Business

BBVA CEO, Angel Cano, announced on Wednesday a 3-year plan to restructure the bank's presence in Catalonia after the integration of the previously nationally-owned Catalunya Banc, which was purchased last July. The bank's 'number 2' explained they will shut down 285 branches of their network in Catalonia and lay off 1,700 employees, which is 20% of the local workforce including Catalunya Banc's staff. At the end of 2014, BBVA had 639 branches of its own in Catalonia and was working on integrating the 728 branches from the recently-purchased entity. According to the new plan, 150 branches from Catalunya Banc will be closed. According to Cano, the acquisition of the Catalan bank will start bringing positive figures to the Group’s results by 2016.  Furthermore, it is strategic, since the bank will roughly double its presence in Catalonia and will add 1.5 million clients, becoming Catalonia’s second-largest financial entity.

The number of mortgages on homes in Catalonia registered a 32.4% increase in February compared to the same figure from February 2014. This annual increase strengthens an uninterrupted trend of 10 consecutive months of annual growth. This figure is particularly important taking into account that the crash of the construction and real estate sectors, as well as the lack of bank loans, were some of the main elements of the double economic crisis that affected Catalonia and the rest of Spain between 2008 and 2014. The recovery of the mortgage market is yet another indicator of a broader recovery of the real estate market and the overall economy, although its effects on some aspects of people's lives will still need time to be noticed, such as in the reduction of the high levels of unemployment.

Foreign tourists spent a record €2.289 billion in Catalonia in the first quarter of 2015, 12.6% more than in the same period last year, according to the Tourist Expenditure Survey (EGATUR) of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. This figure surpasses the previous records set in the first quarters of 2014 and 2013, official results published on Monday reveal. This year, the average amount spent per stay in Catalonia between January and March amounted to €854 per foreign visitor, 7% more than in 2014. The average daily spend was €142 per person during this period, 8.3% more than the first quarter of 2014. Catalonia accounted for 21.3% of foreign tourist spending in Spain during the first 3 months of 2015, while total spending by foreign tourists amounted to €10.764 billion, also a new peak.

The number of unemployed people in Catalonia has risen by 1,500 people during the first quarter of 2015. The percentage has increased for a second consecutive period although the figures are better than a year ago. According to figures from the Spanish Government's Labour Force Survey, released on Thursday, 758,000 people are out of work in Catalonia and the unemployment rate has risen in quarterly terms. However the first quarter of 2015 has 82,100 less unemployed people than those in the same period in 2014, when the rate was 22.1%. Throughout the whole of Spain, the unemployment rate also increased since the previous quarter, reaching 23.78%.

The Catalan fashion retailer Mango closed 2014 with a profit of €107 million, 11.2% less than in 2013, when the multinational based in Greater Barcelona earned €120.5 million. However, sales last year increased by 9.3%, reaching some €2.02 billion, with 82% coming from foreign markets, and the remaining 18% from the Spanish market. Online sales turnover now accounts for 9.1% of the company's total sales. In 2014, Mango created 2,331 jobs worldwide, representing a 17% increase on 2013 figures, and 28% of those jobs were in Spain. The company currently has over 15,700 employees worldwide. In 2015, it plans to invest €300 million in opening new stores, renovation work on existing stores, and logistic and IT systems.

B-Travel is a Barcelona-based tourism show bringing together some 215 exhibitors from across the industry and more than 50 different destinations. The event, one of the most important of its kind in Europe, kicked off on Friday at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc venue, taking over Catalonia's International Tourism Fair after 23 years. Conceived as a new meeting point for travellers and tourism companies seeking enriched customer experiences, it aims at tailoring the tourist offering to each visitor's needs. This year, attendees can sign up to the B- Travel Internet Community upon their arrival and receive customised information on the vast array of tourism offers on display, focusing on specific types of tourism such as cultural, gastronomic, shopping, rural, and adventure sports, among others.

In Catalonia, prices rose in March by 0.7% compared to February, due to price increases registered in clothing and fuel, according to the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). However, the annual inflation rate remained negative for the 5^th consecutive month, standing at -0.3%. Despite this bad news, March's annual inflation rate was higher than February's -0.8%. The Catalan trend reflects partly that registered in Spain as a whole, where prices rose in March by 0.6%. However, the annual inflation rate remained negative, standing at -0.7%. For Madrid, it represents the 9^th consecutive month of negative inflation, although the situation in March is better than February's -1.1% annual rate.  

The 38^th edition of the Barcelona International Motor Show (SIAB) will be held between 9 and 17 May at the Montjuïc venue of the Catalan capital's trade fair. This year, the event will host at least 38 brands and others could be added in the following weeks. This is the biggest number since the economic crisis started. According to Mario Armero, ANFAC Executive Vice President, "the show coincides with a clear recovery of the sector, where 2-digit growth rates have been registered in sales, production and exports volumes". Organised by Fira de Barcelona, SIAB is the only motor show in Spain recognised by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. The coming edition will also coincide with the Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix, transforming the Catalan city into the world's motor capital for a few days.

