Real I.S. Research: Europe’s port cities offer highly attractive logistics investment opportunities

The ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Antwerp and Valencia, together with the inland ports of Duisburg and Nuremberg, offer investors highly attractive logistics investment opportunities as a result of the planned expansion of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), according to a Real I.S. AG study.

Between 2007 and 2017, container volumes at the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp grew by more than a quarter. “Given this rapid growth, the importance of the role played by supra-regional logistics distribution centers close to these ports, so-called gateway logistics hubs, is increasing significantly,” said Marco Kramer, head of research at Real I.S. AG.

The BRI has two overriding objectives: to revive historic trade routes between Europe and Asia and to open up new routes in order to accelerate economic growth across the Asia Pacific area. The BRI is backed by investment of $900 billion from the Chinese government and state-owned Chinese companies.

The Chine