Cardiff and Swansea are lagging behind the rest of the UK when it comes to attracting foreign investment, a new economic study has found. The study, published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) and law firm Irwin Mitchell, assesses the 50 largest cities in the UK and ranks them on their ability to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
These are investments made by overseas investors in a company located in a different country and can take the form of greenfield investments or mergers and acquisitions.
The UK economy has attracted £2,000 billion in FDI, which generates jobs and boosts productivity, competitiveness, and innovation. The USA is the biggest source of FDI flowing into the UK reaching £676bn in 2021.
