foreign

Catalonia’s industrial sector decreased by 1.1% in 2012 due to the economic crisis. Catalan companies exported products for €58.28 billion, the highest figure ever. This represented 5.7% more than in 2011 and 15.4% more than in 2008. Exports from Catalonia represented 26.2% of Spain’s total exports in 2012. Furthermore, foreign investment in industrial projects in Catalonia increased by 6.2% last year compared to 2011. Therefore, the highest volume of exports ever and an increase in foreign investment in industrial projects meant that the Catalan industrial sector decreased at a slower pace (-1.1%) than the Spanish average (-2.9%). The lack of access to bank credit is the main obstacle for corporate investments, stated the Catalan Government. The other great obstacle is the poor internal demand.

The Catalan capital will host the certification and inspection lab that the China Certification & Inspection Group (CCIC) will base in Europe to analyse and validate the products that the Asian giant imports. The Chinese company will initially invest €2 million in its Barcelona centre, which will be built in the Zona Franca industrial and business district, located next to the city’s port and airport. The CCIC carries out the inspection, verification and certification of foreign products entering the Chinese market. The news was confirmed on Tuesday by the CCIC’s President, Zhan Li Qiang, in a meeting in Beijing with a business delegation from the Barcelona City Council. A year ago, the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, met the CCIC in Hong Kong.

The company working on creating mobile applications and payment systems will arrive in the Catalan capital in July. It will start by creating 75 direct jobs but its plans are to gradually increase staff figures. Transax will operate from Barcelona to Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The Catalan Government’s Invest in Catalonia programme has facilitated the Canadian company’s arrival. Furthermore, the Catalan Business Minister emphasised that Catalonia was the European region that received the greatest direct foreign investment in 2012, according to a report by the Financial Times.

David Gardner argues in an interview with the CNA that politicians must find “political and legal ways for citizens to be able to express their will democratically”. The Financial Times International expert says that both Catalonia and Spain should agree to have a referendum and warns that “no one” can simply ban it. This journalist thinks it’s unlikely for Catalonia to become an independent country anytime soon but admits that most of the problems come from Madrid avoiding any kind of negotiation. “But they either negotiate or Spain will face a constitutional crisis”, he warns.

In addition, in 2012, the Catalan capital was the world’s 5th best ranked city in the area of life quality and urban prosperity, after Tokyo, Stockholm, Paris and Oslo. Barcelona was also among the international centres regarding tourist figures, being the 4th European city which receives the highest number of foreign tourists. It is also the second best city in Europe for shopping and it is among the best in Europe for doing business, after gaining competitiveness by reducing life costs. Barcelona is the 13th world city in global competitiveness, the 12th in the number of foreign investment projects and the 10th in scientific production. Furthermore, it is the only European city with 2 business schools ranked among the continent’s top ten (IESE and ESADE).

Catalonia’s GDP decreased by 0.3% between January and March 2013, while the Spanish economy dropped by 0.7% in the same period. The Catalan figure represents a more gentle drop compared to the last quarter of 2012, when the Catalan economy plummeted by 0.7%. However, looking at the annual figures, results from March 2013 represent a 1.9% drop compared to March 2012. Exports and tourism are the main economic engines. However, the improvement is also due to the fact that domestic consumption continued to post negative figures but they were still better than in the previous months. The data are early estimations calculated by the Catalan Statistics Institute (Ideascat) and the Catalan Economy Ministry, released on Friday.

47 foreign investment industrial projects, bringing in €331.88 million, landed in Catalonia last year through ‘Invest in Catalonia’, a programme from the Catalan Government. This represents 37% more investments than in 2011. The projects created 2,324 new jobs and they also allowed companies to keep 2,566 positions. Besides, the Spanish Ministry for the Economy stated that foreign investment in Spain dropped by 43% in total and by 14% in Catalonia. The Catalan Business Minister, Felip Puig, explained that the Spanish Ministry data includes financial investments. However, Puig emphasised that the Spanish Ministry’s report also states that industrial and manufacturing investments in Catalonia increased by 6.2% and 11% respectively.

