Italy

Lanteri & Associati, Italy – Global Accounting Alliance Member

Economic Overview & Business Opportunities

Italy is a European country with a long Mediterranean coastline with Rome as its capital. Home to the Vatican as well as landmark art and ancient ruins, Italy is a nation with the population of around 60.2 million. Other than Rome and Vatican, major cities like Florence (with Renaissance masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s “David”), Venice (the city of canals) and Milan (Italy’s fashion capital) are famous names among tourists.

The geography location of Italy represents a strategic gateway to 500 million consumers across the European Union and to 270 million in northern Africa and the Middle East. In other words, Italy is like a springboard to the big markets of European Union, Africa and the Middle East. Italian’s economy is the 3^rd-largest national economy in the Eurozone, the 8^th-largest by nominal GDP in the world, and the 12^th-largest by GDP (PPP). Italy’s is one of the founding members of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, the G7 and the G8. As of now, Italy is the eighth largest exporter in the world with $514 billion exported in 2016. The largest trading partners of Italy include Germany (12.6%), France (11.1%), United States (6.8%), Switzerland (5.7%), United Kingdom (4.7%), and Spain (4.4%).

In addition, Italy has been the 2^nd largest manufacturing economy in Europe after Germany, and one of the top world manufacturers. As such, invest in Italy means having access to leading sectors like machinery and automation, fashion, design, and food. The Federal Government of Italy has imposed a mandatory rule to discriminate the benefits and incentives granted to the foreign investors and the local investors in order to attract foreign investment in the country. Various benefits [to the foreign investors] including tax benefits, investment loans [at discounted rate of interest], state guarantee for exporters and other financial aid have been introduced to aid and attract foreign investment.

On a final note, Italy is definitely a hotspot for foreign investment due to its favourable government FDI policy and investment opportunities in various sectors. It’s always regarded as the most preferred in the European Union for Investment. If you are thinking of venturing European markets, Italy could be one of the top picks with tonnes of business opportunities.

Domenico Lanteri
Partner

Luca Lanteri
Partner