company

Low-cost retailer facing criticism for working conditions in factories will have a site in city center for 11 days

Workers protest will see the N-340 highway cut as they hope to avoid over 120 job losses

Pressure grows on app-based delivery startup after UGT officially demands investigation into firm's employment practices

Shipping multinational DHS will also invest €7.5 million in new facility near the Catalan capital

Company CEO says moving its registered office to Madrid may not be “forever”

Argentinian government guarantees the leading Catalan road management multinational a license extension until 2030

Catalonia may host the logistics hub for Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba for Southern Europe. According to Catalan Minister for Business Knowledge, Jordi Biaget, “no decision has been made yet” but the negotiations are already in the final stages. Although Alibaba is also considering France for the installation of its logistics center, the Catalan Government is working closely with the company so that Catalonia could be the chosen destination. Indeed, last February Baiget met with Alibaba’s board during a commercial mission to China and Hong Kong organized by the Catalan Government. Baiget also explained that the Catalan executive is analyzing more than 300 possible business investments in Catalonia.

The Barcelona-based energy company Gas Natural Fenosa, through its subsidiary Global Power Generation (GPG), has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake of 85% in two solar plants in Brazil from Gransolar Group. The operation will involve an investment of €85 million to implement their first power generation project in the Brazilian market. The production of these two facilities will be about 154 GWh a year. With this agreement, and the construction of a 91 MW plant in Australia announced last August, the holding company GPG Gas Natural Fenosa has already exceeded the target of energy production set for 2018 in its strategic plan.

2,500 employees of the Chinese multinational conglomerate Tiens were awarded a six-day trip throughout Spain, ending in Catalonia. Recognisable because of their bright turquoise garb with the company logo, the several thousand people had 20 aircraft and over 1,500 hotel rooms reserved for them. The trip was also business related. Indeed, the company expects to sign new “strategic alliances” with Catalan companies, noted Li Zongmin, son of billionaire tycoon, philanthropist, chairman and founder of Tiens, Li Jinyuan. The primary business allegiance is currently with pharmaceutical factory Eladiet Papiol, located east of Barcelona. Li Zongmin also added that Catalonia’s push for independence would not affect future business decisions.

The European Commission has opened “an in-depth investigation” into whether public measures in favour of mining company Iberpotash gave it a selective advantage over its competitors, in breach of EU State aid rules. “The Spanish authorities fully financed EUR 7.9 million of costs to physically cover one of Iberpotash's waste heaps and reduce pollution” stated the EC’s press release. If confirmed, this would entail a breach in the 'polluter pays' principle since a public authority would have been bearing the clean-up costs rather than the company responsible for the pollution. Iberpotash already has a European infraction procedure against it, which has been pending since 2014.

The David Campos Ballet company, famous for combining classical ballet with contemporary dance, is the latest victim of the crisis that is asphyxiating cultural projects and, in particular, those related to classical dance. On Sunday, the company created and directed by David Campos performed its last show on stage, after 25 years of work at an international level, a representation of ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ in Terrassa, Greater Barcelona. The ballet director lamented that dance is “the last echelon of culture” in this country, despite it being “an active genre” that fills up theatres with rejuvenated audiences.

The Asian multinational company sets up its fourth centre of industrial automation in the Catalan capital, where it has invested up to one million euros. This has created 20 highly-qualified new jobs. The Catalan minister for Business and Jobs, Francesc Xavier Mena, unveiled the centre in an event on Friday. “We have succeeded in attracting Omron to Catalonia”, he said.

The bureaucracy that comes with starting a company in Catalonia has been reduced from almost a month to just two days, according to the Minister for Innovation, Universities and Business.