The West Midlands has played its part in a fifth consecutive year of growth for UK inward investment with the creation of 4,640 jobs in the region.
The region was second only to London, which created 8,079 jobs.
The inward investment figures for 2007/2008, published by UK Trade & Investment, reveal that 112 projects created 4,640 new jobs and safeguarded another 25,480 jobs in the West Midlands - the best in the Country.
This means a total of 30,120 jobs were created or safeguarded in the region, including 15,000 jobs which transferred ownership from US-owned Ford to Indian-owned Tata following Tata’s acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover.
Advantage West Midlands was directly involved in 45 projects - an increase of 15 per cent on 2006-7 - which saw 2,846 jobs created and 469 safeguarded respectively.
Liam Byrne MP, Minister for The West Midlands said: “These results are a ringing endorsement of the UK as an international investment destination.
“They demonstrate that our compelling mix of a business friendly environment, political and economic stability, world-class talent, and a strong research and development base, is a powerful magnet for overseas companies.”
Mick Laverty, Chief Executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: "The UK is the world's number one location for inward investment so it’s crucial that the West Midlands region has a presence on the international stage.
"The competition to attract these companies is intense - but our continued work ensures that we provide the right support and conditions to encourage overseas companies to locate here."
The region is home to around 2,300 foreign-owned enterprises employing around 250,000 people - around one in ten of the region's workforce.
Successful projects involving Advantage West Midlands in 2007/2008 included the decision by Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant, to set up a research and development facility at Ansty Park, Coventry, moving 650 jobs, and Shanghai Automotive Industry Company creating and safeguarding 350 jobs by establishing the SAIC Motor Technical Centre in Warwickshire.
Nearly half of the Agency’s inward investment projects were attributed to the Bridge to Growth campaign, a “one-stop shop” package of expert tax, legal and business advice specifically designed to attract and assist knowledge-based based innovation-led companies into the region for the first time at minimal cost and risk.
Sixteen companies from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, New Zealand and Australia took advantage of the Bridge to Growth scheme in 2007-08.
The annual inward investment results for 2007-8 showcase another highly successful year for the UK, with a record 1,573 investment projects won in what marks a fifth consecutive year of growth.
Over 120 new jobs were created each day as a result of this investment from overseas companies, bringing employment and wealth to every area of the country.
The “UK Inward Investment 2007-8” report published on 2 July shows:
* Total projects up 10 per cent from 1,431 to 1,573
* 45,051 new jobs created and a further 58,488 safeguarded, bringing the total number of associated jobs to 103,539 (up 32 per cent)
* 653 (42 per cent) of the total were new projects and 436 (28 per cent) of the total were expansions by existing investors
UK Trade & Investment is the Government's international business development organisation, supporting businesses seeking to establish in the UK and helping UK companies grow internationally.
The services offered by UK Trade & Investment bring together a network of business sector specialists and support teams in London, Glasgow, Cambridge, the nine English Regions and in British diplomatic posts in some 100 markets all around the world.