The Madrid Investment Forum has been inaugurated at the Centro de Arte de Alcobendas, marking the start of a series of meetings aimed at promoting the Region of Madrid as an attractive destination for foreign investment. The event, organised by Invest in Madrid from 18-20 November, will also visit other major municipalities in the region, including Leganés, Torrejón de Ardoz, Las Rozas and the capital.
The inauguration in Alcobendas was attended by various representatives of the local, regional and European administration. Among them, Rocío García Alcántara, mayoress of Alcobendas, who highlighted the relevance of the investment of multinational companies in the town, and advocated regional collaboration instead of competition between municipalities to promote joint growth.
Antonio Garamendi, President of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE), emphasised the need for stable legal certainty and market predictability, praising the Community of Madrid for its ability to attract companies thanks to its business-friendly management.
Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission, also took the floor to speak about the current challenges in the European and US political context, highlighting Madrid as an example of successful regional management and a role model for future investment.
The President of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, closed the opening speeches, stressing the importance of combating excessive regulation and bureaucracy in order to facilitate the attraction of foreign companies.
Ayuso stressed the importance of the regional government's initiatives involving the private sector, which are essential for offering opportunities in significant projects that promote the creation of wealth and employment. She highlighted the Community of Madrid's commitment to every self-employed person and company, from small businesses to multinationals, as the key to leading the generation of employment in Spain and financing quality public services. She also mentioned that all the regional government departments have collaborated on a catalogue detailing projects in areas such as infrastructure, health, culture, education, digitalisation and social policies, including investments in major projects such as Madrid Nuevo Norte, the City of Justice, and the expansion of the public transport network.
In addition, in her speech, the regional president announced that this week she will travel to South Korea to seek investments and projects that will benefit Madrid. During her five-day stay in Seoul, Ayuso will visit major Korean multinationals such as Hyundai, LG, and Samsung to meet with their executives and discuss Madrid's potential, especially in digitalisation, where the capital is positioned as one of the top three in Europe. In addition, there will be meetings with investors, coordinated by Invest in Madrid, with the aim of strengthening Madrid's position, which already leads in attracting investment in Spain, attracting almost 75% of the national total.
The forum continued with two round tables focused on the strengths of the Region of Madrid in attracting investment and on the importance of public-private collaboration in economic and social development. Miguel Garrido, President of CEIM, and Rocío Albert, Regional Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment of the Community of Madrid, closed the day.
Session in Leganés: Madrid bets on R&D&I and entrepreneurship
The afternoon session of the Madrid Investment Forum 2024 moved to Leganés, focusing on promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. Irene Correas Sosa, Director General for the Self-Employed and Entrepreneurship of the Community of Madrid, opened these round tables, highlighting the region's commitment to the development of an innovative ecosystem in key sectors. Figures such as María Benjumea from South Summit and Miguel Ángel Salinero from Sandoz Iberia addressed Madrid's potential to become a leader in R&D&I.
Luis Socías, CEO of Invest in Madrid, shared his impressions of the event: ‘The assessment of this first session of the Forum is very positive for several reasons. Firstly, for the importance of this pro-European vision and openness to the outside world that accredits the Community of Madrid with the presence of European institutions, but also of companies, institutions and investors from more than 40 countries. Secondly, the importance of public-private collaboration and this has been seen in the profile of leading CEOs in different sectors and in markets of importance for attracting investment to the Region of Madrid and, thirdly, the consolidation of Madrid as a valuable investment, a space in which the speakers have agreed that aspects such as taxation, incentives for talent, confidence in legal certainty are fundamental and have also agreed on the returns that we have and on which we must continue to work to consolidate Madrid as an investment region’.
The forum continues on 19 November in Torrejón de Ardoz and Las Rozas, focusing on issues such as the Community's commitment to infrastructure and high value-added industry, social innovation, the impact of Artificial Intelligence and the challenge of public administrations in the face of digitalisation.