1. Invest in Wallonia / Belgium
How to optimise your presence in the heart of Europe

2. WALLONIA - GENERAL INFORMATION
AREA
16,844.3 Km²
(55,2% of Belgian
territory)
GDP
€ 88 billion *
(23% of Belgian
GDP)
* in 2012
LOCATION
Neighbouring countries :
Netherlands
Germany
France
POPULATION
3,576,325 inhab.
(32,1% of Belgian
population)
INFRASTRUCTURES:
Waterways: 741km
Rail network: 1,605 km
Roads : 81,207 km
Airports: - Brussels South Charleroi Airport
- Liege Airport

3. 10 GOOD REASONS TO INVEST IN WALLONIA-BELGIUM
SENSE OF SHARING
Fiscally attractive
Numerous investment incentives
A positive business environment
ACCESSIBILITY
Proximity to Brussels, capital of EU
500 million consumers within reach
Availability of land and buildings
TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW
Highly skilled available workforce
Industrial sectors, vectors of competitiveness
QUALITY OF LIFE
Exceptional quality of life
Efficiency of local government authorities

4. ACCESSIBILITY Proximity to Brussels, capital of EU
500 million consumers within reach
Availability of land and buildings
Train station of Liège-Guillemins, designed by Santiago Calatrava

5. PROXIMITY TO BRUSSELS, CAPITAL OF EU
Capital of Belgium;
Headquarters of NATO;
6th in the list of the leading cities in which to do business;
1,300 international corporations;
2nd largest concentration of journalists in the world;
3,800 diplomats and 159 embassies;
2nd most chosen conference centre in the world

6. WALLONIA, AT THE HEART OF EUROPE
Trucking time
Inhabitants
GDP - million €
1 hour
4,700,000
66,931
2 hours
17,800,000
277,641
3 hours
42,300,000
604,860
4 hours
58,800,000
954,390

7. PARTICULARLY DENSE ROAD AND RAILWAY NETWORKS
Source : IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016

8. 2 WORLD CONNECTED AIRPORTS
"Aeropole" of 500 acres;
Specialised in passengers transport;
Second most punctual airport in the world
base for conducting tests by surrounding aeronautical industries.
1st cargo hub in Belgium
8th cargo hub in Europe
24th cargo hub Worldwide
European hub for TNT
Source :

9. 4 FLUVIAL PORTS INCLUDING THE 3RD LARGEST EUROPEAN INLAND PORT
Central position within the Escaut-Meuse-Rhine axis and canals linking the rivers
Source : Direction de la Promotion des Voies Navigables et de l’Intermodalité (DPVNI)

10. MORE THAN 265 BUSINESS PARKS54 50 8 34 21 57 23 18
7,100 companies
159,000 jobs
Number of business parks managed by the economic development intercommunal agencies

11. 15 KEY LOGISTICS ZONES Ideally located logistic zones
Connexions to the major ports and principal consumer centres.
Source : Logistics in Wallonia

12. 7 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PARKS
working closely together to promote their "know-how" in the hosting of high-tech companies.
supporting the process of innovation and the economic development of Wallonia.

13. BELGIUM OFFERS ONE OF THE LOWEST REAL ESTATE COSTS IN EUROPE
Prime office rents - Location €/sq m/year
Prime industrial rents - Location €/sq m/year
Source : Cushman & Wakefield – Selected Europe Prime Rents 2016 Q4

14. LAND PRICES INDICATION (€/SQ.M.)
Sale price (m²)
Hainaut
Brabant Wallon
Liège
Namur
Luxembourg
source : Research, August 2015

15. SENSE OF SHARING Numerous investment incentives Fiscally attractive
A positive business environment

16. INVESTMENTS INCENTIVES : UP TO 25 %
Calculated, as a percentage, on the purchase of :
building
new equipment
intangible investments (patents, licenses, technical expertise whether patented or not),
road vehicles exceeding 3.5 tons (except in the transport sector)

17. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT
SUPPORT FROM THE WALLONIA REGION
Subsidy for Basic Industrial Research : 50% (up to 70% for SME’s)
Advance loan for Applied Research : 50% (up to 70% for SME’s)
INNOVATIVE FISCAL MEASURES
Patent Income Deduction
Investment deduction for investments in R&D centres
R&D Tax Credit
Partial exemption salary withholding tax for researchers
Tax allowance for additional employee
Innovation premium
Expat status in R&D
Tax exoneration for regional grants
Accelerated depreciation of R&D intangibles
Deductible gifts

18. EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT This aid covers two aspects:
Tax benefits and grants that help to reduce wage costs :
recruitment grants,
reductions in social security costs
tax exemptions
Support measures encouraging training:
advantageous training plans or programs,
financial aid for training staff and taking on people in search of employment
SUPPORT FROM THE FOREM (regional public service for employment and training) :
Management of public systems
Recruitment Guidance
Social Guidance for Companies

