France gets 15 billion-euro of foreign investments as part of ‘Choose France’ event

THIS year’s “Choose France” event – an annual summit aimed at attracting foreign investment to France – will result in 15 billion euros (S$22 billion) worth of foreign investments, said the French presidency on Monday (May 13).

That amount represents an increase from last year’s summit, which brought in 13 billion euros worth of foreign investments.

President Emmanuel Macron kicks off the event on Monday.

The summit is aimed at burnishing Paris’ reputation as a leading European business centre as France – the euro zone’s second-biggest economy – faces headwinds over its budget deficit and tepid first-quarter economic growth.

Paris has also traditionally lagged New York and London as a global financial hub, with the closely watched Z/Yen survey published in March ranking New York as the world’s top financial centre, with London in second place.

The French presidency said this total of 15 billion euros worth of foreign investments came from 56 different business projects, with key sectors for investments including technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and finance.

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Over the weekend, France said Amazon would announce a 1.2 billion euros investment at the event, while leading healthcare companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca also announced investments worth a total of nearly US$1 billion.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will also host meetings on Monday with the CEOs of JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, among others. REUTERS