The Flemish Parliament meets today to debate on “the recent wave of redundancies, the erosion of the country’s industrial fibre and the policy the government of Flanders will conduct in this respect”. The recent job cuts at Bekaert and a number of other groups like Alcatel-Lucent and Crown Cork have led to allegations that Flanders has lost its attraction as a foreign investment destination. The most recent figures of the Agency Flanders Investment & Trade FIT tell another story, however, especially if one considers that the 3,720 jobs that were created due to foreign investments last year are almost equal to the years 2006 and 2007. The FIT recorded 174 foreign investments and a total investment of 1.79 billion euros during 2011. The substantial increase in the number of mergers and takeovers made up almost one third of all investments during the past year. New investments made up 50% of the total, with expansions of present foreign companies sliding back somewhat. It’s significant to note that the number of investments in logistics declined sharply whereas O & O research and development projects remained the same after experiencing a strong increase in 2010. The surge of investments from Asia and the BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China came to a standstill. Once again, European countries make up more than half the investors, with the US keeping its lead with 37 projects. They are followed by neighbouring countries and Japan, which takes the fourth place among the top ten investors with its 15 investment projects.

Minister-president Kris Peeters CD&V sees these figures as proof that Flemish industry’s days are not over. “Industrial activity was the key investment driver in 2011. With its New Industrial Policy, the government of Flanders plans to boost investments in this sector and in R&D even more,” he says. “The positive trend of the past years will continue.” The FIT will continue its strategy of accelerating investments from growth countries and trade missions have been planned to Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Southern Russia and Turkey.