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The Catalan Unemployment Rate decreases by 32,500 people to reach 22.84 %

ACN

In Catalonia, the unemployment rate decreased by 32,500 people to reach 22.84%. The Spanish Labour Force Survey has recorded two consecutive semesters of decrease in the unemployment figures after new highs had been reached in early 2013. Catalonia is currently leading the country in terms of unemployment reduction: on the Spanish Scale, the latest figures indicate a drop in 72,800 people while the rate is set at 25.98%.

October 24, 2013 06:36 PM

Europe’s main fish and seafood trade fair hopes for “a very long future in Barcelona”

ACN

The most important Fish and Seafood Fair in Europe and Maghreb is taking place in Barcelona for the second time, although Brussels continues to be the fair’s main base. This year’s edition will be attended by 146 companies with the exhibition space increasing by 24%. The Director of the company organising the event, Diversity Business, stated she was “very proud of their commitment to Barcelona and was hoping they would share a very long future together”. By choosing Barcelona, a hub on the Mediterranean, the organisers are confident they can find new business opportunities, especially with the emerging countries. Even though seafood consumption has decreased in Spain, the country remains a leader in the European and world market.

October 23, 2013 08:02 PM

Ryanair insists it “fully respects” competition regulation in all European Union airports

ACN

The Irish low-cost company issued a statement in reply to the European Commission’s investigation into the marketing agreement between Ryanair and the Catalan airports of Girona-Costa Brava and Reus (near the Costa Daurada). A competitor of Ryanair at Barcelona El Prat Airport had filed a complaint in Brussels accusing the Irish airline of profiting from public grants that were violating EU competition regulations. On Wednesday, the European Commission announced the launch of an investigation, which “does not prejudge the outcome”. In its statement, Ryanair pointed out that the European Court of Justice has already issued a judgement in 2008 stating that marketing agreements with airports are not state aid.

October 18, 2013 09:51 PM

Investindustrial, which owns PortAventura theme park, joins ‘BCN World’ by building 3,000 hotel rooms

ACN

The Italian investment group has announced it will build and manage 3,000 of the 6,000 hotel rooms of the ‘BCN World’ mega resort, the competitor to Madrid’s Eurovegas that is being developed by Veremonte in Salou (Costa Daurada). The $6 billion entertainment resort will be located next to the beach and the PortAventura theme park, which is owned by Investindustrial. After a year of talks, the Italian company has finally decided to join the mega resort project, which will have casinos, hotels, convention centres, luxury shops, restaurants, golf courses and a beach club. The CEO of ‘BCN World’, Xavier Adserà, confirmed that the resort will begin building in the first half of 2014, employing 17,000 people. The hotel group Melià, shopping-mall company Value Retail and casino group Melco Crown Entertainment will build the first phase.

October 16, 2013 10:25 PM

Catalan Banc Sabadell concludes the integration of Caixa Penedès’ business and becomes Spain’s 4th largest bank

ACN

Banc Sabadell has managed to integrate the entire network of Caixa Penedès’ branches in Catalonia and Aragón, as well as all the technological and operational platforms. With this last integration, Banc Sabadell has €170 billion in assets, around 6 million clients and 12% of Spain’s banking branches. This means that the Catalan bank is now the 4th largest retail financial entity in Spain, after the Barcelona-based CaixaBank, Santander and BBVA. Banc Sabadell bought Caixa Penedès’ banking business in Catalonia and Aragón to Banco Mare Nostrum (BNM) in May. In only 5 months, Banc Sabadell has added 376 branches to its network, along with 545 million client registers and 900,000 clients. In the last year, the Catalan bank has doubled the size of its network, since it also integrated the Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo (CAM) network.

October 14, 2013 09:54 PM

Catalunya Banc and unions reach a pre-agreement to reduce the mass lay-off from 2,450 to 2,153 workers

ACN

The Barcelona-based nationalised Catalunya Banc has reached a first deal with unions on the announced mass lay-off. The deal includes voluntary redundancies instead of early retirements, and the possibility for 401 workers over 50 years old to leave the company. The agreement was reached in the early hours of Wednesday morning, after a long day of talks on Tuesday. Catalunya Banc runs the banking business of the nationalised savings bank CatalunyaCaixa, which will be sold in the coming months after a comprehensive restructuring process. Talks are still ongoing in order to close a definitive deal and the definitive agreement has now to be ratified by the bank’s Board.

October 9, 2013 09:57 PM

Barcelona-based CaixaBank sells €1 billion in 3.5 year-bonds at a 2.5%

ACN

In addition, CaixaBank declares that “it will take all the opportunities” to grow in the Spanish market. The Catalan CaixaBank, which is Spain’s main retail bank, has sold €1 billion in 3.5 year bonds, after a market demand of €2.8 billion. In fact, the large demand made the issue price drop from 180 to 170 basic points on ‘midswap’, which is the reference index for this sort of corporate bonds. The issue interest was set at 2.5% and the issue cost represents 18.5 basic points over the Spanish Treasury Debt’s price. The new issue by CaixaBank is part of the bank’s financial plan for 2013, which aims to strengthen CaixaBank’s liquidity, set to reach 64.604 billion by 30th June.

