Last year saw the highest level of company investment in Northern Ireland, according to the annual report of the Industrial Development Board (IDB).
The investment of £638 million sterling by IDB client companies contributed to the creation of 11,500 jobs, according to the report.
Despite this, there were market pressures on many companies and the clothing and food sectors faced "particular difficulties". The main market for IDB companies was the Republic, which was valued at £527 million. This was followed by the United States, Germany, Holland and France. In the area of mobile investment, 11 new inward investment projects and 24 expansions by existing companies "maintained the success in recent years", says the report.
Growth by locally owned firms remained strong, with double the number of projects concluded.
Over 3,500 jobs were associated with these projects according to IDB chairman, Mr John McGuckian.
Overall, Northern Ireland's manufacturing companies continued to outperform those in Britain.
In manufacturing exports (sales to areas except for Britain), there was an increase of 18 per cent, to almost £3.1 billion. In comparison, the average for Britain was 14 per cent.
The strongest sector in terms of turnover was electrical and electronic engineering. Ten projects, offering over 3,000 jobs and involving the investment of £290 million by the companies, were agreed during the year. One of the worst hit sectors was textiles and clothing, where employment has fallen by 1,000 up to March. A similar pattern was present in the food, drink and tobacco sectors, where overall employment fell to 16,906 and turnover remained static.
Commenting on the whole report, Mr McGuckian noted the continued increase in the number of inward investment projects coming from the USA. "Events such as the Pittsburgh Trade and Investment Conference in October last year kept Northern Ireland in the thoughts of potential investors," he said.
The report says 1996 was the best ever year for investment from the United States. The establishment of the Seagate Technology plant at Limavaddy, Co Derry, the setting up of two plants by the Emerson Electric Group and a £3.5 million investment in a Belfast plant by Liberty Mutual were the most significant developments.
Mr McGuckian added that Northern Ireland had "tremendous growth potential", which had been "underlined recently by the acquisition of some of our locally owned companies by multinationals".
