MIAMI—Irish investors have taken a liking to Miami in recent year and industry watchers expect that trend to continue. Leo Varadkar, an Irish Fine Gael politician who serves as Taoiseach, Minister for Defense and Leader of Fine Gael, at the Enterprise Ireland event in San Francisco said he expects more investment by Irish firms this year.
“The US accounts for around 70% of all inward investment into Ireland,” he said, according to The Irish Times. “There are over 550 IDA-supported US companies in Ireland, employing approximately 140,000 people.”
Indeed, the Irish, like other investors, see Florida's growth potential—and the relations have long been positive. According to the US Department of State, the United States is a major goods exporter to Ireland, ranking second only to the United Kingdom.
“Miami has always been an international city, now it's becoming an increasingly globalized one,” John McGeown, vice president of Lifesciences & Industrial Technology for IDA Ireland, tells GlobeSt.com. “IDA Ireland, the Irish Government's Economic Development Agency, has seen significantly increased outward investment flows from the Miami region in the last several years.”
(Global Investor: Miami Shaking Off 1980s 'Seedy Image'.” Russians and Chinese, among others, also continue eyeing Miami.)
US goods exports to Ireland include pharmaceutical products, electrical components and equipment, computers and peripherals, aircraft, and optical and medical instruments, the State Department Reports. And the US is Ireland's top export destination. About 23% of all Irish goods exports go to the United States.
“Investment flows in the opposite direction have been equally robust, with many Irish companies seeing Miami as a location both for their US headquarters and also as a gateway to Latin America,” McGeown says. “With direct flights between Ireland and Miami now running three times weekly we anticipate 'foreign direct investment ' in both directions to steadily increase, and maybe Miami to become a little greener and Ireland a little warmer as a result.”
Recently, the State Department reports, Ireland also has become an important research and development center for US firms in Europe. Irish firms are significant investors in the United States, especially in agri-business and building materials.
“From the aerospace and technology sectors through to pharmaceuticals and engineering solutions, Miami headquartered companies are investing in Europe at an increased pace both directly and via acquisition by placing consolidated EU headquarters operations into Ireland,” McGeown says. “Alongside global market leaders in the tech, life sciences and financial services verticals, these companies sell across the EU 28 from Ireland and beyond into the Middle East and Africa.”
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