- Results: Italian companies have invested a lot over the last two years, thanks in part to public sector support. The aim has been to transform and strengthen their positions to make up for delays on digitalisation and the climate transition.
Entrepreneurs, bankers, economists and public and private sector partners were all in attendance at an event organised by the European Investment Bank (EIB) at the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance in Rome to present the results of the EIB Investment Report 2022-2023, with a focus on the investments of Italian businesses.
The event opened by Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti and EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti also included speeches from the President of Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome Massimiliano Fedriga, Head Economist of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) Andrea Montanino, Director of Centro Studi di Confindustria Alessandro Fontana, Deputy Director General of ABI Gianfranco Torriero, Head Economist of SACE Alessandro Terzulli and Deputy Head of the Economics and Statistics Department of the Bank of Italy Andrea Brandolini. The speakers outlined policies and best practices to support companies against a difficult and uncertain economic backdrop, taking into account the war in Ukraine, inflation and rising prices. Director General of the Treasury Riccardo Barbieri Hermitte closed the conference, highlighting the key role that investment support plays in stable and lasting growth. The EIB has been backing Italy for decades, financing the public and private sectors, innovation, infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the green and digital transitions.
Minister of the Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti said: “The results of the report confirm the importance of the EIB’s role in supporting development and cohesion policies in Italy. This joint public-private sector effort must be enhanced to overcome bureaucratic hurdles, maintain investments and face complex challenges.”
EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti highlighted the following: “Italy’s post-pandemic investment recovery has been strong, but a major structural gap remains. Business dynamism must go hand-in-hand with reforms and initiatives to foster innovation and productivity. Making full use of national recovery and resilience plan resources and structural funds is a key growth driver for the Italian economy. The EIB Group will continue to support the investment recovery and promote the mobilisation of private capital.”
President of Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome Massimiliano Fedriga added: “The EIB Investment Report is an important opportunity to highlight the contribution of Conferenza delle Regioni. Regional policies can play a role in investment and the development of the regions, especially in light of the extraordinary opportunities offered by the new EU structural funds and the national recovery and resilience plan. Public investment must also be strengthened to guarantee the development and lasting growth of regions and the country. Lastly, we hope to have the possibility of planning regional expenditure via multiannual investment plans.”
EIB Chief Economist Debora Revoltella presented the highlights of the EU bank’s report on investment in Italy, stressing that Italian companies had emerged from the COVID crisis in relatively good shape and had continued to invest strongly despite the economic shock of the war in Ukraine, benefiting in both instances from government support, including the national recovery and resilience plan.
The environment has also become more difficult due to rising interest rates. Although the EIB survey shows that the access to finance conditions of Italian businesses have improved and there is no evidence of divergence (including in terms of cost) with other European countries, increased financing costs will inevitably have an impact. Barriers to investment are often higher for Italian companies than they are for the average European business.
The other element of complexity concerns public investment, which is known to have a catalytic effect on private investment, particularly during economic downturns. Public investment has intensified over the last two years, and this push is expected to continue via national recovery and resilience plan resources.
“EU economic policy must keep its focus on coordinating actions and support for public investment, while Italian economic policy must ensure the maximum use of the funds available, improve the management of public sector interventions and direct them towards bringing down barriers to private sector investment,” said EIB Chief Economist Debora Revoltella.
Post-pandemic investment
55% of Italian businesses adopted pandemic-response measures, including with government and EU assistance. This is in line with the results of the EIB's 2021 survey, but is still below the current EU average (63%). Despite companies’ efforts, only 41% have invested in digitalisation, vs. an EU average of 53%.
Overall, 68% of Italian firms use at least one advanced digital technology — similar to the average for the whole of the European Union. However, fewer Italian companies use more than one technology than the EU average.
That said, repeated economic shocks have not prevented Italian firms from innovating. As in the previous year’s survey, almost half of Italian businesses (47%) developed or introduced new products, processes or services, even exceeding the EU average of 34% in this category.
With a focus on climate transition investment, the survey shows that the percentage of Italian firms having invested in combating climate change (36%) or planning to do so (39%) is lower than the EU average (53% and 51%, respectively).
The share of firms seeing the introduction of stricter regulations and standards as a growth opportunity has grown compared to the 2021 survey (from 24.7% to 28.4%, coming into line with the EU average), particularly among large companies (37.5%). This suggests that a propensity to reap the benefits of the climate transition can increase rapidly.
EIB Italy overview: EIB Investment Survey — Country overview: Italy (eib.org)
EIB European Union overview: Investment Report 2022/2023: Resilience and renewal in Europe — Key Findings (eib.org)
Background information
European Investment Bank (EIB)
The EIB finances projects in four priority areas: infrastructure, innovation, climate and environment, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Between 2019 and 2022, the EIB Group provided €45 billion in financing for projects in Italy.
EIB Investment Survey (EIBIS)
The EIB Group Investment Survey, which has been administered since 2016, is a unique, annual survey of some 13 500 firms. It covers firms in all European Union Member States and also includes a sample of firms in the United States. The survey collects data on firm characteristics and performance, past investment activities and future plans, sources of finance, financing issues and other challenges that businesses face. The EIBIS, which uses a stratified sampling methodology, is representative across all 27 EU Member States and the United States, as well as across four classes of firm size (micro to large) and four main economic sectors (manufacturing, construction, services and infrastructure).