Business

UAE’s airline Emirates has announced it will link the Catalan capital with its main operations base in the Persian Gulf, Dubai. Emirates has emphasised that the new service will ease the access of Catalan companies to Asian markets and vice-versa as it will facilitate and increase the arrival of foreign investors and tourists coming from Asia to Barcelona.

The decision represents the creation of 700 direct and indirect jobs. Car manufacturer Nissan has confirmed it will build the new ‘e-NV200’, a totally electric van at its Zona Franca plant from next year. The plant is located in Barcelona, next to the city’s port and airport. From there, the new van will be distributed worldwide. Barcelona competed with other Nissan plants in China, Japan and Mexico. In addition, Nissan managers were confident that Barcelona’s plant could produce other models in the future.

The Catalan pharmaceutical company Grífols, third worldwide company in plasma derivatives, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Shanghai Blood Bank. The agreement, which strengthens the presence of the Catalan company in China, promotes blood genotyping research. The Chinese institution will use the Grifols’ genetic test BLOODchip in transfusion compatibility studies. Shanghai Blood Bank serves over 20 million people and receives more than 300.000 donations per year. In 2011, Grifols sales in China grew by 30%.

The Catalan company Mesoestetic has built a new factory that multiplies by ten its previous facilities. Furthermore, the company will increase its staff by 30%. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment has praised the company as a model for innovation and internationalisation. He has spoke of the long tradition of the pharmaceutical industry in Catalonia as well as the Catalan economy’s export capacity.

Catalonia’s GDP decreased by 0.1% between January and March 2012, which represents a minor drop compared to the last quarter of 2011. However, the Catalan economy has had red numbers for two consecutive quarters and technically enters a recession. The good results in the tourism and export industries improve the macroeconomic figures.

The Barcelona-based group had a turnover of €1.343 billion; 80% of it was generated in global markets. The Puig Group produces perfumes and beauty products for brands such as Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanne, Prada, and Valentino. Over the last four years, Puig passed from a 5.1% global market share in 2007 to 7.6% in 2011.

Barcelona El Prat Airport has won the Best Southern Europe airport award based on 11 million passenger surveys according to which travellers were asked about access, public transportation, comfort, cleanliness or safety.

Considering the “exceptional” crisis Spain’s banking system is going through, the Cercle d’Economia, a Catalan economic forum open to businesspeople and academics, recommends “drastic” measures in order to face a “systemic” problem at European level. The Chairman of Cercle d’Economia, former Spanish Minister Josep Piqué, stated that Spain “will not succeed on its own”.

The number of international tourists who have visited Catalonia over the first three months of 2012 reached 2,162,337 people. This figure is a 9.9% increase over last year and represents 23.5% of the total number of foreigners visiting Spain.

The volume of freight and liquids transported through Tarragona Port in the first 3 months of the year reached more than 9 million tonnes. The movement of liquids increased significantly, notably oil derivate products, after last year’s technical halt at Repsol’s refinery.

Punto Blanco has its own network to distribute and sell in 37 countries. The Catalan socks and underwear manufacturer has 16 shops, 15 of them in Spain and another in Portugal. Exports might represent 15% of the companies turnover.

Catalonia’s exports during last January and February had a total value of €9.24 billion. Catalan imports increased by 0.24% in the same period and have, registering in those two months a total value of €11.22 billion. The European Union received 64.28% of Catalonia’s exports. However, exports to markets such as Switzerland and Russia increased by 69% and 40% respectively.

A research study carried out by Barcelona’s Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) has concluded that there is a constant trend of decline. Between 2006, when prices peaked, and the end of 2011 Spanish property prices have dropped by 41.7% as average. The coordinator of the study, José García-Montalvo, pointed out that there has been an accelerated fall from the second half of 2010 and the same period in 2011 when prices dropped 19.7% in Spain. García-Montalvo added that this trend would not change in the short or mid- term if the credit market does not recover.

The Russian company Lukoil has reached an agreement with the Catalan company Meroil to build 13 new oil tanks at Barcelona Port, which are able to store 360,000 cubic metres. Furthermore, Barcelona Port is the only Mediterranean port ready to host the largest and deepest oil tankers. The Catalan President, Artur Mas, unveiled the infrastructure and emphasised Catalonia is strengthening its position as “Europe’s gateway for goods coming from Asia and North Africa”. He also noted Catalonia’s attractive position for foreign investment. Barcelona Port is linked by international width standard railway with Central Europe and has the Zona Franca logistics and industrial district next to it.

During the first quarter of the year, the Catalan bank placed €293 million in provisions to strengthen its financial position. Despite the provision, Banc Sabadell had a net profit of €80 million in the first 3 months of 2012, which represents a 5% decrease when compared to the same period last year. The CEO of Banc Sabadell said that creating a “bad bank” in Spain to manage real estate assets is “unnecessary”, as the Catalan bank is “self-sufficient” and is “satisfied” with the management of its own real estate assets.