Friday,21 January 2011
By : Jameel W. Karaki
PARIS: "France has good investment opportunities due to many factors. It is ranked the second in Europe for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for creating jobs and is also ranked third for FDI after USA and China, and is also ranked as first for industrial Investments." said Serge Boscher, Managing Director of Invest in France Agency in an exclusive interview with Al Watan Daily, the only Kuwaiti media outlet who was invited by Invest in France Agency.
Boscher said, "France is a unique investment opportunity due to many factors such as the demographic expansion since France has a population of 64 million with a large demographic growth rate."
In addition, France has the low electricity prices which reduce production costs keeping in mind the fact that 78 percent of electricity production comes from nuclear sources and 11 percent is produced by dams.
He clarified that France has 39 Economic Blocs while Germany has 37, and the UK 26. France is considered a leader in the aviation, pharmaceutical, and nuclear industries which makes the French economy a diverse one. He went on to point out that 40 percent of the investments in sectors are made by foreign investors.
Boscher explained that France is the world's third leading country in terms of hourly productivity according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). Productivity per worker, on both an hourly and an annual basis, is 20 percent higher than the European average.
The French labor force is highly qualified, versatile and adapts easily to new methods of working.
France's education system is free and open to all - is recognized as one of the best in the world. It has five business schools considered to be among the top 12 in Europe according to the Financial Times' latest rankings.
Boscher highlighted the fact that France has 71 innovation clusters, centers of dialogue and partnerships between private businesses, public-sector research laboratories, universities and academic institutes, in addition to many other partnership opportunities: 2,000 research and development (R&D) projects involving 12,000 researchers and a significant number of foreign company cluster members have been launched since 2005.
Concerning the financial and tax support for R&D activities he stated, "Between 2006 and 2008, France's 71 innovation clusters received 1.5 billion euros in state funding. The clusters are set to receive a further 1.5 billion euros to support their R&D projects between 2009 and 2011, thanks to a special fund (Inter-ministerial Fund) which is also open to foreign cluster members."
In late 2008, 750 establishments from 530 foreign companies playing an active role in France's innovation clusters.
The research tax credit (crédit impôt recherche - CIR) is a corporate tax relief measure based on R&D expenses incurred by firms operating in France. This incentive helps to support companies' R&D efforts and increase their competitiveness.
According to the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry during 2009, 6.2 billion euros were reimbursed to companies in France with respect to R&D spending committed in previous years.
France's research tax credit is the best in Europe, covering 40 percent of R&D expenses in the first year, 35 percent in the second and 30 percent in subsequent years.
Answering a question about whether the rate of unemployment in France clashes with the French policy of attracting foreign direct investments; Boscher said that the FDI created more than 30000 jobs in France and the efforts of President Nicolas Sarkozy since 2007 aim to attract more investments and his reform policies will be aimed at solving the unemployment dilemma.
Boscher also commented on the impact of 'Frenchphobia; the culture of hate by Muslims towards France on attracting Islamic capitals saying, "We established laws to attract Muslim investors to invest in the French Islamic finance industry. Furthermore, the French government created classes for the children of the Arabic investors in the public school."
By : Jameel W. Karaki
PARIS: "France has good investment opportunities due to many factors. It is ranked the second in Europe for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for creating jobs and is also ranked third for FDI after USA and China, and is also ranked as first for industrial Investments." said Serge Boscher, Managing Director of Invest in France Agency in an exclusive interview with Al Watan Daily, the only Kuwaiti media outlet who was invited by Invest in France Agency.
Boscher said, "France is a unique investment opportunity due to many factors such as the demographic expansion since France has a population of 64 million with a large demographic growth rate."
In addition, France has the low electricity prices which reduce production costs keeping in mind the fact that 78 percent of electricity production comes from nuclear sources and 11 percent is produced by dams.
He clarified that France has 39 Economic Blocs while Germany has 37, and the UK 26. France is considered a leader in the aviation, pharmaceutical, and nuclear industries which makes the French economy a diverse one. He went on to point out that 40 percent of the investments in sectors are made by foreign investors.
Boscher explained that France is the world's third leading country in terms of hourly productivity according to the International Labor Organization (ILO). Productivity per worker, on both an hourly and an annual basis, is 20 percent higher than the European average.
The French labor force is highly qualified, versatile and adapts easily to new methods of working.
France's education system is free and open to all - is recognized as one of the best in the world. It has five business schools considered to be among the top 12 in Europe according to the Financial Times' latest rankings.
Boscher highlighted the fact that France has 71 innovation clusters, centers of dialogue and partnerships between private businesses, public-sector research laboratories, universities and academic institutes, in addition to many other partnership opportunities: 2,000 research and development (R&D) projects involving 12,000 researchers and a significant number of foreign company cluster members have been launched since 2005.
Concerning the financial and tax support for R&D activities he stated, "Between 2006 and 2008, France's 71 innovation clusters received 1.5 billion euros in state funding. The clusters are set to receive a further 1.5 billion euros to support their R&D projects between 2009 and 2011, thanks to a special fund (Inter-ministerial Fund) which is also open to foreign cluster members."
In late 2008, 750 establishments from 530 foreign companies playing an active role in France's innovation clusters.
The research tax credit (crédit impôt recherche - CIR) is a corporate tax relief measure based on R&D expenses incurred by firms operating in France. This incentive helps to support companies' R&D efforts and increase their competitiveness.
According to the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry during 2009, 6.2 billion euros were reimbursed to companies in France with respect to R&D spending committed in previous years.
France's research tax credit is the best in Europe, covering 40 percent of R&D expenses in the first year, 35 percent in the second and 30 percent in subsequent years.
Answering a question about whether the rate of unemployment in France clashes with the French policy of attracting foreign direct investments; Boscher said that the FDI created more than 30000 jobs in France and the efforts of President Nicolas Sarkozy since 2007 aim to attract more investments and his reform policies will be aimed at solving the unemployment dilemma.
Boscher also commented on the impact of 'Frenchphobia; the culture of hate by Muslims towards France on attracting Islamic capitals saying, "We established laws to attract Muslim investors to invest in the French Islamic finance industry. Furthermore, the French government created classes for the children of the Arabic investors in the public school."
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