Portugal already has eight files of aid applications from companies with investments worth 25 million euros or more, under the new incentive system for major projects under the Contractual Investment Regime (RCI), the president of the Agency for Investments and Investments said yesterday . Foreign Trade of Portugal (AICEP), at the presentation of the strategic plan for the three-year period 2023-2025. These requests represent 469 million euros in investments and a public financial incentive of approximately 70.3 million euros, resulting in an average incentive rate of 15%, Filipe Santos Costa told Dinheiro Vivo.
Among the eight projects are one for electric mobility, worth 40 million euros, and a semiconductor company, the investment of which amounts to 110 million. These areas meet AICEP’s objective to relaunch the RCI with a focus on “the renewable gases sector (hydrogen, ammonia and ethanol), feedstocks (polymers, metallurgical), the lithium value chain (from refining to recycling), electric vehicles and data centers.”
The new incentive system for major investment projects was approved by a resolution of the Council of Ministers of April 19 this year, and provides for the allocation to RCI of 150 million euros financed annually from the state budget until 2027. According to Filipe Santos Costa, the government is preparing a second resolution “with higher amounts” to support strategic investments, with the “benefit of greater calendar flexibility”.
Requests under this new mechanism are expected to “skyrocket in the coming weeks,” the AICEP leader said. In total, the agency has 44 leads on the table, i.e. business opportunities, whose productive investment potential is estimated at 32.3 billion euros, and half of which have already reached the status of Potential National Interest (PIN).
The agency has 44 business opportunities on the table, the productive investment potential of which is estimated at EUR 32.3 billion.
The person in charge admitted that not all investments will be made and emphasized that they are being closely monitored: “We know the projects, we are already in contact and we know that Portugal is on the list. We also have their investment amounts, characteristics and a series of other very important data, such as energy needs”. To attract them, the AICEP leader noted, it is imperative to guarantee the physical conditions to welcome them – one of the strategic lines of the entity.
“Without a location there is no chance to attract these investments,” he indicated. That is why the Investment and Foreign Trade Agency of Portugal is committed not only to guarantee the existence of available and viable urban land for industrial use, but also to collaborate with the Government on all aspects of accessibility, such as highways, railways, telecommunications and even the national electricity transmission network.
In addition, “more layers” of the proposal to simplify licensing for companies are being studied – in particular at the level of territorial management, with the prospect that Portugal could have “the necessary spaces – ideally organized in industrial and business parks – to accommodate to these economic activities”.
AICEP’s new strategic plan, with a horizon of 2025, proposes actions in three areas: investments, exports and external network. In the first point, the objectives include strengthening the resources allocated to attracting and retaining investments; Expand proactive sourcing of external investments with a focus on green industry and the data economy.
Under the third pillar, which aims to “reorient the external network towards a greater priority in attracting productive investments”, the state agency has decided to close the delegations it has in Havana, Tehran and Guangzhou, in order to investing in three new ones in Havana, Tehran and Guangzhou. Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Singapore – regions that AICEP says have “greater potential to issue capital and technology-intensive foreign direct investment to Portugal”.
Filipe Santos Costa justified this decision with the fact that the first two locations (Havana and Tehran) had not been identified as potential sources of investment. The third, Guangzhou, “sinned” mainly because it was “an important hub for Chinese exports to the world.” On the other hand, Riyadh and Singapore are seen by the agency as gateways for national exports to the Middle East market. Saudi Arabia can in fact be a place to attract capital investment – ’more financial’.
AICEP has planned a visit from Saudi Arabia in October, where “the Minister of Economy is present, accompanied by a delegation of about 60 companies”, and another visit from the President of the State of Israel, in November, who “also accompanied by a delegation of approximately 60 companies”. business mission”.
Mariana Coelho Dias is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
