Quarter of employees in Belgium work for multinational group
A quarter of employees in Belgium work for a multinational group. Those international companies together also account for 40 percent of our country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 75 percent of its exports. This was revealed Tuesday in a study by the Federal Planning Bureau.
That multinational companies play an important role in the Belgian economy, with a tradition of openness to foreign investment, is no surprise. In its study, the Planning Bureau identified 1,800 Belgian multinationals and 1,600 foreign multinationals with at least one branch in Belgium.
The neighboring countries in particular come to mind when the multinational groups are mapped out. For example, Belgian groups control almost 7,500 subsidiaries abroad, 42 percent of which are located in one of the neighboring countries (France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany). And of the 1,600 foreign multinationals, the parent company is located in a neighboring country in half of the cases. In addition, the United States accounts for 16 percent of the parent companies.
Together, the multinationals have almost 10,000 subsidiaries in Belgium. "This figure is admittedly low compared to the hundreds of thousands of companies operating in Belgium," the Planning Bureau notes. But "Belgian companies that are part of a multinational group are relatively larger and account for a significant share of the country's economic activity."
The importance of these multinationals for the Belgian economy cannot therefore be underestimated: Belgian subsidiaries of foreign groups account for almost 30 percent of GDP, more than 15 percent of employment and 55 percent of exports. Companies that are part of Belgian multinational groups account for 15 percent of GDP, 10 percent of employment and 20 percent of exports.
The study also shows that the share of multinational groups is higher in manufacturing than in services. They also have a larger share in technology- and knowledge-intensive activities. Foreign companies dominate sectors such as banking, steel and soft drinks production, while Belgian multinationals have a greater weight in the chemical industry.
© BELGA PHOTO/ Peter Hilz - AB INBEV is a Belgian-Brazilian multinational beverage and brewing company headquartered in Belgium.