The Catalan Government initially put €2.06 billion in one-year and two-year bonds on the market, but considering the high demand, it increased the offer up to €2.37 billion. 102,269 demands have been received.
The Catalan Government has been issuing retail bonds over the last two years as a regular way of financing its liquidity. All the previous issues have been a success, with high demand. Between April 2nd and April 24th Catalan citizens will be able to buy one year and two year treasury bonds of the Catalan Government’s debt, with an interest rate of 4.5% and 5% respectively.
Residents in Catalonia will be able to buy treasury bonds from the Catalan Government in April for the fourth time since 2010. The money will be used for interest repayments, in May, of a former bonds auction. The exact interest rate or the amounts to be raised are still unknown but the Catalan Government’s Deputy Finance Minister has said they hope to get “as much as possible”.
Inditex, the Spanish retail giant that owns Zara, Pull&Bear, and Oysho, among other brands, will base Massimo Dutti’s world headquarters in the Catalan coastal town of Tordera, located 60km north of Barcelona.
The company plans to open 60 new stores around the world in 2012, and build a new logistics centre in the town of Viladecans, located south of Barcelona. This year, the Catalan brand plans to launch a household linen collection and collaborate with the famous Cirque du Soleil to present new designs inspired by the spectacle.
CaixaBank and Visa Europe will begin installing the system enabling “contactless payments” to be made throughout Barcelona. The system consists of paying for goods valued at less than €20 by passing a special credit card in front of a sensor, with no need of actually introducing the card anywhere or typing any code. The system will become fully operational to coincide with the Mobile World Congress, which starts on February 27th. Barcelona will be the first city in Europe where the contactless payment method can be used, ahead of London, which aims to have it ready for the Olympics this summer.
The ice rink has been fully funded by the private retail sector. It aims to attract locals and visitors to Barcelona city centre in the hope that consumers will spend more in the Christmas period. Catalunya Square is the location for the largest ice-skating rink of its kind in Europe. The attraction has caused controversy because it occupies public space for a private activity in a time of serious economic difficulties.
The 3.7 billion euros may be increased to 4 billion euros depending on demand. After the first day, the offer of bonds raised “high interest” according to financial sources. Citizens will be allowed to buy a minimum quantity of 1,000 euros and a maximum of 2 million euros. The Government is issuing bonds that expire in one year at an interest rate of 4.75%, and others expiring in two years at an interest rate of 5.25%. The Catalan Finance Minister stated that this bond offer is “safe and attractive”. It is the third emission of retail bonds in the Catalan Government’s history. The current bond emission mainly aims to replace those from the first emission, which expire next November 21st.
As carried out on two other occasions in the last year, the Catalan Government is preparing to release of 3,800 retail bonds to get cash. Financial sources informed ACN about the operation, which has not been confirmed by the Catalan Ministry of Economy. The bonds would be offered before November 21st, the day that the bonds issued by the former Catalan Government in autumn 2010 expire.
In order to attain liquidity and taking into account the difficulties getting money from the international markets, the Catalan Government is selling 2.7 billion euros worth of treasury bonds. These will be bought by citizens at bank branches. One-year bonds have a 4.25% interest rate while for two-year bonds it is 4.75%. At the end of the first day of sales, 29% of the bonds were sold. The measure was already taken last October by the previous Government and the totality of the bonds were sold quickly.
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.
The company sells high end clothing on the Internet. It distributes over 25.000 items of clothing daily amongst its 3,7 million clients. The centre will deliver on demand from Spain and Italy.
The FC Barcelona football player Gerard Piqué and the Catalan retail company announced the news today. Piqué will represent the brand for the next two seasons. In doing so, Mango plans to promote its male clothing section.
The multinational clothing company Inditex has announced the expansion of its logistics centre in Tordera (North of Barcelona coast), which will create 500 direct jobs. According to the company, the centre will become the largest and most modern clothing distribution centre in Europe. Inditex CEO announced the decision after a meeting with the Catalan President.
Various banks and savings banks are asking the Catalan Government to extend the total bond amount to 3,000 million euros. The Catalan Ministry of Economy will make the decision whether or not to extend the amount on Friday. The Catalan Government's debt bonds were issued for an initial amount of 1,890 million euros and further extended to 2,500 million euros due to their massive purchase by Catalan citizens