Written evidence submitted by Aberystwyth Business School - Welsh Affairs Committee, UK House of Commons

This paper is written in response to the promoting Wales for inward investment inquiry - call for evidence. It focuses on foreign direct investment from the perspective of Mid Wales. Also included are an analysis of the broader online presence of Brand Wales, of Wales as a country seeking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The paper concludes with an overview of other countries’ online presence as a location for inward investment and destination for tourism.

Mid Wales faces a number of socio-economic challenges, lagging behind UK and Welsh performance in: productivity (real and per head); a declining and aging population; a narrow economic base Tyfu Canolbarth Cymru/Growing Mid Wales (2022). Significant GVA contributors in Mid Wales are manufacturing, real estate and wholesale and retail Tyfu Canolbarth Cymru/Growing Mid Wales (2022). In employment data agriculture dominates but contributes comparatively less GVA Tyfu Canolbarth Cymru/Growing Mid Wales (2022).