For the past 8 years, the Paris Region Economic Development Agency has held the PREDA International Companies Forum in November. The objective is to welcome newly-arrived companies settling in the Paris Region and to give them a lasting foundation in the area, especially through facilitating their initial contact with the major worldwide groups working in the region.
The Forum will be held on Tuesday, November 16th, 2010 in the meeting facilities at Pavillon Gabriel in Paris’ 8th arrondissement.

Newly merged agencies, SPA and Future Thinking, have expanded into Europe with the appointment of Adeline Baret to head the newly opened French office, based in Paris.

As part of the final round-up from this year’s Open World Forum, the 'Demo Cup' announces the results of its annual open innovation awards, dedicated to Open Source startups. The 2010 Open Innovation Awards were organized as part of the Open World Forum by Systematic, with the support of the Paris Region Economic Development Agency.

As the 3rd edition of the Open World Forum was closing in Paris last week, highlighting the vitality of the Open Source sector, the global freeware scene showed once again the preeminent position France has been enjoying in the sector for several years.

The third Open World Forum will gather together decision-makers from the open digital world, in Paris. 1,500 participants from 40 countries will come together to analyze the technological, economic and social impact of Open Source, the invisible engine behind the digital revolution. The aim: to interpret future trends and cross-fertilize initiatives.

Launched on June 1st, 2010, the Paris Region Economic Development Agency’s (PREDA) Twitter account - http://twitter.com/ParisRegion - features, in English, the economic news of the Paris Region and all of the attractive topics concerning France’s foremost region in terms of foreign investment.

The new Supervisory Board of the Paris Region Economic Development Agency met and named as its new Chairman Robert Lion, elected Regional Councillor in March 2010 on a Europe Ecologie ticket. He takes the place of Jean-Paul Huchon, Chairman of the Paris Region Regional Council, who had held the position ever since the Agency was founded.

While cash flow from foreign direct investment activities declined globally in 2009, foreign investment in Paris Region was relatively unaffected by the crisis. Although the number of newly established businesses (startups, expansions and takeovers) fell by 8% in 2009, the number of jobs created as a result of new businesses remained stable: 8,286 in 2009 versus 8,300 in 2008.

A new type of real estate is starting to emerge in Paris Region – Europe’s largest commercial real estate offer – designed to meet environmental quality standards. But what does “environmental quality” mean? The answer can be found in a study on “Sustainable Real Estate in Paris Region” by the Paris Region Economic Development Agency (PREDA) and global commercial real estate consultants DTZ. This is the second such study and it includes contributions from the Regional Agency for the Environment and New Energies (ARENE) and French certification body Certivéa.

The Paris Region biotech sector is hugely diverse, bringing together leading pharma companies, manufacturers of medical devices, biotech firms, service providers, hospitals, research organizations and universities. This variety and complementarity is what makes the sector so dynamic. Medical technologies alone account for 914 businesses employing 13,400 people, making Paris Region one of the biggest employers in this sector. BIO represents a tremendous business opportunity for Paris Region players, enabling them to showcase their expertise to an informed international audience.

With 50 million sq.m of office space, 30 million sq.m of business premises and 29 million sq.m of warehouse facilities, Paris Region boasts the largest stock of commercial real estate in Europe. In 2009, the diversity and complementarity of Paris Region’s business hubs helped to boost the Paris commercial real estate market in an increasingly challenging economic and financial environment.