investing in ireland - pwc22 new jobs and plans to recruit further after investing in their dublin...
TRANSCRIPT
The issue also looks at investing in regional Irish locations and how Ireland will continue to promote areas outside of Dublin to attract foreign investment (see page 5).
Please do not hesitate to contact myself, any member of our team, or your usual PwC Ireland contact at any stage. We would be happy to tell you more about the topics raised in this issue or to include any interested parties on our mailing list.
Remember to visit our FDI website for more updates and detailed information, including a range of recent publications.
Welcome to the January 2020 edition of PwC’s newsletter on foreign direct investment (‘FDI’) in Ireland.
The significant number of job and investment announcements over the last few months reflects the continued FDI growth in Ireland (see page 2).
Ireland is an attractive location for businesses seeking a competitive environment for R&D activities. This issue explains the main reasons for Ireland becoming one of the leading locations for FDI companies carrying on R&D activities and also explores innovation generally (see page 4).
Liam Diamond
+353 1 792 6579+353 86 405 [email protected]
www.pwc.ie/fdi
Investing in Ireland Issue 41, January 2020
1
Recent FDI investment announcements
Adesto Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of innovative application-specific semiconductors and embedded systems for the IoT, have announced plans to partner with the European Space Agency for the production of new innovative technologies which will see the creation of senior engineering roles in its Cork and Dublin offices
ARTeSYN, a biopharma processing manufacturer, has announced plans to expand its operations in Waterford by adding 50 new roles in Production, Engineering, Customer Service and Research & Development over the next 3 years
EJ, a provider of access solutions for municipalities, utility companies, airport & port authorities, has celebrated the opening of a new production facility on a 2-hectare site in Birr, Co. Offaly
Elavon, a provider of innovative card payment solutions, has invested in the refurbishment of its office, making Arklow, Co. Wicklow a mini Fintech hub in Ireland
Eurofins, an international life sciences company, has opened a new Global Software Engineering Centre in Leopardstown, Co. Dublin which has led to the creation of 150 high-tech jobs
Fort Wayne Metals, a manufacturer of precision medical wire, cables and composite wire components for the medical device industry, has opened a new €10m manufacturing facility in Castlebar leading to the creation of 80 new jobs over 5 years, nearly doubling their current workforce
FundRock, an alternative investment fund manager, has opened a new office in Limerick employing 30 people with plans to expand this in the future
Huawei, a leading ICT solutions company, has opened a new state-of-the-art Dublin office which will create 100 jobs over the next three years
Janssen Sciences Ireland UC, part of the Johnson & Johnson family, has announced the expansion of its manufacturing building in Co. Cork which will create 200 new jobs
Liberty Insurance, a provider of motor home and commercial insurance to the Irish market, announced plans to create over 120 new roles over the next three years by expanding its operations in Co. Cavan
Otterbox Products EMEA, a smartphone and tablet case manufacturer, announced plans to expand it’s EMEA HQ to South Mall in Cork with a new office with capacity for up to 100 employees
Overstock, an online retail shopping site, opened its new European base in the IDA business park in Sligo and plans to recruit 20 employees by the end of the year
Panasonic Avionics, a provider of customized in-flight entertainment and communications solutions to airlines worldwide, announced plans to establish a new repair shop in Dundalk
Patreon, a membership and payment platform, has established its new European Headquarters in Dublin which will create 30 new jobs over the next 2 years in Product, Engineering and general administrative roles
PublicRelay, a leading US media monitoring and analytics firm, announced plans to open an office in Cavan which is expected to create 20 new jobs
Travelport, a leading technology company serving the travel and tourism industry, has announced 22 new jobs and plans to recruit further after investing in their Dublin operations through the creation of an inside sales centre
WuXi Vaccines, a leading global open-access biologics technology platform, announced plans to build a $240m vaccine production facility in Dundalk which will see the creation of 200 new jobs for the town over 5 years
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“This expansion is a testament to the hard work and talent of our Irish employees. Their expertise and dedication have been fundamental to the growth of Fort Wayne Metals Ireland, and I have every confidence that they will be successful as they take on the challenges of manufacturing precision nitinol wire for our customers around the world.”Scott Glaze, CEO of Fort Wayne Metals
“This is a very special day for all of us in FundRock, marking a significant milestone in our global strategy. As well as inaugurating our new office, today is another step in demonstrating FundRock’s full commitment to Limerick, the mid-west region and the funds ecosystem in Ireland.
