In the race for foreign investments, Wallonia attracted 67 new projects in 2009, creating 2,038 new jobs compared to the 78 projects in Flanders. These are the findings published by the annual PLI (Plant Location International) study, an IBM division specialised in investment consultancy on a global scale.

It should be noted that this study only lists the investment projects creating new jobs. Consequently, it does not take into account the purely financial investments such as fusions and acquisitions for example, which represent a field of activity in which Belgium has a history of being highly involved.

If Wallonia is able to better emerge from this competition than Flanders, it is thanks to its two main assets. Firstly: the south of the country is home to a large amount of affordable land. Secondly: investment subsidies are much more significant in Wallonia. Is this a consequence of the Marshall Plan?
“Not directly” was the response given by Roel Spee, who spoke above all of its European surroundings that enable Wallonia to be more generous than Flanders with regard to candidate investors.

The result: sensational investments were made recently. Among these investments were Hennes & Mauritz in Ghlin (450 jobs), Dow Corning in Feluy (134 jobs) and Baxter in Lessines (120 jobs). On a provincial level, the PLI-IBM study showed a significant level of progression of the number of new projects in the Hainaut region, the Liege province and in the Walloon Brabant province. Anvers and the Flemish Brabant province on the other hand recorded a severe recession.

Paul Bombaerts – L’ECHO – 27/05/2010