Business

Ryanair begins operating 197 flights per week in 23 destinations from Barcelona-El Prat from today on. The company is decreasing its flights from the Girona and Reus airports but, in global terms, the number of Ryanair flights to and from Catalonia is rising from 326 to 412 flights per week.

Catalan President José Montilla visited the Chinese car manufacturer Chery to convince the board to set up its Western European factory in Catalonia. The factory would produce 300,000 cars per year and bring 10,000 new jobs to Catalonia. A task force has been set up, although a final agreement has not been reached.

Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Barcelona Mayor Jordi Hereu visited the Barcelona Pavilion of the Shanghai World Expo this morning. The Pavilion presents two projects this year regarding the transformation of Cituat Vella and the 22@ industrial project.

The Catalan Minister for Innovation, Universities and Businesses, Josep Huguet, has called out to tourist agencies, asking them to develop more creative touristic offers. His plea comes at a time when the tourist industry is rising. The month of August shows a 90% occupancy of the hotels along the Catalan coast.

The number of pensions has grown in Catalonia by 1.7% in comparison with August of last year. The pension statistics were published this Tuesday by the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Immigration.

The Catalan clothing company Mango collaborates with United States’ department store JCPenney. Mango has opened in their malls 77 new shops throughout the U.S. In addition, the Catalan company plans to have 300 stores opened by next April and 600 by Fall 2011.

The Aragonese airline company Pyrenair will begin offering flights from the Lleida-Alguaire airport starting in January to destinations such as Vigo, Madrid, and Lisbon. Pyrenair will also operate from the Osca-Pirineus Airport.

Lleida has become a clear example of how a high-speed train can change a city. The economic impact after the high-speed train arrival of the conference and meeting sectors has doubled from 8 to 17 million euros.

The Catalan Minister for Public Works is confident about the construction along the Mediterranean shore of the passenger and freight high-speed railway connection, which will connect Catalonia and southern Spain with Europe

In Catalonia, there has been an annual growth in exports of 19.12% while the commercial deficit also rose by 39.22%.

The country registers its highest inflation since 2008 and the highest monthly-rise of prices in all Spain, according to the data published by the Institute of Statistics

As a result of the economic crisis, 56% of young people in Catalonia can be considered Neet

In June, up to 1,264 new businesses were started in Catalonia, according to official figures published by the Spanish Institute of Statistics

With a 15.5% stake in the Catalan infrastructure group Abertis, the private equity group CVC will become the company?s second largest shareholder

In July, more than 1.1 million passengers travelled with the low-cost airline, which represents a significant increase since the company merged with Clickair