Fewer foreign companies settled in NL last year

Last year 305 foreign companies opened a branch in the Netherlands, about a quarter less than the 397 companies that did so in 2019. The 305 new foreign companies are expected to create about 8,600 jobs in the Netherlands in the next three years, the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), which helps foreign companies establish themselves in NL, said on Thursday.

Of the 305 new foreign companies in the Netherlands, 101 settled in the Amsterdam Area, creating 1,970 new jobs in the region. "In a year when we were hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, the fact that more than 100 companies chose the Amsterdam Area is a good result," alderman Victor Everhardt of Economic Affairs said in a statement. "What is even better is that combined with the companies that expanded in 2020, they created almost 4,500 new jobs."

According to the NFIA, the coronavirus pandemic played a major role in the fact that fewer companies established in the Netherlands last year. But the country's business climate also become less attractive for foreign companies.

"The business climate is still good," NFIA director Jeroen Nijland said. "But there was more headwind in certain areas. For example, due to changing rules on taxes and in the field of nitrogen, where it was unknown for a long time what the rules would look like. This uncertainty makes it more difficult to make a choice."

The Brexit is still bringing foreign companies to the Netherlands. "About 80 companies came to the Netherlands due to Brexit last year," Nijland said. "Together they created 1,600 jobs." In the 2019, about the same number of companies came to the Netherlands due to the Brexit, and the NFIA is currently in talks with around 500 British companies considering the Netherlands for a branch.