German companies dominate the list of the world’s most active foreign investors in free trade zones (FTZs), holding four of the top 10 spots among companies with the most free zone foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the past five years. 

Bonn-headquartered logistics giant DHL Group was the top investor in FTZs, and was joined in the top 10 by other German household names: carmaker Volkswagen, industrial conglomerate Siemens, and chemical and pharmaceutical firm Bayer. The rest of the top 10 investors were based in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America, underlining the appeal of free zones across the globe. The sector with the most top-10 free zone investors was transportation and warehousing, with three such companies — DHL Group, Maersk and DP World — all expanding their global networks through FTZs.

Data from fDi Markets indicates that more than 2400 companies committed to investing in free zones abroad between 2019 and 2023, up from 1700 in the previous five years. Just 22 companies have announced five or more FDI projects over the past five years, while companies needed at least six projects to make it into the top 10.

In line with the proliferation of zones across the globe, which differ by specialisation, the top free zone investors have collectively set up operations in every corner of the world. Free zones in destinations countries as varied as the UAE, Turkey, Malaysia, Ghana, Indonesia, Vietnam, Morocco, India and Serbia have secured FDI projects from them. 

This analysis of the world’s largest free zone investors assesses them by FDI project numbers rather than capital expenditure to avoid skewed results from large, speculative green hydrogen projects.

#1 DHL Group

HQ country: Germany

Primary sector: Transportation & warehousing

Free zone FDI projects: 10

Free zone FDI capex: $567m

DHL Group has been the world’s most active investor in free zones by project number since 2019. The German logistics company has invested in 10 different free zones in countries including the UAE, India, Costa Rica, Qatar and Nigeria, according to fDi Markets.

DHL, which operates in 195 countries around the world, has been building warehouses to serve the needs of their multinational customers, many of which have been trying to diversify their supply chains and source from alternative production hubs outside China. In 2021, DHL Group also opened an analytics hub at Medini City in southern Malaysia, which provides solutions to clients seeking to make their supply chains more efficient.

Since 2019, the largest target market for DHL Group's free zones investments was the UAE, where it announced 4 such FDI projects. Among these was a new electric vehicle battery logistics hub in Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone.

#2 AP Møller-Maersk

HQ country: Denmark

Primary sector: Transportation & warehousing

Free zone FDI projects: 9

Free zone FDI capex: $581m

The second-most active free zone investor with nine FDI projects was Denmark’s AP Møller-Maersk. The company has opened new logistics and distribution facilities in free zones as far-flung as Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Panama. 

Maersk, which has 65 container terminals and warehouses across more than 450 sites worldwide, aims to become a globally integrated transport and logistics provider. The company’s largest free zone investment was a pledge of $174m made in early 2023 to build a logistics centre in the Lin-gang area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, China.

#3 Volkswagen 

HQ country: Germany

Primary sector: Automotive OEM

Free zone FDI projects: 8

Free zone FDI capex: $2.39bn

Automaker Volkswagen (VW) placed third with eight FDI projects announced in free zones between 2019 and 2023. These were spread across the globe in six countries, including Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Angola and Spain.

VW has invested in free zones for both its traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and newer electric vehicles (EV). In March 2023, VW opened a new ICE assembly plant at the Tema Port Free Trade Zone in Ghana’s capital Accra. VW also committed to a €1.7bn investment to build a battery component plant within Wałbrzych SEZ, Poland, as part of Ionway, its EV battery component joint venture with Belgian mining firm Umicore.  

#4 DP World

HQ country: UAE

Primary sector: Transportation & warehousing

Free zone FDI projects: 7

Free zone FDI capex: $1.49bn

The fourth-most active foreign investor in free zones was UAE-based DP World. Since 2019, the shipping and logistics company has announced seven FDI projects across free zones in the Dominican Republic, the UK, Egypt and Somaliland. DP World is also the owner of the Jebel Ali Free Zone and Port in the UAE, the Gulf country’s first free zone, which opened in 1985. 

DP World, which is ultimately owned by Dubai’s government, has committed to invest in logistics hubs and port terminals across the globe. The company’s largest free zone project was an investment of $415m to build a fourth berth at London Gateway in the Thames Freeport, UK.