The announcement coincides with the kick off of Catalonia’s International Tourism Fair (SITC), which takes place in Barcelona from the 19th to the 21st of April. The news was announced by Taleb Rifai, the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig. The United Nations tourism congress takes place every two years. Furthermore Rifai praised the SITC’s international projection, since this year it has replicated the number of participating countries and has the United Nations’ support.

The number of tourists in Barcelona hotels grew by 0.7% in 2012 compared to the previous year. In total, Barcelona hosted 7.44 million tourists in the city’s hotels. A study by the Barcelona Tourism board revealed that the significant increase in foreign tourists compensated for the 6.8% drop in Spanish visitors. The number of tourists from Russia and Eastern Europe increased by 32%, those from the United Kingdom grew by 12%, those from the United States grew by 4.7% and those from Germany increased by 4.3%. Spanish visitors continue to be the largest group of guests to Barcelona hotels, with 1.62 million people.

The Pyrenees of Lleida are one of the main areas in Catalonia for adventure sports and the season officially kicks off this week, once the snow sports are about to end their season. Now begins the time for rafting, canyoning, horse-riding excursions, paragliding, mountain bike rides and hiking, which are among the most popular sports. In the last year, the number of companies working within these activities in the Province of Lleida has increased by 20%, reaching more than 200 enterprises. The sector has set the objective of reaching 625,000 services in 2013, similar to that of the last few years. However, they are concerned that the economic crisis and the VAT increase imposed by the Spanish Government might reduce the number of clients.

Booking.com is a Dutch hotel and accommodation booking company. Leader in its sector, it has decided to open in Barcelona one of its 5 customer support centres worldwide. In the context of the current economic crisis, the arrival of the company in the Catalan capital is positive because Booking.com has announced that the opening will create 250 jobs. Catalan Business Minister Felip Puig emphasised that the decision of the Dutch company proves that “Barcelona and Catalonia are attracting poles”.

Investindustrial, PortAventura’s only shareholder since last November, will invest €75 million in enlarging the park’s facilities within the next five years. The amusement park, located in the Costa Daurada in Southern Catalonia, near Salou and Tarragona, has already been enlarged over the last few years adding the water park Caribe Aquatic next to the beach and several adjacent hotel resorts. Furthermore, the Italian group will change the park’s brand to: ‘PortAventura: European Destination Resort’. Investindustrial aim to reach 5 million visitors per year, half of which will come from abroad. As a start, the Italian group is investing €10 million in new projects for this new season, which will kick off on the 22nd of March.

After having reached an agreement on the measures to increase competitiveness with the trade unions last week, the Japanese multinational car manufacturer finally confirmed on Monday that its Barcelona plant will be building Nissan’s new saloon car model as of July 2014. The decision will bring in a direct investment of €130 million, creating 1,000 direct positions in the Nissan factory and 3,000 indirect jobs in the Catalan automobile parts supply industry. After seven months of talks, including a critical period when Barcelona seemed to be out of the race, the Nissan managers and trade unions finally reached an agreement early last week, based on a 20% salary reduction for new workers and guaranteeing the oldest jobs. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, emphasised that Nissan’s announcement confirms that Catalonia is “an attractive and reliable country”.

The Catalan Government criticised the Spanish Executive’s obstacles to Catalonia’s own external relations action, as “in a globalised world” this “is not a caprice”, but essential to be recognised at an international level and to attract foreign investment. The Catalan Minister for the Presidency, in charge of External Relations, Francesc Homs, criticised the Spanish Government’s “old-fashioned” way of understanding diplomacy and gave the example of spending in 2012 “€330,000 on cutlery and table cloths”. Homs emphasised the main commercial focus of Catalonia’s external offices and their “modesty”. The Catalan Government has a total of 5 political representation offices – including for the European Union – and 34 commercial offices.

Out of the 57.7 million foreign tourists who visited Spain last year, 25% of them went to Catalonia, which was the most visited destination. 14,447,814 foreign visitors travelled to Catalonia in 2012, a 9.9% increase compared to the 2011 figures. This figure is particularly relevant compared to the Spanish average: the total number of foreigners visiting Spain only increased by 2.7% last year. The largest market sending tourists to Catalonia continues to be France. Regarding the data for December, the number of foreign tourists visiting Catalonia only that month was 622,258 people, a 7% increase compared to data from December 2011.