Montréal Worldwide says international direct funding fell 15% in 2020

Some 90 funding initiatives resulted within the creation or preservation of eight,192 jobs, the financial improvement company says.

Writer of the article:

Frédéric Tomesco

Publishing date:

Feb 22, 2021 • 27 minutes in the past • three minute learn

Corporations from 19 nations invested in Montreal final yr, with almost half of investments coming from Europe and 44 per cent from the Americas. Picture by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette information

Montreal attracted about $2.2 billion price of international direct investments in 2020 because the COVID-19 pandemic raged, a 15-per-cent drop from the earlier yr.

Some 90 funding initiatives resulted within the creation or preservation of eight,192 jobs, with a mean wage of $83,976, the Montréal International financial improvement company mentioned Monday.

Key bulletins final yr included growth initiatives by Google, Kraft and software program maker Behavox, for a complete of $2.6 billion of investments.

Montréal Worldwide’s 2020 efficiency compares favourably with a 42-per-cent-plunge in international direct funding globally final yr, as calculated by the United Nations Convention on Commerce and Growth. Regardless of the slowdown, MI nonetheless managed to submit its third-best annual outcomes because the company was created in 1996.

“Given the yr we’ve simply been by means of, these outcomes are very encouraging,” Quebec Economic system Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon mentioned Monday throughout a web-based press convention.

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“They present that even with the worldwide pandemic, we nonetheless managed to generate financial spinoffs for Better Montreal and all of Quebec. We preserved our competitiveness.”

Together with rising exports and the capability to draw expert employees, international investments will play a key position in fuelling financial development in Quebec, Fitzgibbon mentioned. International investments throughout the province, nonetheless, fell to about $four billion final yr from about $5.6 billion in 2019, he mentioned.

Corporations from 19 nations invested in Montreal final yr, with almost half of investments coming from Europe and 44 per cent from the Americas. High industries included pc providers, with about one-fifth of complete initiatives; software program; synthetic intelligence; transportation logistics and life sciences.

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Confronted with closed borders and journey restrictions, MI pivoted to digital commerce and recruitment campaigns as a method of luring each corporations and workers to the town. Seven of the 12 recruitment missions passed off solely on-line, which led to the hiring of 772 expert international employees — together with 237 nurses. French employees accounted for 75 per cent of recent hires, MI mentioned.

A brand new web site, talentmontreal.com, was additionally created to assist native corporations recruit overseas.

Conferences with greater than 200 entrepreneurs resulted in 10 new startups placing down roots within the metropolis. MI’s staff additionally met over 7,800 worldwide college students, most of them on-line, to persuade them of finding out or dwelling right here.

MI’s position “is extra vital than ever as a result of there might be a rush on expertise” when financial output accelerates after the pandemic, mentioned federal Financial Growth Minister Mélanie Joly, who additionally spoke on the press convention.

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Greater than 150 “very lively” funding information at the moment are being labored on, which bodes nicely for 2021, chief govt officer Stéphane Paquet mentioned Monday. Cybersecurity, e-commerce, video video games and life sciences are among the many most promising industries this yr, Paquet mentioned in a phone interview.

Aerospace corporations — lengthy among the many metropolis’s largest employers — are unlikely to determine on the record of main traders this yr. International investments in aerospace slumped to about $126 million final yr from $285 million in 2019, and Paquet mentioned he’s not anticipating a fast repair.

“Within the brief time period it, might be very troublesome to draw investments in civil aviation,” Paquet advised the Montreal Gazette. Even so, “there are issues to do in aerospace,” he mentioned, citing prospects in drones and satellites.

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With projected 2021 development of 5.four per cent, Montreal is on monitor to submit the very best financial efficiency of all main Canadian cities, in line with a Convention Board of Canada forecast. This compares with anticipated development of 5.1 per cent in each Calgary and Toronto, and four.9 per cent in Vancouver.

“There might be a restoration, and we might be there for it,” Paquet mentioned. “Our pipeline could be very strong. I’m satisfied 2021 might be an excellent yr.”

ftomesco@postmedia.com

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