#5 Amazon

HQ country: US

Primary sector: Consumer products

Free zone FDI projects: 7

Free zone FDI capex: $353m

US e-commerce and tech giant Amazon has announced seven FDI projects in free zones across the globe since 2019. All but one of these investments were made in the UAE, which is home to a total of 46 free zones. The other investment was made in India, where Amazon has office space at the Gera Commerzone, an IT SEZ in the city of Pune. 

Amazon’s cloud computing arm, AWS, opened three data centres in the UAE during 2022, including in Khalifa Industrial Zone and Industrial City of Abu Dhabi. In 2023, Amazon signed a lease agreement to open a new logistics hub in Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah.

#6 Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) 

HQ country: Taiwan  

Primary sector: Electronic components

Free zone FDI projects: 6

Free zone FDI capex: $8.42bn

Among the top 10 investors to announce at least six FDI projects in free zones since 2019, Taiwanese electronic component maker Foxconn pledged the most capital expenditure. This was due to its plans to invest as much as $8bn into a new industrial complex in Batang, Indonesia, as part of its strategy to diversify some of its production base away from China.  

All of Foxconn’s free zone FDI projects were in Asia, including China, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Most recently in 2023, Foxconn announced that it would invest $100m into an electronic component production facility at the WHA Industrial Park located in Nghe An, Vietnam.

#7 Siemens

HQ country: Germany

Primary sector: Industrial equipment

Free zone FDI projects: 6

Free zone FDI capex: $1.72bn

German engineering conglomerate Siemens has announced six free zone FDI projects since 2019. These investments were into SEZs in the UK, UAE, China and Vietnam, and were spread across its various business lines including transportation, energy and internal company financial operations. 

Siemens’s largest free zone investment was announced at the end of 2019, when it committed to invest $128m to build a new headquarters and research and development (R&D) centre at the Waigaoqiao free zone in China’s commercial capital of Shanghai. Siemens also opened a new R&D centre at its expanded facility in Goole, UK, where it produces trains for the London Underground.

#8 Toyota Motor 

HQ country: Japan

Primary sector: Automotive OEM

Free zone FDI projects: 6

Free zone FDI capex: $530m

Carmaker Toyota is the only Japanese company to make it into the top 10 free zone investors, having announced six FDI projects between 2019 and 2023. These SEZ investments are spread globally in countries such as Turkey, Cambodia, Panama and Myanmar. 

Toyota’s largest free zone project was tracked in 2019, when it announced plans to invest €140m to expand its production of components for hybrid vehicles at the Wałbrzych SEZ in Poland. Most recently, Toyota invested $1m to expand its plant at the Sakarya Organised Industrial Zone SEZ, Turkey.

#9 Bayer

HQ country: Germany

Primary sector: Chemicals

Free zone FDI projects: 6

Free zone FDI capex: $316m

Leverkusen-based pharmaceutical and chemicals company Bayer has committed to six FDI projects in free zones since 2019. These investments were at SEZs in Costa Rica, China, the UAE and Russia. They are spread across Bayer’s various business units including medical devices, pharmaceuticals and chemical products for the agriculture industry. 

Bayer’s largest free zone project was made in 2021, when it committed to invest $200m to build a plant for long-acting reversible contraceptives at the Coyol Free Zone in Costa Rica. The company also has its Middle East regional headquarters located at the Dubai Science Park, UAE.

#10 Samvardhana Motherson Group

HQ country: India

Primary sector: Automotive components

Free zone FDI projects: 6

Free zone FDI capex: $245m 

Multinational automotive component maker Samvardhana Motherson group was the only Indian company to make it into the top 10 free zone investors. Since 2019, it has announced six FDI projects into SEZs in countries across continents, namely Lithuania, Serbia, Morocco and the UAE. 

In 2022, Motherson’s wiring and electronics subsidiary PKC Group committed to expand its operations at the Klaipėda SEZ in Lithuania, employing 100 additional workers. That same year Motherson also expanded its facility at the Tanger Automotive City in northern Morocco.

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This article first appeared in the October/November 2024 print edition of fDi Intelligence