19. TAX SYSTEM AND INCENTIVES
Ruling
Notional interest deduction
Unique tax features for R & D
Expat status
Dividend withholding tax exemption
VAT fiscal unity as from April 1, 2007;
bonded warehouses
new tax attractive instrument for European pension funds;
tax shelter for audio-visual sector (films, series…);
etc.,…

20. FISCALLY ATTRACTIVE FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENTS
Source : ZEW - Project for the EU Commission - FINAL REPORT 2015

21. A POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR EXPORT AND FOREIGN INVESTMENTS
15 first markets of the Wallonia export (%)
Export trends ( )
Average growth rate :
Germany (+6,0%)
Netherlands (+5,7%)
Wallonia (+5,3%)
Flanders (+5,2%)
UE15 (+5,0%)
France (+3,9%)
Source: Wallonia Export and Investment Agency

22. OVERVIEW OF TOTAL FOREIGN INVESTMENTS THAT RECEIVED REGIONAL SERVICES
1.442 projects completed
Google - Mons
(Sources: AWEX results and DGO6)

23. OVERVIEW OF TOTAL FOREIGN INVESTMENTS THAT RECEIVED REGIONAL SERVICES
€ invested
jobs created
(Sources: AWEX results and DGO6)

24. TECHNICAL KNOW-HOW Industrial sectors, vectors of competitiveness
Highly skilled available workforce
Focal XXL Amos

25. INDUSTRIAL SECTORS, VECTORS OF COMPETITIVENESS
Within the framework of the “Marshall Plan”, centers of competitiveness have been developed :
Aeronautics & Space industry
Agro-food
Engineering & Advanced materials
Life sciences
Transport & logistics
Environmental technologies

26. LIFE SCIENCES www.biowin.org Biowin’s objectives are www.biowin.org
to develop and market new therapeutic and diagnostic products in three priority fields:
cancer, inflammation and brain diseases.
to develop new biomarkers, new predictive models and new drug- delivery systems,
to identify new molecules with potential therapeutic uses.
GSK

27. TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS
Logistics in Wallonia has identified three development axes:
Promoting logistics externally, and managing the setting up of European distribution centers;
Developing and disseminating knowledge through training;
Cross-sector networking involving all the Wallonia bodies operating in the fields of transport and logistics.

28. ENGINEERING & ADVANCED MATERIAL
MecaTech cluster projects are grouped along four strategic axes:
future materials and surfaces, specifically the development of nanotechnologies;
global forming technologies;
microtechnologies and mechatronics;
intelligent (reliable) maintenance.
SONACA - Charleroi

29. AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
The strategic focus of the Wallonia air and space industry lies on three axes:
More composites: replace metallic materials with composites that are lighter, last longer and have less impact on the environment;
More intelligence: to meet market requirements more effectively;
More applications and services: provide solutions to the problems of tomorrow.
SABCA - Charleroi

30. AGRO-FOOD Three strategic directions have been defined:
to develop a culture of innovation, with products that add more value
to boost profitability by fostering integration and sustainability
to increase the production capacity and size of businesses by positioning them in growing
markets and by expanding their capacities and sales skills.
LUTOSA products

31. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES
Priority areas :
sustainable chemistry and sustainable materials (including sustainable building materials)
energy field (by bolstering the existing cluster)
waste in its widest sense (in particular CO2 capture and storage)

32. OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY
Date
OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY
LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY
PPS : Purchasing Power Standards
Source : OECD 2017

33. EDUCATION
Source : IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016

34. QUALITY OF LIFE Exceptional quality of life
Efficiency of local government authorities
Castle of la Hulpe

35. BELGIUM HAS A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE
Source : IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016

36. A QUALITY EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
9 academies
9 university centres
130 higher institutes of education
300 research centres
7 sciences parks

37. HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURES
Source : IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016

38. AN EXCEPTIONAL ART OF LIVING
Wallonia has perfected the art of living and therefore enjoys a very high quality of life:
appreciation of Wallonia history,
numerous cultural aspects,
emphasis on hospitality,
high density of fine restaurants

39. EFFICIENCY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES
The Wallonia government is committed to making Wallonia attractive to corporations and foreign investments through
the high quality of direct service available;
simplified administration procedures;
very short decision processes;
simplification of the procedure for setting up a company.
Source : IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2016

40. EFFICIENCY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES
The Wallonia Export-Investment Agency provides information, advice, contacts and solutions to foreign companies considering expanding business in Southern Belgium
Clients are treated on a confidentiality basis
Services are free of charge
Working in close connections with the Belgian Embassies

41. Wallonia Export & Investment Agency
Namur Office Park
Avenue des Dessus de Lives, 6
B-5101 Loyers (Namur) – BELGIUM
(T)
(F)