OVERSEAS investment in Scotland fell by 23 per cent last year, according to figures released today.
But Scotland remained the most popular UK site for inward investment outside London and south-east England.
There were 53 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Scotland last year compared with 69 in 2007.
According to research by Ernst &
Young, the United States was the largest overseas investor in Scotland, with 20 FDI projects, followed by Germany, Ireland, Norway and France.
Manufacturing accounted for 29 of the projects, with 14 in finance and business services, six in energy, two in education and health and two in transport and communications.
Hywel Ball, managing partner for Ernst & Young in Scotland, said: "The economic climate is inevitably impacting levels of inward investment across the UK, but it is encouraging to see that Scotland is still able to attract projects across a wide range of industry sectors.
"It is this diversity of industry groups, combined with the skills base of the Scottish labour market, that will hopefully help speed Scotland's recovery from the current economic storm."
Wales captured 35 projects last year, up by 59 per cent, while Northern Ireland received 19 inward investments, a 27 per cent drop.
The UK as a whole remained the most popular country in Europe for inward investment, even though the number of projects dropped to 686, down by 4 per cent on the 2007 figure.
The 686 projects in the UK created 20,000 jobs, 16 per cent fewer than in 2007.
Across the continent, 3,718 FDI projects went ahead, six more than in the previous year, with 148,333 jobs created, down by 16 per cent on the figure for 2007.
Marc Lhermitte, a partner at Ernst & Young and author of the report, said: "Five years of sustained inward investment growth in Europe came to an end in 2008. But the true picture of how the global recession has hit inward investment has yet to emerge.
"Investment decisions for 2008 will have been made many months earlier.
"We expect 2009 to tell a very different story."
