Chinese investment in Ireland doubled to $10m last year

Investment in Ireland by Chinese investors doubled last year to $10 million (€9m) , according to data released by global law firm Baker & McKenzie.

In a European context, that placed Ireland on a par with Poland but behind the likes of Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Portugal.

Baker & McKenzie found that Chinese investors placed a record $40 billion into Europe and North America in 2015. Some $29 billion or 73 per cent of the total was allocated to four industries: real estate and hospitality, automotive, financial and business services, and IT.

Italy top

Italy topped the list of countries in receipt of foreign direct investment from China at $7.8 billion. This was more than double the level of 2014.

France was next, attracting investment of $3.6 billion, with the UK coming in at $3.2 billion. Investment in the US amounted to $15.3 billion, up 20 per cent year on year.

The law firm’s data shows that Chinese FDI in Ireland has amounted to $142 million since 2000. Technology-related investments accounted for half of that sum, with agriculture and food at 19 per cent and financial and business services at 18 per cent.

The peak year was 2013 when it came to $57 million. This was a year when the Kang family purchased the Fota Island hotel resort in Cork for €27 million.