SDI annual results reveal significant economic boost

Scottish Development International’s promotion of Scotland as a place to do business has directly helped to generate more than £500m of planned inward investment while creating and safeguarding over 5500 planned jobs, the organisation announced today (5^th September).

SDI is a joint venture between Scottish Enterprise (SE), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and the Scottish Government and is responsible for attracting foreign investment into Scotland, as well as helping Scottish businesses do business overseas.

The organisation, which plays a key part in supporting SE's overall efforts to increase Scotland’s competitiveness in the global economy, announced the following key results from the last financial year:

• 2100 planned high value jobs were created or safeguarded by inward investors for the period 2009/10

• More than 5500 planned jobs in total were created or safeguarded

• SDI has helped more than 900 Scottish companies to internationalise, 100 more than last year, highlighting that companies are aware of the importance of exploring new overseas markets during an economic downturn.

• Scottish companies will generate a projected £220m in sales from attendance at exhibitions facilitated by SDI during 2009/10

• Over 1000 Scottish company delegates attended SDI market awareness events in Scotland

The publication of the SDI results follows the publication of an independent evaluation report in May which shows that SDI contributes £325m annually to the Scottish economy through its inward investment and internationalisation activities.

Findings from the evaluation suggest that for every £1 spent by SDI on attracting inward investment to Scotland, a further £11 is generated for the Scottish economy, while internationalisation activity generates an additional £7 for every £1 invested by SDI.

Commenting, Anne MacColl, interim chief executive of Scottish Development International, said:

“As a nation, Scotland has always punched above its weight in attracting inward investment, although winning this type of investment has become more challenging as global markets suffered during the recession.

“Despite this, we have hit our targets and are encouraged by the range of new investment projects we’ve helped to secure during the last year, such as those by Skykon, Glaxo SmithKline, Ryanair, Tesco Personal Finance and Stena. This type of investment has secured over 5500 planned jobs for Scotland, and shows that Scotland remains attractive to investors across a wide range of sectors.

“We are also continuing to make a real impact in helping Scottish companies to access new international markets. In the last year over 400 Scottish companies took part in outward missions such as exhibitions, trade missions and learning journeys – this is a huge achievement given the tough economic climate in which they were operating. 

“We know that SDI has a significant impact on the companies it supports and on the wider Scottish economy. These results reflect the level of dedication of SDI teams in Scotland and overseas, and the demonstrable value that  they bring in securing indigenous and foreign company investment  in Scotland, as well as encouraging Scottish companies to be more globally ambitious.

“We are continuing to sell Scotland as a great place to work, live and invest.”

Enterprise Minister Jim Mather added: “These results confirm the significance of SDI’s work in promoting Scotland on an international stage and bringing new investment and jobs to our nation.

“Securing continued inward investment at a time of global economic uncertainty is a commendable achievement, and the challenge now with a fragile recovery underway is to sustain this level of performance and steer Scotland towards long-term economic success.”

ENDS

1.      To hear from some businesses that have received been supported by SDI and find out about their experiences of investing in Scotland, click here.
2.      High Value Jobs are defined as those in Research Design & Development and/or earning in excess of £31k a year
3.      To read about the findings of the recent SDI evaluation, click here.
4.      Inward investment figure (£500m) and projected sales figure (£220m) both reflect longer term plans.