Reasons to invest in Italy

By virtue of its strategic location in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is the main thoroughfare linking southern Europe to northern and central Europe by land, sea and air. It provides a gateway affording easy access to 500 million consumers across the European Union, and a further 270 million in Northern Africa and the Middle East.

Companies deciding to invest in Italy can also rely on a wide infrastructure network. Italian roads cover approximately 1 million km, making them the second longest network in the EU (25), after France. The network as a whole includes about 6,500 km of motorways, representing 13.7% of all motorways in the EU (25). The Italian rail network has 16,300 km of track, making it the fifth longest in the EU (25). With an evolved system of international ports, logistics platforms and interports, Italy ranks as the second most important country in Europe for maritime freight, and the second also for passenger transport: 263 ports scattered along 8,122 km of coastline, 49 million passengers per year, port traffic of 512 million tons in 2007.

Concerning the legal framework for companies, following a thorough reform of Italian corporate law in 2003, it can now be considered one of the most modern and dynamic in Europe. During the past years, Italy has been implementing a broad reform of the Italian corporate tax system and the corporate income tax rate is now reduced to 27,5%.

Countless of opportunities for the ones want to operate in Italy. Italy is indeed ranked 6th among OECD countries and 4th among European countries for Gross Domestic Product with a value of more than 1.7 trillion in 2008. With a potential market of almost 60 million consumers, for innovative services (more than 25 million internet users) and products, the Italian market offers countless opportunities to businesses in expansion in strategic sectors: logistics, ICT, life sciences, renewable energies, tourism.

Moreover, innovation in Italy is driven by an extensive network of high-quality universities and public and private institutions and by a modern network of science and technological parks, which ensure that research is widely integrated into industrial processes.  Italy has a long and acclaimed tradition of excellence in many fields, including medicine, biomedical technology, instrumental and precision engineering, robotics, micro-electronics, ICT, aerospace, new materials and nanotechnology. The quality of the country’s research is borne out by its high level of scientific output, its constantly rising expenditure on R&D, its high productivity and high level of internationalisation.

Companies investing in Italy can also rely on an average of 300,000 graduates per year. A survey conducted by Ipsos Explorer in February 2008 of 60 multinational companies operating in Italy, highlights that top foreign multinationals located in Italy benefit from sectorspecific technical and managerial skills and patents/know-how (55%) as well as the capacity to set trends in different industries, such as fashion and design (53%).

Country's quality of life and lifestyle also is important while deciding to invest abroad. Italy ranks sixth as the world's top country brand in the Country Brand Index 2009, the international survey of the image of more than 40 countries in the world. Italy ranks in top position in the following categories: cusine, art and people.

For further information on the country: