Porto has once again been recognised by the Financial Times as the best European city of the future in the area of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction strategy, in the FDI Strategy - Large Cities category.
Porto has now been recognised among the European Cities of the Future for four consecutive years. In the 2025 edition, the city's investment attraction policy surpassed that of Antwerp (Belgium), Glasgow (Scotland), Leeds (United Kingdom), Düsseldorf (Germany) and Turin (Italy).
‘It is with a deep and sustained sense of achievement that Porto once again receives this illustrious distinction, proof of the city's ability to develop an investment promotion strategy that consistently remains one of the most successful in Europe,’ said Rui Moreira, mayor of Porto.
The mayor adds that the city ‘is proud to receive an award that proves and continues its historic status as a centre of initiative and development’.
Awarded annually by fDi Intelligence, a Financial Times publication, the distinction honours the strategy of European cities and regions, assessing the results over the last year and the policies in place to achieve them. fDi Intelligence considered Porto ‘an important hub for talent in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as an emerging centre for innovative digital business in Europe’.
Referring to the continuous ‘development of clusters in digital services and information technologies’, which contributes to attracting large multinationals, the publication stresses that ‘it is with a deep sense of accomplishment that Porto once again receives this recognised distinction’.
InvestPorto has already attracted more than two billion
fDi Intelligence adds that the economic development strategy promoted by InvestPorto, the municipal division specialising in attracting and facilitating foreign direct investment projects, has contributed to this recognition, as its support for companies has already resulted in investment of over two billion euros and the creation of nearly 28,000 local jobs.
The jury was also impressed by municipal actions to support local start-ups, such as ScaleUp Porto, and did not fail to mention the fact that the city has also attracted the opening of a World Health Organisation office, ‘with a focus on technology, robotics and entrepreneurship in health, which will help put Portugal at the forefront of technological innovation in health services’.
The ‘fDi European Cities and Regions of the Future’ awards ceremony will take place on 11 March in Cannes, France, during MIPIM, one of Europe's largest property investment fairs. The city will be present at this event together with the municipalities of Matosinhos and Vila Nova de Gaia, under the Greater Porto programme.