London retained its position as the top European destination for FDI in 2013, according to data from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets. With 300 greenfield projects recorded in the year, London led the ranking, ahead of Paris with 115 projects, Dublin with 89 and Moscow with 85. The leading sectors for investment in London in 2013 were software and IT, and business service. The largest single capital investment in the city was made by ABP China Holding Group, a China-based developer planning to transform a 140-metre-square site at Royal Albert Docks into a business district for an estimated $1.6bn.

London did however record a 16% year-on-year decrease in the number of projects it recorded in 2013. The hardest hit sectors were business services and financial services (investment in both were down by 24%) and hotels and tourism (which was down by 66%). A decrease in investment was recorded across all of the top 10 European destinations in 2013, with Paris being the only exception. The French capital recorded a modest 4% increase in the number of projects it recorded compared to 2012.

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Bucking the overwhelming downward trend was Bucharest which was the fifth most popular destination for FDI, rising nine places from the previous year. The majority of investments in Bucharest were made by German, American and Spanish companies in sectors including textiles, business services and real estate. Among the biggest individual investors were Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecoms company, and Raiffeisen Evolution, the real estate development arm of Raiffeisen Zentralbank, one of Austria's largest banking groups. The largest single project in the city in 2013 was made by New Europe Property Investments, a commercial property company registered in Isle of Man, that plans to spend $273.8m on three retail centres in Bucharest.

The most popular sectors for investments in Europe remained largely unchanged in 2013, with software and IT services, textiles, business services, and financial services accounting for more than one-third of all new projects. In terms of job creation, software and IT services, which created an estimated 14,829 jobs in 2013, leads the way ahead of automotive components (14,743 jobs) and consumer products (9969 jobs). As in 2012, the most active investors in Europe in 2013 were from the US, Germany and the UK, with 1088, 551 and 351 projects recorded from these countries, respectively.

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