Creating our International Centre of Excellence in Limerick enables us to offer challenging and rewarding fund management opportunities to highly skilled candidates, graduate and experienced from Limerick and the entire region including those from further afield who are looking to work closer to home.”Conor O’Brien, Managing Director of FundRock
“When Huawei first opened our office in Dublin we had only four employees. 15 years later we have 180 staff and over the next three years we will create 100 new jobs. The business in Ireland has significantly grown and as we have grown, so too has Ireland. We appreciate the trust and support of our customers and individual consumers along the journey.”Mr. Guo Ping, Rotating Chairman of Huawei
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Innovation in Ireland
Innovation is a cornerstone of the Irish economy and a key factor in maintaining Ireland’s competitiveness in the global market, while also providing employment and sustainable growth in the economy. Ireland has become one of the leading Research Development and Innovation (RDI) locations in the world.
The Irish Government has supported this growth through initiatives such as Innovation 2020 which was launched in 2015 to support excellence and talent relating to RDI. One of Innovation 2020’s key pillars is investing in public research to drive innovation.
Ireland’s commitment to innovation was demonstrated in Budget 2020 which increased the R&D Tax Credit from 25% to 30% for micro and small companies. This credit is given in addition to the normal corporation tax rate of 12.5%. Its purpose is to encourage both foreign and indigenous companies to undertake new and/or additional R&D activity in Ireland. The Knowledge Development Box adds another dimension to Ireland’s best in-class tax offering. This allows companies to avail of a reduced corporation tax rate of 6.25% on profits arising from qualifying R&D activity carried out in Ireland.
The Irish workforce is both talented and highly educated in Ireland, with 55% of individuals aged 25-34 years old having participated in third level education. The Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering research, has invested in the development of high levels of skills, training and experience in the area of innovation.
The SFI also invests in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). It is vital for Ireland today to have a strong pipeline of STEM to support the growing investment in innovation. In 2019, the Government announced an investment of €3.6 million to fund projects dedicated to educating and engaging the public in STEM. They also have several initiatives which inspire female participation in STEM. The programmes aim to engage and encourage progression for females, elevate, advance and support the females in these fields.
in the world for attracting high value investment projects.
1st
in the world for labour productivity in industry.
1st
in the world for attracting and maintaining talent.
1st
12.5% Corporation Tax Rate
25% - 30% R&D Tax Credit
6.25% Knowledge Development Box Tax Rate
Excellent IP Tax Regime
4
Investing in the Regions
Regional development was a major component of IDA Ireland’s strategy between 2015 and 2019. With 58% of employment now outside of Dublin, the highest number of people ever employed by IDA clients outside of Dublin, and with more jobs added in the regions during the past four years than at any time over the past 17 years, it is clear that this regional strategy is working.
While these initial gains made in deepening and growing investment outside of Ireland’s main cities has been a success, further promotion and advancement of the regions will remain a key focus of the Government to maximise the potential of the regional areas.
Project Ireland 2040 is the government’s long term overarching strategy to make Ireland a better country for everyone and its plans will no doubt make Ireland’s regions even more attractive to foreign investment. As part of this strategy, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (‘URDF’) of €2bn has been established to support the compact growth and sustainable development of Regional urban centres to create more attractive places in which people
can live and work. A co-priority of the project is to enhance accessibility between key urban centres of population and their regions. This means ensuring that all regions and urban areas in the country have a high degree of accessibility to Dublin, as well as to each other.
Furthermore, as part of Project Ireland 2040, IDA Ireland has put in place property solutions, strategic sites and grants in all regions in order to deliver new FDI Investments and high-quality jobs. Ireland’s ability to secure significant new large-scale capital investment in all regions is partly dependent on the ready availability of serviced sites of scale with appropriate zoning and capacity for required utilities to match the needs of large capital intensive projects. This action will build on IDA’s current €150 million regional property investment programme that has delivered new advanced buildings in Athlone, Castlebar,
Sligo, Galway, Limerick, Tralee and Waterford, among other locations. The property programme will be complemented with IDA Grants programmes across the regions.
