The Financial Times has just released its annual Foreign Direct Investment Index (fDi index) in its European Cities and Regions of the Future report, in which many places in the Netherlands rated highly.

In this study of the most promising investment locations in Europe, the surprise highest-scoring Dutch city was Eindhoven, which entered the index’s top 25 for the first time at third place, behind London and Helsinki. It is the highest position a Dutch city has ever held on this list.

Other Dutch cities in the top 25 are Amsterdam (ninth), Rotterdam (14th) and Utrecht (18th), with the last two also new entries.

In the index’s assessment of regions, the Netherlands also rates highly: the Amsterdam region comes in sixth place, then Utrecht (ninth), North Brabant (10th), West Holland (17th) and North Holland (25th).

This is not the first study to advocate investing in the Netherlands: last year the country was in the top five for both Western European countries to invest in and in the Global Innovation Index.

Investment potential in Eindhoven

Eindhoven is the heart of the high-tech "Brainport" region, which is described itself as "a top technology breeding ground for innovation and home to world-class businesses, knowledge institutes and research institutions."

The city won first place in the fDi index’s Strategy category because of this region’s qualities, which include its incubation facilities at local institutions and the innovative economic policies employed jointly by the institutions with businesses and government in Eindhoven.

"We are obviously pleased with such a top result in a particularly authoritative study," says Rob van Gijzel, Mayor of Eindhoven.

"Eindhoven has developed into a successful collaborative ecosystem in the area of high tech and design, where creativity and knowledge come together and reinforce each other. It is here that innovative solutions are devised for the challenges the world will face in the coming years."

Investing in Europe

According to the study, in 2013 Europe received just over a third of global foreign direct (FDI) investment, the largest of any world region.

Software publishing was Europe’s largest subsector, accounting for more than half of all investment in software and IT, which itself accounted for 18,2 per cent of total investment in the region.

The study concluded that although the continent has taken a battering in the last few years, there are signs of optimism, including Europe’s growth and expansion due to new member Croatia, and Ireland and Spain exiting their bailouts.

Top 10 European cities for FDI

Top 10 European regions for FDI

Sources: FDI Intelligence, Yahoo Finance