Business

This May, Catalan exports increased by 4.5% on the same period in 2014, reaching €5,301.7 million and setting a new record as the best May since 2000 (when comparable data started to be collected), according to figures published on Thursday by the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness. Imports also rose, by 2.7% to €6,331.2 million. The chemical industry accounted for €1,433.9 million, increasing by 7.1%, followed by the car industry, represented €882.5 million and a 6% growth. In contrast, exports in capital goods fell by 7.1% (€892.8 million). In the whole of Spain, exports increased by 1.9%, totalling €21,025 million and breaking a new record for a month of May since the beginning of the historical series in 1971.

Cacaolat – a popular chocolate milkshake produced in Catalonia since 1933 – continues to expand its international presence and has now arrived in Portugal as well. Invented in 1931 by Catalan entrepreneur Joan Viader Roger (already the owner of milk factory Letona), two years later it went on the market, becoming the first industrially manufactured cacao smoothie in the world, the company claims. Notwithstanding that its production was paralysed between 1936 and 1950, it went on to become a very popular product in Catalonia, also thanks to a smart communication strategy. Since 2012, it has belonged to the brewery Damm and soft drink producer Cobega, two of the leading beverage companies that founded the Grupo Cacaolat S.L, and the brand is now going through another sweet moment, after a few years of rough times.

Prices increased by three-tenths during June and left an annual inflation of 0.3%, the highest in Catalonia in the last year, particularly since June 2014, according to data published Tuesday by the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE). This data marks the second consecutive month with positive inflation in Catalonia after six consecutive months of recording negative rates. Spain as a whole also entered this June with positive inflation (+0.1%) after 11 months straight of deflation. June 2015 is the first month since June 2014 with positive annual inflation in both Catalonia and Spain as a whole, signifying economic recovery. Prices for electricity – which increased this June after falling last year – and the upward trend in prices of fresh fruit have decisively solidified recent inflation.

Barcelona will continue to host each year the world's main event of the mobile phone-related industries until at least 2023, it has been confirmed by the company organising the Mobile World Congress, GSMA, on Tuesday through a press release. “We are very pleased to confirm that Barcelona will continue to serve as the Mobile World Capital and home of the Mobile World Congress for the next eight years”, stated the CEO of GSMA, John Hoffman. The Catalan capital has been uninterruptedly hosting this annual event since 2006 and has been declared the Mobile World Capital, as the project goes beyond the congress and involves the development of a business environment focused on this type of industry at international level. The current contract was due to end in 2018 and a few months ago Barcelona officially told GSMA it was willing to continue hosting the event until 2023.

New passenger data from Girona-Costa Brava Airport indicates another negative differential. During the month of June 215,985 passengers came through the terminal located some 100 kilometres north of Barcelona, a 17.5% decrease from the same period in 2015. This is the lowest such number since 2003, which was before Ryanair started to operate from Girona. Traffic at the airport is currently at a level half of those from 2008, 2009 or 2010 when, in months like June, the amount of passengers surpassed half a million. This June has only been another piece in a long string of woes for Girona, as traffic has plummeted year after year from its peak in 2008 (5.5 million passengers total).The only positive note is the merchandise passing through. During the past month, 17,515 tons of goods were transported through Girona Airport, a figure 142.3% better than the year before.

LATAM Airlines Group will operate from El Prat Airport starting in October with a new route running between Barcelona and Sao Paulo through the TAM airline. Three weekly direct flights will be offered, in hopes of reaching 60,000 passengers a year. According to LATAM Airlines CEO, Rodrigo Contreras, the company chose Barcelona because they consider it "a strategic market in Europe," both for the growth of Catalan tourism in Brazil as well as for the Catalan capital as a tourist destination. In this sense, Contreras said Barcelona is the top Spanish destination chosen by Brazilian travellers and the fifth most popular in Europe for business trips and events. The addition of this flight is a continuation of an upward trend for El Prat, which recorded a 4.8% increase in passengers from January through June compared to the same period in 2014, including a 2.7% rise for the month of June.

According to 'Memòria Econòmica 2014' (an annual analysis promoted by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce), last year the Catalan economy registered its best performance since the start of the economic crisis. In particular, for the first time since 2007, positive net results in terms of employment were recorded. However, current GDP is still 6% below 2007 levels and will remain so until 2016. In addition, if growth continues at the current rate, employment will only reach 2007 levels in seven years, which means in 2021. According to the report's estimates, at the end of 2015, Catalonia will record a 3% GDP growth.

