Image: Palazzo Zevallos Stigliano, Naples
Intesa Sanpaolo has presented a new strategic plan, 'ZES 2.0', that makes €60 billion available to support the development of Italy’s Special Economic Zone. Announced on 16 July and developed with Confindustria and the Department for Southern Italy at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the initiative is framed as a nationwide effort to fund investment, infrastructure and the energy transition while strengthening the country’s production system and drawing in foreign capital.
The bank said the plan is intended to extend the advantages of the Special Economic Zone across the whole country, with a particular focus on reinforcing links between northern and southern Italy. It also places Southern Italy at the centre of industrial growth, building on recent progress linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The initiative combines new resources for business investment with support for energy upgrades and international promotion.
According to Intesa Sanpaolo, the package includes financing for infrastructure and energy improvements, roadshows in Italy and abroad to attract capital, and advisory services for extraordinary finance transactions such as equity openings, business expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and generational succession. Companies investing in the SEZ will also have access to a dedicated financing facility on preferential terms, alongside the public incentives already provided under current legislation.
The bank’s Banca dei Territori division has positioned the SEZ as a central element of its wider partnership with Confindustria. A four-year agreement signed in 2025 between the two organisations includes support for business growth, and since then eight regional events have been organised around the opportunities offered by the SEZ, involving more than 1,000 companies in Italy’s manufacturing supply chains. Intesa Sanpaolo has also carried out international missions to Dubai, Beijing, Frankfurt and New York to engage investors.
Stefano Barrese, head of Intesa Sanpaolo’s Banca dei Territori Division, said the bank believes the SEZ is a strategic driver of growth for Southern Italy and other parts of the country. In the statement, he linked the new resources to the simplified administrative procedures that have shaped the current framework and said the initiative would benefit businesses in both the South and the North.
The bank said it has financed more than €12 billion in direct and indirect investments generated by the SEZ since 2020, and more than €28 billion in total support to Southern Italian regions over the same period. The 'ZES 2.0' plan was presented in Bari at an event attended by representatives of national institutions, the business community and industry associations, including Confindustria president Emanuele Orsini. Discussions at the presentation also focused on the opportunities of the Single Special Economic Zone, including simplified procedures, tax credits and incentives for hiring young people and women.