Air Canada announced on Thursday that it will be linking Barcelona El Prat and Toronto Pearson airports all year round, expanding its activities in the winter season. The Canadian airline currently offers seasonal flights connecting the two cities on a daily basis, only available in summer. As from 1 November 2015, it will also offer 3 non-stop flights per week in each direction - on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays – served by a Boeing 767 aircraft.  The flights connecting Barcelona to Montreal will remain seasonal (only during the summer) for the time being. Santi Vila, Catalan Minister for Planning and Sustainability, has hailed Air Canada's announcement as "excellent news", which will foster the competitiveness of Barcelona El Prat Airport, increasing its intercontinental services, which will be added to a vast network of short- and medium-distance flights.    

Construction of the Viladecans The Style Outlets, the Neinver-managed outlet in Greater Barcelona, will begin in May. The official opening is planned for late 2016. The project represents an investment of €80 million on a 75,000 m² plot located in Viladecans, near Barcelona El Prat Airport. It will house 130 stores and it is expected to generate a total of 1,000 direct and indirect jobs. The first phase of construction will entail the opening of 100 stores on an area of 19,800 m². The second phase will begin in "two or three years when more than 90% of the first 100 stores are rented", said Eduardo Ceballos, Neinver's Country Manager for Spain. Once completed, the outlet will have 26,500 m² of shopping space.

At the end of March 2015, there were 571,655 people registered as unemployed in Catalonia. This is 9,469 fewer jobseekers in comparison with February 2015, representing a 1.63% drop. It is also the largest monthly decline in absolute terms since 1996. In annual terms, this was the biggest drop in the last two decades, as the number of jobseekers fell by 52,812 people (-8.46%). Moreover, registered unemployment in Catalonia declined for the 21^st consecutive month in annual terms. In Spain as a whole, at the end of March 2015 the number of people registered as unemployed stood at 4.45 million, with 60,214 fewer jobseekers than in February (which represents a 1.33% drop, the largest decline in 13 years). In annual terms, registered unemployment fell by 343,927 (-7.17 %), a positive sign considering that during the last 6 years it had grown in the month of March by an average of more than 35,000 people.

The economic crisis has forced Catalonia to begin a new era based on research, innovation and entrepreneurship and the Catalan Government is making serious efforts to make it easier for entrepreneurs to launch their projects. Cristina Pruñonosa, Director of the Business Management Office of the Government of Catalonia, explains that since 2014 “any entrepreneur can create his or her company in 48 hours and anyone can set themself up as a self-employed worker at the moment”. The representative of the biggest business organisation in Catalonia, Maria Mora, evaluates positively the achievements of the Catalan Government but remarks that there is still room for improvement. Nonetheless, Pere Codom, the Director of Entrepreneurship from the Catalan Ministry for Business and Employment does not hesitate when hailing Catalonia as a “tremendously entrepreneurship friendly country”.

The GDP of Catalonia increased by 1.5% during 2014, according to the definitive figures released by the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat) on Friday. However, on the same day, the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE) published its economic growth figures for 2014 and announced that the Catalan economy had grown by 1.4% last year, the same rate as Spain. In any case, both figures are quite positive after many years of economic crisis and slowdown. In fact, 2014 has been the best year since 2007, when the Catalan economy grew by 3.2% according to the Idescat. The final figure for 2014 is higher than the provisional 1.2% growth rate previously announced. Following European Union instructions, the calculations for last year include R&D activities, as well as prostitution and trafficking of drugs and tobacco.

The Swiss multinational will build a new factory for Nescafé in Girona, where it has already an important plant that exports its products to more than 70 countries. Nestlé will invest €102 million in the project and the new facilities should be operational by the end of 2017, explained the company's Director General for Spain, Laurent Dereux. It will become the most important plant in Europe and its third-biggest in the world in terms of soluble coffee production capacity. The new factory will be built next to the existing plant and will add 10,000 additional square metres to the compound, increasing its production capacity by 30%. It will replace the plant’s oldest production chain, which will not be dismantled as it could be useful in the medium term. The expansion will bring some 40 new jobs to the Catalan plant.

Barcelona-based Abertis' telecommunications subsidiary, Abertis Telecom Terrestre, will operate as Cellnex Telecom, S.A. from 1 April, as approved by the company's Shareholder General Assembly on Tuesday. The new name and brand are part of the preparations for a potential stock market flotation, as announced last October in the context of Abertis' 2015-2017 Strategic Plan. However, neither the Catalan group's President Salvador Alemany, nor Vice President and CEO, Francisco Reynés, have set a precise date yet for its admission to trading, which will be announced during this year's first semester. The new company's slogan will be "driving telecom connectivity".