More than 4.200 millions of Euros investments in Catalonia before end 2020

On Tuesday March 20th 2017 Spain’s Prime Minister Mr. Mariano Rajoy announced during the»JORNADA SOBRE INFRAESTRUCTURAS» in the Palacio de Congresos de Cataluña some major investments in Catalonia between 2017 and 2025. – in its regional train-network (radoalies-system) and the «corridor Mediterraneo» between Catalonia and Valencia for almost 4 billion € – a 800.000 € in its road-infrastructures – and the Ports will be receiving a budget of 587 million € Our Chamber was there present and its members could enjoy some cordial exchanges with the Prime Minister. Watch our Photo gallery on our Facebook Page  

Silicon Valley aan de Rambla. Een verslag van Filip Michiels verschenen in TRENDS op 27 Jan 2017

Silicon Valley aan de Rambla. Een verslag van Filip Michiels verschenen in TRENDS op 27 Jan 2017

Download all our Newsletters here . You can choose between the Dutch, French, Spanish and English version

Have a pleasant reading! Brigitte Verkinderen Managing Director CCBLB DOWNLOAD HERE OUR NEWSLETTERS IN 4 LANGUAGES The latest one: June 26, 2017 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español March 30, 2017 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español March 9, 2017 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español February 23, 2017 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español February 7, 2017 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español January 17, 2017 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español December 20, 2016 in Nederlands, Français, English, Español    

The end of Luxembourg’s nation branding

The nation branding project will be discontinued in October in favour of an operation to promote the country.The announcement was made by Luxembourg's Secretary of State of the Economy at the opening of Luxembourg's first event dedicated to MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) tourism.MEET Luxembourg 2016 runs through Saturday and over 200 convention organisers in the domain, from both the Greater Region and further afield, are expected to attend. Additionally, around 43 tourism professionals will also be in attendance.The tourism sector is booming locally, with the number of overnight stays having increased by 20% last yearSource: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/meet-luxembourg-2016-the-end-of-luxembourg-s-nation-branding-57c81a25ac730ff4e7f65c41 The nation branding project will be discontinued in October in favour of an operation to promote the country.The announcement was made by Luxembourg's Secretary of State of the Economy at the opening of Luxembourg's first event dedicated to MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) tourism.MEET Luxembourg 2016 runs through Saturday and over 200 convention organisers in the domain, from both the Greater Region and further afield, are expected to attend. Additionally, around 43 tourism professionals will also be in attendance.The tourism sector is booming locally, with the number of overnight stays having increased by 20% last yearSource: http://www.wort.lu/en/business/meet-luxembourg-2016-the-end-of-luxembourg-s-nation-branding-57c81a25ac730ff4e7f65c41 The nation branding project will be discontinued in October in favour of an operation to promote the country.The announcement was made by Luxembourg's Secretary of State of the Economy at the opening of Luxembourg's first event dedicated to MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events) tourism.MEET Luxembourg 2016 runs through Saturday and over 200 convention organisers in [...]

Ahold Delhaize Sees Merger Benefits as Dutch Earnings Beat

Ahold, the Dutch grocer that merged with Belgium’s Delhaize last month, forecast a boost to second-half profit from joining forces after second-quarter earnings beat analysts’ estimates. Operating income for the Dutch company rose 8 percent to 355 million euros ($400 million) on an adjusted basis, the Zaandam, Netherlands-based owner of the Stop & Shop chain said in a statement Thursday. Analysts expected 336 million euros. Savings from the deal should boost Ahold Delhaize’s second-half profit by 30 million euros, the grocer said. The combined company has 6,500 stores around the world and annual sales exceeding 60 billion euros, mostly from the U.S., where it also owns the Food Lion and Giant chains. Ahold has forecast 350 million euros in cost savings this year, which will help offset reduced prices and increased investments in higher-quality produce selection in the U.S. as competition from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. increases. The stock rose as much as 1.5 percent. It’s a “good start to married life,” Andrew Gwynn, an analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, wrote in a note. The second-quarter operating margin in the Netherlands, where Ahold operates Albert Heijn stores and Internet retailer bol.com, widened to 5.2 percent, topping an analyst estimate of 4.6 percent.Ahold and Delhaize completed their merger last month. The Belgian company previously said second-quarter operating profit rose 12 percent to 247 million euros, excluding currency shifts.The companies repeated they expect the merger to lead to annual savings of 500 million euros by mid-2019. The merger will also lead to one-time costs […]

Economic & business news from Belgium

The newsletter «Economic & business news from Belgium», from the ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlights positive developments in our country in the economic field. The texts are based on independent sources Attention is paid to: Foreign investments in Belgium Contacts abroad for Belgian companies General economic information about Belgium Download the latest newsletter here: economic_and_business_news_from_belgium_1_2016

Brexit tax hit spurs multinationals to look at moving HQ (to Luxembourg?)