The month of July started with the strengthening of Catalonia's business and economic relations with China. On Wednesday, China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) - the second largest bank in the world by market capitalisation (207.9 billion U.S. dollars) - opened its first Spanish branch in the Catalan capital with an official ceremony at the Palace of Pedralbes. The same day, the Catalan Government signed an agreement with the Chinese Province of Fujian, aimed at expanding export opportunities for Catalan agricultural products and promoting the exchange of market and legal information between the two partners.

Catalonia was last month again the Spanish Autonomous Community with the most intense monthly and annual decline in registered unemployment, official data released on Thursday show. According to the Spanish Ministry of Employment and Social Security, by the end of June 2015 there were 20,952 fewer people registered with the Catalan Public Employment Service (SOC) in comparison to May 2015, leaving the total number of registered unemployed individuals at 510,947. This drop is, in absolute terms, the lowest recorded for the month of June in the last 3 years. However, in relative terms, registered unemployment fell by -3.94%, the biggest decline for the month of June in 19 years. Compared to a year ago, the number of jobseekers decreased by 59,267 (-10.39%), thus marking a two-year period of consecutive annual decline in registered unemployment.

On Monday evening, the Catalan fashion brand Mango opened the 16th edition of the 080 Barcelona Fashion Week, showcasing its new autumn/winter collections for men and women. Catalan Business and Employment Minister, Felip Puig, took part in the opening ceremony of the event, which will run from 29 June to 3 July at the Olympic Stadium Lluís Companys. In total, 22 designers and 15 brands are participating, in a combination of young talent, world renowned artists and international labels. As this year's show takes place within the walls that hosted the Olympics in 1992, Puig expressed his hopes for the fashion event to recover "all its openness to the outside world, its fair play, its ability to welcome visitors and, at the same time, the commitment to talent and ambition".

The Catalan tourism sector expects a good season this summer in regard to occupancy of tourist accommodations, as reported to ACN by unions and employers in the country. Catalonia has attracted more tourists than any other region in Spain since the start of 2015, according to the Survey of Tourist Movements at Borders (Frontur), released by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism. Barcelona, with apartment occupancy around 85% and coastal regions of Girona – which is on the cusp of being full during August – are the areas that will attract the highest demand for tourist accommodations. The interior of Lleida expects occupancy to exceed 65%, while the Pyrenean part will be full the whole week of 15 August. As for Central Catalonia, occupation can swing between 60% and 80%, and in Tarragona it will depend on last-minute reservations.

Catalonia received a total of 1,628,268 foreign tourists in May 2015, an increase of 7.2% compared to May 2014 and the best figure for this month since 2000. According to the survey of Tourist Movements at Borders (Frontur) prepared by the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, in the first five months of 2015 the number of foreign tourists increased by 5.2% in Catalonia, with more than 5.7 million visitors from abroad. In Spain as a whole, the number of tourists visiting between January and May rose by 5.1% to a new record of 22.5 million visitors over the first five months of the year.

Catalonia's GDP has increased by 1.1% during the first quarter of the year compared to the last quarter of 2014, while the Spanish economy grew by 0.9% and that of the European Union by 0.5%, according to definitive figures released by the Catalan Statistics Instituted (Idescat) on Friday. In annual terms, Catalonia's economy increased by 2.6% from March 2014 to March 2015, mostly due to the positive evolution of domestic demand and the strength of the export sector. The figures released this Friday improve upon the provisional data that had been announced in May for the first term of 2015, when it was stated that Catalonia’s economy had grown by 0.9% from January to March. With the 1.1% growth finally registered, Catalonia now accumulates 8 consecutive terms of quarterly growth.

EasyJet, the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe, will open a new operational base at Barcelona-El Prat Airport in February 2016. In doing so, the British low-cost airline will permanently base aircraft and crew at the Catalan airport, upgrading their presence in Barcelona. In particular, the company's hub will create 120 new local jobs – mainly for pilots and cabin crew – and will entail the allocation of three A320 Airbuses at Barcelona-El Prat airport. With this operation, EasyJet aims to provide an enhanced service for business passengers "who will go to and return the same day from destinations such as London and Geneva". The company has been operating in Barcelona El Prat for 19 years, transporting a total of approximately 32 million passengers to and from the Catalan airport.

Between 1993 and 2014, a growing trend of foreign investment was registered in Catalonia, a study by Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce shows. This upward trend continued unbroken in the long-term, not even being interrupted by the decline of -15.8% recorded in 2014. According to the study, it is not possible to conclude that – over the period analysed – investment in Catalonia "has been adversely affected by the political context", in particular the Catalan self-determination process. In addition, for 2015 – even after just the first few months of the year have passed – the business environment seems to suggest that investment in productive capacity will be higher than in 2014.