PARIS (Reuters) – Leading healthcare companies Pfizer (NYSE:) and AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:) announced new investments in France totaling nearly $1 billion on Sunday, ahead of the start of this year’s annual ‘Choose France’ business summit.
Pfizer said it would invest 500 million euros ($538.5 million) in France to build up its research and development work in the country, while AstraZeneca announced a $388 million investment for its Dunkirk site.
Their investment pledges came as President Emmanuel Macron prepared to kick off the annual ‘Choose France’ event on Monday, aimed at wooing major foreign companies and investors.
France announced earlier on Sunday 100 new jobs in Paris at Wall Street bank Morgan Stanley, as well as investments from other companies such as German aerospace company Lilium.
Macron wants to strengthen Paris’ role as Europe’s top business capital, although the country traditionally lags behind New York and London on a global scale.
The closely watched Z/Yen Global Financial Centers Survey, published in March, ranked New York as the world’s most important financial center, with London in second place. The survey ranked Paris 14th.
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