Investing with Purpose: global capital investment plan

Ministerial Foreword

As we emerge from this extraordinary global pandemic I am fully alive to the difficulties that citizens and businesses have been facing with real courage and resilience. If we have learned anything, it is that we must use difficulty to build resilience and opportunity. We can and should look to the future as we transition towards a Net Zero, values-led economy.

That concerns all of us, and will need the efforts of both public and private sectors. This global capital investment plan, the first of its kind in Scotland, is very clear that there are areas of our society that can, should and will remain funded solely by public sector investment, but it also recognises that public sector investment alone will not be enough to respond to the challenges of the 21st Century. It sets out the best opportunities for private capital investment to support that transition and how best to address historic under-investment in Scotland's businesses, and private sector real estate and infrastructure. It complements our earlier work on export and inward investment, and implements the principles in our Trade Vision.

Private capital can increase productivity through better quality infrastructure, company growth and competition impacts. It can build companies, jobs and places and is essential for the shift to a Net Zero, wellbeing-led economy. It is a complex topic, with many distinct factors for different types of investment.

This plan seeks to:

1. Increase the effective supply of capital, by better understanding and targeting different sources of funding.

2. Put forward our best "market ready" opportunities, using the strongest internationalised areas in the economy to create demand for investment.

3. Bridge the gap – taking action to increase the viability and fit of what private capital markets want to invest in and the attractiveness of our investment propositions.

In the plan we have taken care to lead with our strengths and opportunities as we compete for investment on the global stage. Through detailed data analysis we have identified sectors where Scotland is punching above its weight, in renewable technology, life sciences, digital and IT; and we have assessed where these sectors match with global demand for investment. These strengths form the basis for making companies, clusters, towns and cities more viable for global investment. We are putting the combined power of government and all its agencies behind generating projects that meet market standards, and making new market connections that meet Scotland's investment needs. We have taken on the views of industry experts. And we have identified Scotland's strengths and opportunities as a leader in the global movement towards investment which is socially and environmentally responsible.

As Minister for Trade, Innovation and Public Finance, I am grateful for the input from industry and our public sector partners to developing this strategy, and I am positive that our shared ambition will deliver results that will benefit all citizens of Scotland.