The number of foreign investment projects in the Netherlands rose 40% last year with most of them coming from upcoming Asian markets, says the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency in its annual report presented on Thursday.

Investment in financial terms was up 25% to €578m, says the NFIA. In total the government agency realised 155 projects which will create 3,107 new jobs.
The results were announced by junior economic affairs minister Frank Heemskerk in Rotterdam during the ABN Amro globalisation congress.
Projects from Asia account for 60% of the total compared with 40% four years ago. The number of projects from India, Korea and China grew most rapidly, followed by Singapore and Japan. The NFIA has 11 offices in Asia and the Gulf region..
The new projects mostly landed in the provinces Zuid and Noord Holland and the more rural areas of Noord-Brabant and Gelderland, the NFIA said.
Most firms were active in the IT, electronic components, medical technology and food and nutrition sectors and tended to establish marketing & sales, distribution and corporate headquarters in the Netherlands.
Heemskerk said he is convinced that globalisation has a positive effect on the Dutch economy but warned that the business community and government must work to ‘enlarge the base for an open, enterprising economy again’ which is under threat.
The Netherlands has put considerable effort into keeping its attractiveness as a base for foreign companies in the face of strong competition from Ireland and other EU countries.