Athlone Bridge on the river Shannon
Employment levels in foreign owned companies have reached 229,057
58% of all IDA client-supported jobs are now located outside of Dublin
Since 2015, 407 investments have been won for the regions
Since 2015, almost 27,000 net jobs have been added on the ground in locations outside of Dublin
5
FDI news & events
European Financial Forum The 5th European Financial Forum will take place on 12 February 2020 in Dublin Castle. The aim of the Forum is to bring together senior executives to explore the disruptive forces that are shaping the financial sector.
Women in Finance Awards The Women in Finance Awards, Europe’s largest diversity initiative, came to Ireland on 28 November 2019. Already established in London, the Women in Finance Awards is Europe’s largest diversity initiative recognising the high-achievers, advocates, and role models for women in the sector. This event, hosted at Clontarf Castle, rewarded the exceptional achievement of women
across a range of finance sectors, from the world of venture capital and banking to accounting and corporate law.
Business and Finance Awards The Business and Finance Awards are the longest running and most coveted business awards programme in Ireland and have been recognising excellence in Irish Business for over 40 years. The awards took place at The Convention Centre Dublin, on 12 December 2019. Honourees at the 2019 awards were; the former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi and the renowned producer and educator Lord David Puttnam CBE.
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Leading the way
Ireland economic update
in the world for:• Government investment incentives1
• Attitudes towards globalization1
• Attracting and retaining talents1
• Image abroad and branding1
• Business attitudes and values1
• Flexibility and adaptability1
• City with the highest economic potential (Dublin)3
• Business friendliness (Dublin)3
• FDI and technology transfer 4
1st
in the Eurozone for:• Real GDP Growth1
• FDI Global City of the Future (Dublin)3
• Jobs created from foreign direct investment relative to population size2
• Relationship of pay to productivity 4
• Attracting talented people from abroad4
1st
in Europe for:• Overall business productivity and efficiency1
• The agility of companies1
• Paying business taxes8
• Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (‘STEM’) graduates5
• SMEs selling online, e-commerce turnover, cross-border SMEs online and open data5
• Innovators in SMEs, employment impacts, and sales impacts6
• Life sciences (Dublin)7
• High value exports4
1st
1 IMD World Competitiveness yearbook 2019
2 IBM Global Trends 2019
3 Global Cities of the Future 2018/19 – FDI Intelligence
4 The Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2019
5 The Digital Economy and Society Index (‘DESI’) Report 2018
6 European Innovation Scoreboard 2018
7 The world’s most competitive cities report 2018
8 PwC/World Bank Group ‘Paying Taxes’ Report 2019
4/5 people in Ireland believe that Ireland’s membership of the EU is a positive thing
Construction output increased by 5.9%
GDP is expected to grow to 3.5% in 2020
New dwelling completions accelerated to 23.2%
The unemployment rate is projected to decline from 5.2% in 2019 to 5.0% in 2020
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Should any of the topics covered in this newsletter be of particular interest to you, please do not hesitate to contact any member of the FDI team, or your usual PwC Ireland contact. If any of your colleagues would like to be included on our mailing list, please let us know.
Please click on our website for additional information. Various topics of interest for foreign investors can be found in the publications link in the tax section, including:
Budget 2020
Brexit
CEO Survey
Previous issue of Investing in Ireland
Tax Facts 2019
Would you like to know more?
This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.
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Contacts
Jean Delaney +353 1 792 6280 [email protected]
Liam Diamond +353 1 792 6579 [email protected]
Brian Leonard +353 1 792 6179 [email protected]
Denis Harrington +353 1 792 8629 [email protected]
Andy O’Callaghan +353 1 792 6247 [email protected]
Mary Honohan +353 1 792 8609 [email protected]
Susan Kilty +353 1 792 6740 [email protected]
Ronan MacNioclais +353 1 792 6006 [email protected]
Joe Tynan +353 1 792 6399 [email protected]
James McNally +353 1 792 6844 [email protected]
John O’Leary +353 1 792 8659 [email protected]
Feargal O’Rourke +353 1 792 6480 [email protected]
Garrett Cronin +353 1 792 8807 [email protected]
www.pwc.ie/fdi