BRITAIN and Germany topped an annual ranking of foreign investment projects in Europe while France lagged behind though its numbers were on the rise, a study showed Tuesday.

    Retaining its top position, Britain saw the number of foreign investment projects in the country rise by 15 percent last year to 799, according to Ernst and Young.

    Meanwhile, Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and industrial powerhouse, saw an increase of 12 percent to 701 foreign investments.

    France appeared to have halted some of its decline in recent years although the number of foreign investments grew more slowly than in Britain or Germany.

    With a 9 percent increase last year in investments to 514 projects, French Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg seized on the study as a sign of the government’s success in reviving French firms’ competitiveness and improving the country’s attractiveness.

    (SD-Agencies)