Limerick wins major foreign direct investment award

LIMERICK has been named the number one foreign direct investment (FDI) location in a prestigious countdown.

The city has been ranked first on the FDI European Cities and Regions of the Future chart for 2023.

It was given the top spot for its FDI strategy in the micro-European cities of the future category which recognises the work undertaken to bring new companies to the city.

The awards are organised by fDi magazine, an international news and foreign direct investment magazine published by fDi Intelligence, a specialist division of the Financial Times.

They benchmark European cities and regions according to their economic, financial, and business strengths.

Limerick City was also named overall runner-up to Zug, Switzerland in its population category after ranking highly in a number of other areas.

The city ranked second for economic pand placed fourth for business friendliness and fourth for human capital and lifestyle.

Gardai renew appeal for missing Limerick teen

The report states: "The city of Limerick in Ireland’s Mid-West climbs to second place in this year’s micro-category rankings. Figures from FDI markets show that in the five years to November 2022 it attracted investment worth €1.57bn with the lion’s share going to biotech and medical device manufacturing."

"Ireland’s third-most-populous city has a long history as a manufacturing hub and is home to the country’s advanced manufacturing centre, which enables foreign and Irish firms to accelerate the adoption of digital technologies into their factory floors and supply chains."

Mayor Francis Foley said: "We all know that Limerick has a lot to offer but recognition like this is so important for boosting Limerick’s reputation internationally as an attractive place to do business. The rankings are a recognition of the hard work being done by Limerick City and County Council, the IDA and Enterprise Ireland.”

Council chief executive Dr Pat Daly added: "Foreign direct investment is a highly competitive business and having our work independently validated and awarded gives us an advantage when we pitch for future investments. We have laid the foundations for future investment with our enterprise infrastructure. Limerick City and County Council’s commitment to collaboration with business partners and stakeholders ensures that the future is very bright. One only has to look at the investment history, to see how future planning, coupled with economic vision and collaboration, can lead to world class facilities. The fDi magazine rankings confirm, once more, that you can find your business edge in Limerick’s embrace.”