazine’s first ever European Cities and Regions of the Future competition was held in Hong Kong in November. Representatives from both Barcelona and Scotland were on hand to pick up the key awards while other prize winners came from as far away as Vilnius and the Canary Islands. The awards were held at the Investors of the Future Forum organised by Red Hot Locations and sponsored by Invest Hong Kong. For full details see www.fdimagazine.com

Barcelona, one of Europe’s most attractive locations, has won the title of European City of the Future in fDi’s 2004/5 competition. Meanwhile, Scotland picks up the prize for European Region of the Future. Charles Piggott reports.

Barcelona is overwhelmingly fDi’s European City of the Future 2004/05. No other city came close, with the judges’ decision being almost unanimous. The city, which has reinvented itself during the past decade to become a world-class high-value services centre, was nominated the outright winner by five of fDi’s six judges.

Scotland has gone all out to attract FDI in the past decade and four of fDi’s six judges put it forward as the European Region of the Future 2004/05, pushing it ahead of Saxony and Hungary to win the final round.

From Baku to Belfast, the applications came – but finally, fDi can announce the results of the first heat in this year’s quest to find Europe’s top city or region. Charles Piggott reports.

Inward investment in Lithuania is concentrated in and around Vilnius. The Lithuanian capital received inward investment commitments of €828m in 2002.

Varna and the surrounding area attracted $418m between 1992 and 2001 accounting for 10% of the total inward foreign investments in Bulgaria. The city’s port forms part of major logistics routes between Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Caucasus and Asia. Varna’s international airport is the country’s second largest airport after Sofia with connections to 35 countries and 101 cities around the world.

Inward investment in Greece, the majority of which is centred on Athens, reached €586m in 2003. Significant deals included the €368m acquisition of Papastratos Cigarette Manufacturing by Philip-Morris Holland, a greenfield investment by US consumer foods company General Mills and the acquisition of General Bank by Société Général Group of France.

The most popular housing regions for foreign executives are on the Mediterranean coast and villas in the nearby Toros mountains. The Tarsus American High School founded in 1888 prepares bilingual students for universities in Turkey and overseas. Manual workers are paid an average of €4.36 per hour, while secretaries and middle managers make just €4740 and €7272 per year respectively. The city’s administrators have an international outlook and are actively seeking foreign investors.

Although more than a dozen UK regions put themselves forward for the UK region of the future award, the clear winner was Scotland. East Midlands and North Yorkshire tied in second place, with south-east England just one point behind in fourth place.

Friuli Venezia Giulia beat seven other regions to become Italy’s top region of the future. Although industrial rents are high, central and out-of-town office spaces remain competitive. And, at an average of €6.72 an hour, the region is attractive for its cheap pool of manual labour. The region’s economic potential, its attractiveness to investors and its urban planning and infrastructure projects also impressed the judging panel. In addition to two universities, the region is home to specialist institutions researching nanotechnology, biotechnology, physics, ICT, the environment and more.

Despite its relatively low level of foreign investment to date, Stara Zagora’s mayor and governor returned entries as convincing as any city or region in the competition. Existing investors such as French wine maker Belvedere, Italy’s ENEL, Turkish yarn manufacturer Embul Investment and US energy group AES have led the way for others to follow.

The privatisation of large state-owned enterprises has kick-started inward investment into central Bosnia & Herzegovina, bringing multinationals to the region. The sale of metallurgical complex BH Steel-Zenica to British-Indian company LMN will bring direct investments of more than €100m. The sale and modernisation of cellulose and paper producer Natron Maglaj to an Austrian consortium led by Raiffeisen Investment involves direct investment of €33m. Other deals in the final stages include the privatisation of auto-part manufacturer FAD and forestry group Krivaja Zavidovici.

Although the Canary Islands can not match Madeira’s 9.3% average GDP growth from 1995 to 2001, the region has secured impressive direct investment. In 2002, more than€1.2bn was invested. More recently, Danone agreed to invest €12m in a production plant, while Acuicultura Marina de Canarias has opened the islands’ biggest fish packaging plant.