BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 25. Baku ranked third among the fastest-growing 100 cities for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2023, according to the rating by the Financial Times group's fDi Intelligence publication, Trend reports.
According to the publication, the agreements on FDI in Azerbaijan, reached last year, are the largest projects since 2017.
The publication pointed out that, alongside several important logistics projects, an agreement was signed last year that the Hungarian Hell Group company alone would invest $211 million in Baku.
To note, Shareholders’ Agreement was signed between Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) OJSC under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan and Hungary’s Hell Energy company with participation of the Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto in Baku last year.
According to the document, it's planned to build advanced technology plant for 700 million aluminum beverages can production in Azerbaijan's Alat Free Economic Zone (AFEZ).
The plant products will be exported to Central Asian countries, as well as meet domestic demand.
The project with the investment value of $211 million aims to generate over 300 job opportunities.
The favorable business and investment climate of Azerbaijan attracts foreign investors to the country, important projects are being implemented in many areas of the economy, and new jobs are being created.
In 2023, with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the opening of the ceramic tile production plant Azerbaijan Vanhong Ceramics Co LLC took place in the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park. The plant, with 100 percent Chinese capital, received an investment of $50 million and generated nearly 500 new jobs.
Another significant investment project in Azerbaijan is the production of electric motor buses in collaboration with the Chinese BYD Company Limited at the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park. AIC will participate in the project as a shareholder. Initially, BYD plans to invest $34 million in the project and then $60 million in implementing value-added investment projects.
The project aims to generate 800 new jobs. Localization of spare parts for electric buses is planned from the third year of production.
Additionally, in accordance with the Joint Participation Agreement signed between AIC and the Turkish Gen Ilac ve Saglik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret AS company, the foundation of the Gen Pharma Colombia Manufacturing Operations LLC pharmaceutical production plant was laid in the Pirallahi Industrial Park in 2023.
Furthermore, construction is underway for a pharmaceutical plant with a projected cost of 45 million euro in the AFEZ in collaboration with the Israeli BioPharmax company.
The AFEZ, offering significant benefits and incentives to entrepreneurs, is facilitating projects in industrial equipment manufacturing, construction materials, aviation, shipping, petrochemicals, and other sectors.
Additionally, with the participation of AIC and the Turkish Demiroren company, investments totaling $15 million are planned for the restoration and operation of small hydroelectric power plants in various regions of Azerbaijan and 20 million manat ($11.7 million) for the production of breeding eggs in collaboration with an Israeli company.
Moreover, within the framework of a public-private partnership, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy continues its efforts on the pilot project for producing drinking water by desalinating seawater.
According to the fDi Intelligence ranking, the German city of Mannheim took the first place, and the Romanian city of Craiova - the second.
The fDi Intelligence's report indicated that in 2023, companies worldwide agreed to direct foreign investments totaling $1.33 trillion, which is four percent more than the previous year.
The fDi Intelligence, owned by the globally renowned UK Financial Times publication , specializes in in-depth analysis of global and regional markets and corporate investment climates across various sectors of the economy.
The methodology of the FDI 100 publication is based on the study of 100 regions experiencing rapid growth in attracting foreign direct investments.
The ranking assesses data on direct investment markets, taking into account the number of declared investment projects, the pace of investment growth and foreign direct investments, as well as the number of new jobs to be created through investments.
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