Pardubice Region Among the Most Attractive Region for Investors in Eastern Europe

The Pardubice region is among the top ten most attractive Eastern European regions in terms of investment attractiveness and its strategy for supporting foreign direct investments is the fifth best among the regions of Eastern Europe. This is according to independent evaluators who compared cities and regions with regard to their attractiveness for foreign direct investment within the “European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/2013” ranking published by the British fDi Magazine.

“The Pardubice region is developing in a positive direction, which is evident in the results of the survey. A range of domestic and foreign firms have already taken advantage of its potential. The region boasts mainly a broad network of supplier firms, a good location and availability of skilled workers,” says Minister of Industry and Trade Martin Kuba.

The Pardubice region’s appearance in the ranking can raise its profile among foreign investors. Convincing them of the benefits of implementing their investment projects in the region will then be the task of CzechInvest and the local administrative authorities,” says Miroslav Křížek, CEO of CzechInvest, adding: “In the past we have succeeded in bring firms such as Foxconn and Panasonic to the region.”

“Together with the possibility to utilise aid from European funds, foreign investments are a primary source for financing the Pardubice region’s economy. Nevertheless, with regard to the fact that probably less money will be available in European funds in the upcoming programming period and state funding will be limited, the importance of foreign investments in the region will continue to grow,” emphasises Radko Martínek, governor of the Pardubice region.

The magazine, which belongs to the Financial Times media group, evaluated a total of 253 European cities and 110 regions according to criteria divided into seven categories: economic potential, business costs, human resources, quality of life, infrastructure, general conditions for doing business and strategy for supporting foreign direct investments. The cities and regions provided the necessary information for the evaluation. CzechInvest prepared the documents for evaluation of the Pardubice region’s FDI support strategy. Overall, London and Stockholm topped the ranking of the most attractive European destinations for foreign direct investments.

“Evidence that Pardubice is a region of the future consists in the rapid development of prospective sectors such as biotechnology and ICT. The region also has a strong tradition in the area of electrical engineering and electronics, which is connected with the Tesla brand and a number of other companies, which use primarily the region’s existing research and development base and skilled workforce,” explains Michal Svoboda, director of CzechInvest’s Pardubice regional office.

Industry in the Pardubice region is broadly diversified. Beside the bus manufacturers IVECO and SOR, the automotive sector has a significant share. The region also displays the highest per-capita exports of goods of all the Czech Republic’s regions. “We are currently focusing on presenting the region as a suitable location for investments with higher value added, thus investments connected with science, research and innovations,” adds Michal Svoboda.

For more information please contact the CzechInvest Press Centre

Štěpánka Filipová, spokesperson, phone: +420 296 342 538, stepanka.filipova@czechinvest.org

Contact to Ministry of Industry and Trade:

Veronika Forejtová, spokesperson , phone: +420 224 853 291, forejtova@mpo.cz, press@mpo.cz 

Contact to Pardubice region:

Miroslav Smejkal, head of Regional Devepolment and Tourism Department, mobile: +420 724 496 029, miroslav.smejkal@pardubickykraj.cz