
Foreign Direct Investment
Belgium's investment attractiveness can be attributed to its strategic geographic position at the crossroads of the main European markets, the quality of transport, logistics and telecommunications infrastructure, its trade specialised in semi-processed and semi-finished goods, a multilingual and qualified labour force and high levels of purchasing power. The stability of society, the quality of the labour and the infrastructures have been attracting projects. There are currently no limits on foreign ownership or control in Belgium and there are no distinctions between Belgian and foreign companies. However, in June 2022 the government agreed on the text of a cooperation agreement implementing a single, uniform screening mechanism to be applied to foreign direct investments into Belgium (in line with EU Regulation 2019/452). The law would introduce an ex ante screening mechanism for non-EU investors intending to invest in a number of strategic sectors (including health, energy, transport, artificial intelligence, and the aerospace industry, media, etc.). Finally, Belgium ranked 18th out of 82 countries in terms of business environment in the latest Economist Business Environment ranking; recording the same position in the Corruption Perception Index.
Foreign Direct Investment | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
FDI Inward Flow (million USD) | 1,752 | 11,913 | 25,577 |
FDI Stock (million USD) | 597,752 | 617,252 | 604,647 |
Number of Greenfield Investments* | 209 | 215 | 270 |
Value of Greenfield Investments (million USD) | 8,479 | 4,986 | 7,468 |
Source: UNCTAD - Latest available data.
Note: * Greenfield Investments are a form of Foreign Direct Investment where a parent company starts a new venture in a foreign country by constructing new operational facilities from the ground up.
Country Comparison For the Protection of Investors | Belgium | OECD | United States | Germany |
Index of Transaction Transparency* | 8.0 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Manager’s Responsibility** | 6.0 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Index of Shareholders’ Power*** | 7.0 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 5.0 |
Source: Doing Business - Latest available data.
Note: *The Greater the Index, the More Transparent the Conditions of Transactions. **The Greater the Index, the More the Manager is Personally Responsible. *** The Greater the Index, the Easier it Will Be For Shareholders to Take Legal Action.
