The number of Italian businesses
controlled by foreign multinationals continues to rise,
according to data released by national statistics institute
ISTAT on Tuesday.
There were 404 more in 2014 than the previous year, for a
total of 13,569 enterprises. This is slightly over half the
number of Italian enterprises abroad, which stood at 22,388.
Foreign-controlled businesses in Italy employ 1.2 million
people (7.6% of the overall total) and achieve a turnover of 524
billion euros.
Those employing over 250 people are on average more
productive and profitable than their Italian counterparts,
though this depends on the sector.
Foreign enterprises account for almost a quarter (23.9%) of
total private spending on research and development.
As for Italian businesses abroad, ISTAT reported that there
were 384 more in 2014 than the previous year.
In 2015-2016, 62.4% of Italy's major industrial
multinationals brought in or planned new foreign-controlled
investments.
The countries seeing the highest increase in Italian
multinationals were Brazil (+17,000 on the year), the US
(+14,000) and China (+9,000), despite an increase in labor costs
in Asia of between 600 and 8,500 euros per year.
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