Business

More than 727,000 people were unemployed at the end of March 2011 in Catalonia, 40,900 jobseekers more than at the end of 2010. In Spain as a whole, the unemployment rate has reached 4.91 million people, a rate of 21.29%.

Car manufacturer SEAT, whose factory is in Barcelona, is present for the first time in Shanghai. Its cars will be seen in China’s roads as of 2012. Audi also officially introduced its new crossover model, the Audi Q3, which will be entirely produced in Barcelona. Auto Shanghai 2011 closes its doors on April 28 and is the main show of this kind in Asia.

The Catalan firms have their headquarters in Barcelona. Gas Natural Fenosa is Spain’s sixth largest company and Criteria Caixa the seventh according to the magazine. In the ‘Forbes’ Global 2,000 List, which ranks the 2,000 world’s largest companies, Gas Natural occupies 269th place and Criteria Caixa 322nd.

Kenneth Rogoff, currently professor at Harvard, predicts that Spain has a “high chance” of being rescued by the European Union. He also ads that, if it were not rescued, even France could fall.

The economic crisis that has dragged on since 2008 has led many young professionals to create their own businesses. Such is the case of four Catalan entrepreneurs in new technologies, all of whom have built their own companies in recent months.

During the first three months of 2011, housing prices dropped by 4.5% compared to the same period in 2010. The end of fiscal advantages for property purchase is the main reason behind this drop. The average square metre price in Catalonia is now set at 2,145.2 euros. These prices have not been seen since early 2006 and represent a 14% drop compared with the historic maximum in 2008.

The arrival of the huge ‘Liberty of the Seas’ and the luxurious ‘Queen Mary 2’ proves the power this kind of tourism is gaining in Catalonia's capital city.

They also asked for an improvement in vocational training and development of the Catalan economy’s internationalisation. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, met today at the ESADE Business School with 200 of the most important business people in Catalonia. Among others, the presidents and main directors of Abertis, La Caixa, Banc Sabadell, Seat or even FC Barcelona were present and Mas asked them to take the lead in the economic recovery.

Catalonia’s International Tourism Fair is currently taking place and will run until this Sunday. Barcelona broke all records in 2010 regarding visitors. 7.3 million tourists visited the Catalan capital and there were 14 million hotel nights booked by visitors. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, who is in charge of tourism, expects 2011 for Catalonia to be “exceptional”.

Unemployment registers in Catalonia increased by 8,658 people in March. One in four jobseekers does not receive any public assistance. In addition, training courses for jobseekers have run out of funding and are waiting for the new budget to be approved by the Catalan Government.

Spanair, Singapore Airlines and Iberia have launched new direct connections with São Paulo, Miami and European destinations from Barcelona’s Airport. Gradually, Barcelona El Prat is putting together the pieces to become a continental hub in its own right.

FDI in Catalonia surpassed the 3.9 billion euros mark in 2010. It represents 34% of FDI in Spain and was almost three times higher than 2009 levels. The Catalan Government is currently negotiating 189 projects that could bring in up to 6.5 billion euros to the Catalan economy.

Goods transportation is increasing at Barcelona Airport since it experienced a drop in 2009 due to the global economic crisis. Two companies have already announced that they will establish their services in the area. Barcelona Airport transported 104,280 tonnes of goods in 2010.

The board of the Catalan savings bank decided to “temporarily” use public capital in order to meet the new requirements in the sector. This move means it will reach 10.4% of ‘core capital’. Private capital is expected to increase its share “in the medium-term”.

Foreseeing a negative decision the Catalan Government already modified the law in 2009. The sentence declares illegal certain aspects of the law approved in 2005, such as conditioning the establishment of large retail centres to the expected effect on existing small businesses in the area or on the market share.