Financial Times elects Porto as the best European city of the future in attracting investment
The Financial Times has once again awarded the city of Porto the title of best European city of the future in the category Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Strategy for Large Cities, solidifying its reputation as one of the main locations for international direct investment. This is the fourth year in a row that Porto has stood out among the “European Cities of the Future”, thus reclaiming the first position after having come second the previous year.
The distinction granted by FDI Intelligence recognizes the Porto municipality’s approach to attracting investment, highlighting it as a center of competence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as an emerging hub of digital innovations. InvestPorto, the municipal division responsible for promoting investments, has already helped to raise more than two billion euros in resources and generated around 28 thousand jobs. “In the 2025 edition, the city’s investment attraction strategy surpassed that of locations such as Antwerp (Belgium), Glasgow (Scotland), Leeds (United Kingdom), Düsseldorf (Germany) and Turin (Italy),” emphasizes the Porto City Council in a statement.
“It is with a deep and sustained sense of achievement that Porto receives, once again, this illustrious distinction, proof of the city’s ability to develop an investment promotion strategy that remains, consistently, one of the most successful in Europe”, says Rui Moreira, president of the municipality. The jury was also impressed by municipal initiatives to support startups in the region, such as ScaleUp Porto, and mentioned that the city managed to attract the installation of an office of the World Health Organization, “focused on technology, robotics, and entrepreneurship in the health sector, which will contribute to placing Portugal at the forefront of technological innovation in health services”, highlights the statement from Porto City Hall.
The awards ceremony will take place on March 11th in Cannes during MIPIM, one of the main real estate investment fairs in Europe. The Financial Times’ distinction indicates that Portugal is making positive progress in facilitating significant investments.
