LISBON, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Portugal reached 2.1 billion euros (2.45 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2026, recovering from a negative reading of 1.6 billion euros (1.87 billion dollars) recorded in the same period last year, the Bank of Portugal reported Thursday.
The rebound follows a 35 percent drop in FDI throughout 2025, and at the end of March, the total stock of FDI in Portugal stood at 218 billion euros (255 billion dollars), while Portugal's investment stock abroad totaled 79.21 billion euros (92.67 billion dollars), the report said.
Oscar Afonso, dean of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Porto, said Portugal faces a structural paradox in its investment profile.
While the stock of foreign investment is substantial, he warned that the economy remains concentrated in low-value-added sectors such as services, extractive industries, agriculture, and real estate, while lagging in manufacturing, which drives productivity and innovation.
Afonso also cited bureaucracy, high tax burden, regulatory constraints and talent retention as factors limiting Portugal's ability to attract higher-quality investment and pay competitive wages.