  Some multinationals are likely to look at moving their headquarters out of Britain to avoid higher tax bills following Brexit, experts say. Clifford Chance, a law firm, said companies with big European operations that expect to be hit by new withholding taxes “may need to consider taking radical measures”. It said: “It may be that the only way to maintain the benefits of being an EU- headquartered group would be to shift the parent company and headquarters from the UK to another EU member state.” Tax experts also warned that Brexit would have a big impact on indirect tax, as VAT would be paid when goods were traded across a border between the EU and the UK. Even though the VAT would often be recoverable, there would be cash flow costs. Richard Asquith, VAT expert at Avalara, a tax software company, said since Friday he had been asked to offer advice to US and Chinese importers that had EU distribution centres in the UK. The prospect of extra paperwork and cash flow pressures was prompting them to consider moving to countries such as the Netherlands and Belgium. “We are getting lots of requests from clients asking for advice on how to restructure UK out of EU VAT supply chains. It is a little premature, but indicates the level of concern and recalibration that has been unleashed.” […] Source: Financial Times Read complete article: https://next.ft.com/content/5a3b0bec-3ba4-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0    

Foreign investment projects grow by 2.78% in Catalonia, drop nearly 20% in Madrid

25/05/2016 According to consultants EY, Barcelona has become the fifth most attractive city in Europe for prospective investors Catalonia snatched nearly 45 per cent of all foreign investment projects in Spain and, what’s more, the figure keeps rising, according to a survey by EY, a consultancy firm. This confirms data recently published by Catalonia’s Council for Economic and Social Work (CTESC), which suggested that Madrid is now trailing behind Catalonia. The EY report —unveiled last Tuesday— claims that up to 111 investment projects chose Catalonia as their destination in 2015, which accounts for 44.8 per cent of all foreign investment in Spain, an increase of 2.78 per cent over the previous year.In contrast, Madrid —which took second place— managed to lure 46 investment projects, a drop of 19.3 per cent. Andalusia ranks third, with 35 projects and a 169 per cent increase, followed by Valencia, with 13 projects and a 44 per cent rise. With ten investment projects, the Basque Country came fifth but —like Madrid— it saw a drop over the year before (52 per cent).Additionally, the EY report notes that Barcelona has climbed three spots to become the fifth most attractive city in Europe for prospective investors, whereas a year before it ranked eighth. London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam take the first four places, with Madrid at number eight, tied with Brussels and Rome. The report shows that 2015 was an excellent year for Europe as a whole in terms of foreign investment, with 5,083 initiatives and 217,000 […]

Y tú, ¿tienes talento?

“¡Tú tienes talento!”, aseguran con exagerada teatralidad los jurados del Talent Show televisivo homónimo a aquellos concursantes que consiguen impresionarlos con su actuación. El público rompe en aplausos y en el escenario los aspirantes a artistas se deshacen en lágrimas, risas y muecas de alegría. Y no es para menos, ya que no todos nosotros tenemos la fortuna de que alguien nos diga tan a las claras que vamos por buen camino en la profesión que hemos elegido para ganarnos la vida. Entre esos privilegiados están los empleados de aquellas empresas, por lo general grandes, que cuentan con programas de gestión de talento entre sus políticas de recursos humanos. Trasladado al mundo empresarial, el talento se suele entender como “la capacidad de un profesional para producir resultados positivos o destacados de una forma sostenida en el tiempo”, explica Alberto Blanco, director general de Grupo Actual. Un concepto que, añade, con frecuencia se utiliza erróneamente. ”Muchas veces cuando se habla de talento en realidad se está queriendo decir ‘potencial’, que es la presunción de que un profesional puede llegar a producir resultados en el futuro. Pero para que haya talento debe haber contribución. Rafa Nadal tiene talento porque gana, pero cuando tenía 10 años y comenzaba a destacar en el tenis lo que tenía era mucho potencial”. La facultad para lograr esos resultados que definen el talento depende, en opinión de Pilar Jericó, presidenta de Be-Up, de tres factores: capacidad, compromiso y acción. En otras palabras, “sea lo que sea lo […]

F.T.

European banks: left behind