Edinburgh has been ranked as the best large European City (population of between 500,000 and 1 million) for foreign direct investment in the recently announced fDi’s European Cities and Regions of the Future 2012/13 awards.
Scotland's capital city was also given the award for the best Foreign Direct Investment Strategy in Europe.
An arm of the Financial Times, fDi ranked 253 cities and 110 regions based on a mixture of data looking at those with best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion.
fDi ranked cities and regions on seven categories: economic potential, human resources, cost effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure, business friendliness, and promotion strategy.
"This result is great news for the city," said Council Leader, Cllr Jenny Dawe, who will pick up the awards at a ceremony to be held on 7 March 2012 in Cannes.
"Edinburgh has moved straight to the top of the same league table as major cities such as Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Oslo. This is a fantastic achievement and is testament to our success in securing more than 30 new investment projects in the last 12 months including Amazon and Toshiba. Despite the global recession, Edinburgh has secured more new investment over the last three years than in the previous five."
Lucy Bird, Chief Executive, Marketing Edinburgh, said: "Edinburgh is an international city of the future offering exceptional access to talent through the strength of its colleges and universities, a global reputation for culture and creativity led by its Festivals, and a spectacular setting as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Edinburgh is undoubtedly one of the world’s best cities for investment and location and this award provides an opportunity for the city to further enhance its profile to inward investors."
Courtney Fingar, editor of fDi Magazine, commented: "At a time when headlines are full of worrisome economic news about Europe, it is important, from an FDI perspective, to first bear in mind the diversity of the region, and also to recognise that many European locations remain attractive and highly competitive for inward investment, challenges aside. fDi's rankings reveal the cities and regions that stand the best chance of capturing future investment and expansion projects by multinational companies -- something that will become even more important should Europe and the world head into recession."
Full list of Edinburgh's awards
- Winner - Large European Cities: Overall
- Winner - Large European Cities: FDI Strategy
- Top Ten - Large European Cities: Business Friendliness
- Top Ten - Large European Cities: Economic Potential
- Top Ten - Large European Cities: Human Resources
- Top Ten - Large European Cities: QOL
- Top Ten - Overall European Cities: FDI Strategy