Flanders attracts growing foreign investment despite global uncertainty
Flemish minister president Matthias Diependaele has presented Flanders’ annual foreign direct investment figures during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Despite a difficult international economic and geopolitical climate, the region continues to attract a growing number of foreign investors, with the US remaining its most important source.
Flanders closed 2025 with 285 foreign investment projects, the highest level outside the exceptional post-Covid rebound in 2021. These projects resulted in 5,870 new jobs, an increase of 16.5 per cent compared with the previous year.
The region is attracting an increasing number of foreign direct investment projects in research and development, high-value manufacturing and other knowledge-driven activities. At the same time, the largest job creation continues to come mainly from industrial and production-oriented sectors such as food, pharmaceuticals, automotive and logistics.
The total announced investment volume reached 3.79 billion euros, a sharp decline from the record 5.40 billion in 2024. Flanders Investment & Trade says this fall is in line with historical fluctuations, as total volumes are often driven by a small number of highly capital-intensive projects.
According to Diependaele, 2025's figures underline the region’s structural strengths. "Not only are we attracting more investment projects, we are also creating more jobs per investment," he said. "The shift towards knowledge-intensive and production-driven activities confirms Flanders’ position as an international hotspot for innovation and high-quality industry."
US remains in the lead
The US once again emerged as the most important foreign investor in Flanders, in terms of both the number of projects and jobs created. Despite anti-European sentiment from the government of president Donald Trump, the US accounted for 56 investment projects in 2025.
Piet Demunter, CEO of Flanders Investment & Trade, highlighted the importance of this trend. "It is striking that the United States remains our largest investor, even in turbulent times," he said. "This underlines international confidence in our ecosystem and the long-term relationships we build with foreign companies."
Neighbouring countries the Netherlands and France were the largest European investors, with 33 and 32 projects respectively. Europe as a whole still accounts for around 60 per cent of all investment dossiers in Flanders, though its share declined slightly last year.
The figures also point to a broader and more diversified group of investing countries. The share of Asian investors is growing, with China and Japan both ranking in the top 10, with 12 and 11 projects respectively. Türkiye was the fourth non-European country in the top 10, ranking ninth with nine projects.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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