The summit will be held at the ICC Wales in Newport on Monday
The Welsh Government is hopeful that its International Investment Summit on Monday will result in significant investment outcomes, particularly from investors and companies currently not active in Wales.
The summit, the brainchild of First Minister Eluned Morgan, will be staged at the ICC Wales in Newport on Monday. Recently agreed investment projects in Wales, but yet to be made public, will be announced to give the event added impetus.
Of the 250 firms attending – which, as well as individual firms, also include investors such as private equity and pension funds with billions in deployable capital – 60% (150) are currently not active in the Welsh marketplace. In total, the summit will be attended by more than 1,500 delegates.
While the Welsh Government has produced a prospectus of investable projects across Wales, including the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE) in the Dulais Valley and the £450m planned Advanced Radioisotope Technology for Health Utility Reactor – a facility designed to secure the UK’s long-term supply of medical radioisotopes – officials in breakout rooms will be on hand to capture any other investment opportunities. However, opportunities seeded at the summit could take a number of years to be realised as job-creating live projects.
Many of the investable opportunities being pitched by the Welsh Government are already in the marketplace. While the GCRE, which would be the world’s first integrated testing facility for both trains and rail infrastructure, has attracted interest from the private sector, they are not willing to commit at the required level, leaving the Welsh Government, as it stands, facing having to plough more of its own funding into it.
The summit will offer an opportunity – and, while already on the marketplace, again – to attract investment in energy and data centres on the 500-hectare site, for which land deals could help close the current funding gap for the £400m project.
Also promoted will be property investment opportunities in Swansea and for next phases of the Pentre Awel scheme in Llanelli. A prime undeveloped land site on the south side of the Callaghan Square office scheme in the centre of Cardiff will also be promoted to potential investors. There is an element of irony here, as the Welsh Government acquired the land from developer MEPC well over a decade ago on the rationale that they were better placed to bring investment forward.
The site could see a mixture of new office, residential, leisure and retail space. Its attractiveness to potential developers is expected to be boosted by inclusion in a new investment zone covering Cardiff and Newport. The UK Government-backed zone is expected to secure £160m of support to attract investment over the next decade. It will be run by the Cardiff Capital Region.
However, due to spiralling construction costs, for any new office development at Callaghan Square to be viable it would require tenants agreeing to pay north of £40 per sq ft – well above the current headline rent for the city.
The proposed Cardiff Parkway new mainline train station, integrated into the planned 9000,000 sq ft, will also be showcased to delegates, although it already has an investor, in Investec.
The project, which secured planning consent earlier this year from the Welsh Government, has been appraised by engineering giant Roll-Royce as having the all the right credentials for a potential major new hub that could create thousands of high-skilled jobs.
A funding solution for the planned four platform station project in Mellons was given a boost in the Budget earlier this week with the Chancellor effectively committing funding support to ensure the station is delivered as quickly as possible.
Ms Morgan said: “In the year since I announced this summit would be happening, Wales has attracted around £4.6bn of inward investment from around the world.
“Events like this summit provide crucial focus for business and government to work together and make deals that will benefit communities the length and breadth of Wales. Wales offers a compelling investment proposition thanks to our world-class infrastructure, a skilled workforce, and a strategic location that provides access to major UK and European markets.
“We’re creating the conditions for businesses to succeed and grow, and Wales is attracting global investment like never before.”
Ms Morgan said getting firms and investors currently not active in Wales to attend the summit was a priority. “Around 60% (attendees) are currently not invested in Wales, and we have really focused on decision-makers and investors, making sure we have the right people there. Presenting Wales to them, and why it is a great place, is going to be crucial.”
On outcomes, she recognised they could take a number of years to be realised. She added: “Some will be made there, but for others, yes, it could take years to work through. Some of them will be from investment funds rather than companies themselves.” On future summit events, assuming Labour are still in power in Cardiff Bay – which, based on current polling, would seem unlikely – she said: “We need to see how this goes. The key for me is that we have put a massive Welsh flag up and that we say that we are absolutely open for business and recognising that there has been a shift in terms of the Welsh Government’s approach to business.”
There are currently 1,545 foreign-owned businesses active in Wales, employing more than 176,500 people. In 2024–25, Wales secured 65 foreign direct investment projects – a 23% increase year on year, and the second-highest growth in the UK. These projects, including investments from overseas firms already based in Wales, created 2,470 new jobs and safeguarded 1,652 more – the highest of any part of the UK.
Cabinet secretary for economy, energy and planning, Rebecca Evans, said: “From semiconductors in Newport to renewable energy projects across our coastlines, Wales is at the forefront of the industries that will define the next decade. Our role as government is to work in partnership with businesses, removing barriers and creating the right conditions for investment to flourish. The companies attending the summit will see first-hand why Wales is the smart choice – and we’re ready to turn conversations into commitments.”
As part of the sales pitch to investors at the summit will be Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas and television presenter Alex Jones.