Italy aims to attract foreign investment through targeted policies. Taxation, Special Economic Zones, justice reform and economic development are some of the points of the policy on foreign investment discussed in the Steering Committee for internationalization. In the presence of 10 ministers, several undersecretaries and numerous representatives of national institutions, such as ICE, Invitalia and CDP, the Steering Committee for internationalization analyzed Italian opportunities to attract entrepreneurs and investors in order to succeed in placing our country at the center of foreign investment interests.
Direct investments are the purchase of shares in the share capital of a company (the target company or an affiliate) operating in a country other than the one where the direct investor resides, with the aim of exercising control or a significant degree of influence over the management of the company and establishing a lasting link with it. However, in order to best develop the foreign investment mechanism, it is essential to undertake reform processes both in the bureaucratic-fiscal sphere and in terms of logistics and mobility of goods.
The creation of the Committee for the Attraction of Foreign Investments (CAIE), for example, dates back to 2014. And even more recent is the reorganization of competencies between MISE and MAECI, and between the relative agencies Invitalia and ICE.
These new bodies aim to raise awareness of the best-known “Made in Italy” products (including technological sectors such as aerospace), the energy transition, the valorization of public assets (such as real estate and logistics), and the localization offer (with the systematization of abandoned areas available to potential investors).
Among the priority initiatives to be implemented is a localization package for Special Economic Zones (SEZ). A measure that is particularly dear to the Minister for the South and Cohesion, Mara Carfagna, who during the Steering Committee announced a series of measures to make foreign investment in southern Italy more attractive. In addition to the extension of the 30% decontribution of labor contracts, a reform of the governance of SEZs and a structural partnership agreement with Farnesina are also on the way to spread the opportunities and facilities that foreign economic operators can enjoy in Italian SEZs as widely as possible among international investors.
Finally, an important role for Italy will be played by the Investment Court System, the court for the resolution of disputes between a private company and a state provided for by CETA, which will simplify the promotion of the Italian system towards Canada through a new EU approach to investment disputes with the aim of eliminating the risk of abuse and increasing investment.