October 7, 2013 10:24 PM

German multinational GFT CEO, Ulrich Dietz: “Catalonia is one of our preferred places to invest”

ACN / Laura Pous / Albert Segura

The founder and CEO of technology company GFT announced that they will create 500 new jobs in Catalonia in the coming years. In an exclusive interview with the CNA, Ulrich Dietz, stated that he has “aggressive plans to increase the staff” in Greater Barcelona and Lleida. GFT  specialises in developing technological solutions for the banking and insurance sectors, with a turnover of €231 million in 2012. With several offices in Germany, the company is based in Stuttgart and is present in Brazil, France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, US and UK. A quarter of GFT employees throughout the world are based in Catalonia. Most of them work in Greater Barcelona, which is the company’s “hub” for the European market. Dietz explained that he has plans to develop Lleida’s facilities, which currently employ 40 people, “significantly”.

October 3, 2013 10:06 PM

Unemployment in Catalonia grew by 9,253 in September but showed a 1.83% annual drop

ACN

At Spanish level, unemployment increased both in monthly and annual terms. Catalonia is the Autonomous Community with the largest annual unemployment drop in absolute terms and the second highest in relative terms. The number of people registered as unemployed in Catalonia at the end of September dropped by 11,546 individuals compared to figures from a year ago, representing a 1.83% annual decrease. However, in monthly terms, registered unemployment increased by 1.51%, with 9,243 more jobseekers. September is a month with a traditional unemployment increase due to the end of summer season contracts. Last September’s unemployment increase was the lowest since 2008.

October 2, 2013 10:34 PM

Carnival Corporation, the world’s main cruise ship company, to invest €20 million in a new terminal in Barcelona

ACN

The Port of Barcelona will have a new terminal for Carnival cruise ships by 2016. The US company announced on Friday that it will invest €20 million to build a terminal capable of serving ‘post panamax’ cruise ships. These boats can transport 4,500 passengers in ‘turnaround’ operations, which means starting and ending the trip in Barcelona. The new facility will have an area of 10,000 square metres. It will be called Terminal E and located at Barcelona harbour’s Adossat Dock. Carnival Corporation explained that the investment aims to adapt to the sector’s future needs, which point towards larger boats. With this investment, Barcelona strengthens its position as Europe’s and the Mediterranean Sea’s main centre for cruise ships, being also the world’s fourth largest port for this industry.

September 27, 2013 10:18 PM

Barcelona El Prat Airport hosts the world’s third largest offer of low-cost airline seats

ACN

The Catalan capital’s airport is the world’s third largest centre for low-cost flights. Two thirds of the seats on offer from or to Barcelona El Prat Airport are managed by low-cost companies. All Europe’s main low-cost airlines fly to Barcelona. This confirms Barcelona’s tourist attractiveness. In addition, this type of air traffic has enabled the Catalan airport to become one of Europe’s main airports. For the first time, last August more passengers went through Barcelona El Prat than through Madrid-Barajas, which means El Prat was Spain’s main airport. This might be a key asset when low-cost airlines also operate transcontinental flights.

September 27, 2013 10:00 PM

IAG CEO: Vueling would still be based in Barcelona even if an independent Catalonia was not in the EU

ACN

Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG – the group formed by British Airways and Iberia, guaranteed that its subsidiary airline Vueling will continue having Barcelona El Prat Airport as its main base if Catalonia becomes an independent country and even if it is forced to abandon the European Union. “We will continue in Barcelona”, he emphasised on Tuesday in a meeting with press reporters from the Chinese city of Chengdu, according to an article published by Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia. Walsh was in China as British Airways was unveiling a new route linking this city with London.

September 25, 2013 08:19 PM

Catalonia maintains its Spanish tourist market leadership with record number of international visitors

ACN

Catalonia has consolidated its position as Spain’s top destination for international tourists, strengthening its leadership during the summer months but also throughout the year. 11.04 million foreigners visited Catalonia between January and August, 26.1% of all the 42.3 million international tourists who visited Spain in that period. The Balearic Islands (19.7%) and the Canary Islands (15.9%) follow Catalonia’s lead. Furthermore, all the historical records at Spanish and Catalan level were broken last August: 8.3 million tourists visited Spain during that month, and 27% of them chose Catalonia as their destination. This represents more than 2.25 million foreigners visiting Catalonia in a single month, a 12.3% increase on data from August 2012. 

September 23, 2013 10:23 PM

Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa signs a supply contract with Azerbaijan for the next 25 years

ACN

The Catalan company has signed an agreement with the Shah Deniz consortium for a 25-year period. The Azerbaijani company will supply 1bcm of natural gas per year. The agreement is conditional on the final decision on the project investment, a step planned for later this year. The development of this project will open a new supply route to Europe through the ‘Southern Corridor’, which will allow Europe to access gas reserves in the Caspian Sea area. Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa will receive the gas in facilities based in Italy, one end of the European gas pipeline passing through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, and crossing the Adriatic Sea. The Catalan company said that this supply will consolidate its presence and strengthen its gas supply business in Italy.

September 19, 2013 10:33 PM

Gas Natural Fenosa to provide liquefied natural gas to South Korean company Kogas for the next two years

ACN

Barcelona-based Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF) has signed a contract with the South Korean company Kogas to supply between 1 and 1.5 bcm for the next two years. This is the first deal that Catalan GNF has signed with Kogas, the largest gas operator in South Korea and the biggest importer of LNG in the world. Furthermore, in recent months, GNF has signed contracts with companies in both Japan and India, contributing to its increase in the Asian market, which has a high growth potential in the coming years.  International sales now represent 30% of the total portfolio of the Catalan energy company.

September 12, 2013 10:39 PM

Read the latest updates and breaking news on business and economic matters from Barcelona and Catalonia here. Keep up to date with how the Catalan economy is performing, inflation levels, employment and unemployment, major business mergers, important company announcements, and the latest on Catalonia’s biggest enterprises such as Vueling, Wallbox, Grifols, Mango, and plenty of start-ups and international firms based here too.