investment

Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, encouraged the business sector on Wednesday to break “the status quo” in Spain in order to “survive”. In a speech in a business forum in Girona, he argued that the only alternative to independence “is decay”. Puigdemont stressed that when the Spanish government boycotts Catalan business missions abroad or does not invest in infrastructures such as the Mediterranean corridor “it is setting traps for itself and not for the independence process”, because it also “abandons the companies that are not in favor of independence”. Therefore, the Catalan president urged the economic sector to turn towards Europe and to have confidence in its “pragmatism”, suggesting the EU would welcome an independent Catalonia as a member. Carles Puigdemont closed the event titled "Entrepreneurs want to know”, organized by the business group "We believe in Catalonia". During his speech, Catalonia’s president presented numbers to back up the claims of the economic boost that an independent Catalonia would enjoy and he insisted that the country is attracting foreign investments.

The Catalan company Abertis reached an agreement with the minority shareholders of its Italian subsidary, A4 Holdings, to buy an additional 22.52% of the business' assets. The group will pay a total amount of €125 million, €89 million by the end of July, 2017 and the final €36 million by the end of January, 2018. As a result of the transaction, Abertis will now control 85.36% of A4 Holding, reinforcing its growth strategy and, in particular, its business in Italy, an attractive market for the group. The company said in a press release that the deal “demonstrates Abertis' ability to grow internationally in an attractive way while maintaining its financial discipline”. The purchase also fits with its management strategy which, according to the company, “allows investments in assets it knows well and where it faces no competition, reducing its operational risk profile”.