International companies invested around 1.4 billion euros in Austria in the course of setting up and expanding businesses – at 3,889, twice as many consultations for red-white-red cards
Vienna (OTS) – The Austrian Business Agency (ABA) reports a new record number of consultations with more than 12,700 and thus unprecedented interest in the location agency’s services. The ABA recorded strong growth in all three business areas, INVEST in AUSTRIA, WORK in AUSTRIA and FILM in AUSTRIA. In the course of 325 company settlements and expansions, international companies invested over 1.372 billion euros in the previous year, significantly more than in 2022. The ABA’s services were particularly in demand in the area of supporting the economy in recruiting international skilled workers – with over 7,200 companies and There were discussions with specialists about this. Austria is also booming as a film location: last year, 29 film and series productions were produced by the ABA – more than ever before.
“The ABA’s balance sheet shows how important an active location policy, the promotion of the location internationally, but also tailor-made services and support for companies and specialists are. Austria offers extremely attractive conditions for companies. In addition to the federal government’s diverse initiatives, such as the reform of the red-white-red card, the introduction of the new corporate legal form FlexKap and support programs such as the climate and transformation offensive, efforts in international skilled worker recruitment also play a central role for our economy,” emphasizes Labor and Economics Minister Martin Kocher.
“The figures show, especially given the challenging geopolitical and economic situation, how attractive and sought after Austria is as a location abroad,” says René Tritscher, Managing Director of the Austrian Business Agency.
Attractive research and innovation location
The ABA INVEST department in AUSTRIA answered 1,354 inquiries from international companies last year, resulting in 496 ongoing settlement and expansion projects being managed. The 325 company settlements and expansions carried out by INVEST in AUSTRIA and the regional companies are expected to create a total of 2,419 jobs. 68 of all realized company settlements and expansions came from the ICT sector, followed by business-related services (52) and wholesale trade (41).
In 35 of the implemented projects managed by the ABA, the companies carry out research and development in Austria. “We see this as confirmation of Austria’s continuous development into a modern research and innovation location. Austria has had an attractive funding policy for many years. Our uncapped bonus of 14 percent for R&D expenses, numerous direct research funding programs, the inventive spirit here and the dynamic research scene are strong arguments for innovative companies to invest in Austria,” says Tritscher.
International life science companies are investing heavily
The life science sector shows the greatest research enthusiasm in Austria with its research institutes and clusters, which work with many pharmaceutical, medical technology and biotechnology companies and advance development in, among other things, cancer research and precision medicine. Corporations such as Novartis, Takeda, Octapharma and Fresenius Kabi and many other companies in the industry have again announced that they will invest a total of several hundred million euros in their locations in Austria.
The large number of international startups advised by the ABA (39) that chose Austria last year is also pleasing. United Micro Technology, headquartered in China, has been developing 5G modem chips for IoT in Linz since 2023. The deep tech startup Godot Inc. from Japan has opened its research and development hub in Vienna. The new legal form of the flexible corporation, or FlexCo for short, combines the elements of the GmbH and the AG, is intended to strengthen the competitiveness of the location and make Austria attractive to international startup founders.
But the promising energy and environmental technology sector also recorded 23 new projects, making it the fourth most important industry. Two examples: Over the next few years, Bosch will invest around 18 million euros in expanding the hydrogen infrastructure at the Linz site alone. The newly founded Mer Austria GmbH, a subsidiary of the Norwegian energy group Statkraft, is building a sustainable fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Austria.
With 95 projects, most companies come from Germany, followed by Italy (23) and Switzerland (22). More than ten projects each came from the Netherlands, Hungary, Ukraine and the USA. Most of the settlements and expansions were realized in Vienna (188), followed by Carinthia (25), Styria and Upper Austria (22 each).
Twice as many red-white-red card consultations
Last year, WORK in AUSTRIA carried out 3,889 consultations as part of the legally anchored service point for the red-white-red cards, more than twice as many as in the previous year. Companies, skilled workers and their family members are advised on all phases of the immigration process. In addition, due to high demand, the range of target group-specific webinars was expanded, particularly on the topics of life and work and residence rights.
“We are constantly looking for specialists with specific qualifications in the areas of ITS, C-ITS, V2X, toll systems/toll solutions, deep learning, etc.,” says Harald Hohenecker, Head of Travel & International Assignments at Kapsch TrafficCom. The technology company is active globally in the area of traffic and toll management. Hohenecker: “Obtaining a residence permit for third-country nationals who apply to us always presents a certain challenge. No two cases are the same. WORK in AUSTRIA offers an important and very good service in this regard. By successfully supporting the processing of immigration procedures, we can better cover our need for specialists with IT expertise, which helps strengthen our teams and has a positive impact on the implementation of our projects. At the same time, skilled workers from different countries enrich our corporate culture and have a positive effect on innovation and collaboration.”
The ABA’s online job exchange was also used more by both Austrian companies for job offers and by specialists for applications. “We are advertising job opportunities in Austria for skilled workers in the areas of IT, technology and life sciences in our European target markets and in 2024 we will be taking the step overseas to Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines for the first time,” says Tritscher. A pilot project was carried out in Brazil for the first time last year; Brazil is an interesting market for skilled workers, especially in the IT sector. In 2024, WORK in AUSTRIA was able to provide over 7,200 consultations on living and working in Austria.
The ABA has recorded another success with the equalitA quality seal, which is awarded for the promotion of women within the company. In 2023, 47 quality seals were awarded.
Thriving film location thanks to the FISAplus incentive model
FILM in AUSTRIA looks back on an absolute record year. 29 film and series productions were made in Austria in 2023, with investments of almost 190 million euros, more than ever before. These included productions such as “The Regime” with Kate Winslet and “Beasts like us”, the first purely Austrian streaming series for Amazon. The new FISAplus funding program for international productions in Austria has had a corresponding effect here.
About the Austrian Business Agency (ABA)
The Austrian location agency Austrian Business Agency (ABA) makes Austria, as a subsidiary of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs (BMAW), attractive to international companies, top executives and film producers. With its three business areas INVEST in AUSTRIA, WORK in AUSTRIA and FILM in AUSTRIA, the ABA advises and supports international companies, top executives and film productions free of charge on all questions relating to business, research and work location as well as Austria as a film location >> We simply make it easy.
www.aba.gv.at
Questions & Contact:
Thomas Schweinberger
Public Relations
Tel.: +43 1 588 58-462
Mobil: +43 676 898 590 462
presse@aba.gv.at
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