The Italian Republic is composed of a continental part and a part made up of islands (Sicily & Sardinia), located in Southern Europe, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, whose surface area covers 310 226 sq.kms. The Italian peninsula is attached to the European continent in its northern part, sharing borders with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Italy has more than 60.6 million inhabitants, for a GDP of US$1.85 billion (source: DGT – ISTAT, 2018).
Italy is one of the world’s largest exporters of luxury goods, along with France. Italian agriculture, high-tech industry and tourism are other key sectors of the Italian export economy. The energy sector is an essential part of Italian imports. Germany and France are Italy’s largest trading partners.
France and Italy are each other’s 2nd biggest commercial partners. France is the 3rd biggest foreign investor in Italy, after Luxembourg and the Netherlands, both foreign investment platforms in Europe. The Italian market therefore ranks first in sales of French agri-food products and is one of the favourite markets for French exports of mechanical equipment and chemicals. About 1/5 of the FDI stock in Italy comes from France. For its part, Italy is the 5th biggest investor in France, with nearly 1,300 Italian subsidiaries present, employing just under 80,000 people in the country.
In order to meet the needs of its customers on the Italian market, Simon Associés has developed privileged relations with economic and legal partners locally.
