Behind every major investment decision lies a question that rarely makes the headlines: does the location have the infrastructure to make the project happen?
It is a question that is becoming more urgent as geopolitical tensions, changing supply chains, technological advances and industrial policies reshape global foreign direct investment (FDI). These forces are changing demand for land, infrastructure and real estate, and challenging established assumptions about what makes a location competitive.
According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2026, FDI rose by 6% to $1.6 trillion in 2025, reversing two years of decline. Yet the recovery was highly uneven. The world's 20 largest recipient economies captured more than 80% of global FDI, while investment became increasingly concentrated in strategic industries.
Sectors including artificial intelligence infrastructure, semiconductors, critical minerals and energy-transition technologies accounted for 44% of announced greenfield investment by value in 2025, compared with just 16% five years earlier. Meanwhile, investment in more traditional manufacturing activities has weakened.
As capital becomes more selective, can new locations break into the global investment landscape, or will established destinations consolidate their advantages?
A changing map of opportunity
The reconfiguration of global supply chains is creating opportunities for countries and regions that previously struggled to compete with established manufacturing centres. Companies are reassessing production networks through the lenses of resilience, market access, energy security and geopolitical exposure.
This does not necessarily mean wholesale reshoring or a retreat from globalisation. Rather, companies are diversifying their footprints, developing regional production networks and seeking locations offering cost competitiveness, reliability and access to markets.
For parts of Central and Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans and neighbouring regions, these shifts could create opportunities in advanced manufacturing, logistics and industrial services. But the same forces are opening doors elsewhere, from Morocco's expanding automotive ecosystem to Southeast Asia's electronics and technology clusters.
Investment readiness more than investment attractiveness
This has significant implications for real estate.
A company considering a manufacturing facility, data centre or research campus is not just looking for an attractive investment climate. It needs suitable land, reliable energy, transport connections, skilled workers and a realistic development timetable.
The availability of serviced industrial sites, modern logistics facilities and specialist infrastructure can determine whether a location makes an investor's shortlist.
The expansion of AI-related investment illustrates this clearly. Data centres have become a major driver of global greenfield investment, but location decisions depend heavily on electricity availability, grid connections, planning frameworks and digital infrastructure. An otherwise attractive destination can quickly lose its competitive edge if the physical infrastructure cannot support the investment.
Similar considerations apply to advanced manufacturing and life sciences, where surrounding networks of suppliers, research institutions and specialist facilities can be as important as the individual site.
The importance of partnerships
Perhaps the most important lesson is that investment competitiveness cannot be delivered by any one institution acting alone.
Investment promotion agencies can identify and engage prospective investors, but rarely control the land, infrastructure or financing required to turn investment interest into functioning projects.
Developers may have sites and ambitious plans, but need access to international companies and an understanding of their requirements. Governments and municipalities control critical aspects of planning and infrastructure provision, while development finance institutions and other capital providers can help address financing gaps and reduce risks.
Free zones and industrial parks can play a particularly valuable role in bringing these elements together, providing not merely physical space but integrated platforms for investment and business development.
The challenge is to move beyond parallel activities towards genuine coordination between investment promotion, spatial planning, infrastructure development and financing.
This will be a central theme of a panel at the CEE Property Forum & Awards Gala in Viena on 24 November, entitled Competing for Capital: The New Geography of FDI and Real Estate. Bringing together perspectives from investment promotion, real estate and development institutions, we will explore how changing global investment patterns are creating opportunities across Europe and beyond — and what it takes to convert them into projects.
Ultimately, attracting capital is only the beginning. The more meaningful measure of a location's competitiveness is its ability to translate investor interest into productive activity, successful developments and lasting economic value.
