France’s economy may be ready to grow out of it’s reputation as a hermitage and into a hub of foreign investment, as executives from an international assortment flock there. This change in direction can be a positive for their markets and affiliated exchange traded funds (ETFs) such as the iShares MSCI France Index (NYSEArca: EWQ).
A report from the government’s Invest in France Agency showed the number of foreign direct investments rose 22% from 2 years ago, says Matthew Saltmarsh for The New York Times, and this has created 782 projects which led to 31,000 jobs. Control of well-known French companies would never be compromised, and any foreign investment coming in is aware of this. [France ETF On The Mend.]
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in 2009 France ranked third globally for foreign investment inflows, behind the United States and China. It slipped to fourth place in 2010, when Hong Kong pulled ahead.
The meltdown at the the Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactor has prompted many countries to state their angle on this sensitive issue. President Nicholas Sarkozy has kept his public opinion firmly in support of nuclear power, influenced by Electricite de France SA, employing about 200,000 people in France. Tara Patel for Bloomberg reports the energy source keeps power prices low and carbon emissions lower.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ambitious proposals of curbing food and fuel price volatility and slowly diminish the world’s dependence of the dollar standard has proven efficient, and the country has managed to dodge the debt problems so common with EU members. [Pessimism Hurts France ETFs.]
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
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