By Posted 25 Março, 2024 In Debt to GDP, News, Public administration, Public debt, Public deficit and Budget deficit The government net surplus achieved by the outgoing minister of Finance, Fernando Medina in 2023 was 1.2% of GDP according to the National Statistics Institute. (INE) Portugal’s public debt has fallen to 99.1% of GDP while its public administration enjoyed a … Read more
The sports retail chain Decathlon closed 2023 with profits of €931 million, an increase of 0.8% on the €923 million posted for 2022. The sports articles retailer enjoyed a business turnover of €15.6Bn, reflecting an increase of 4.4% at a constant exchange rate. Adjusted to exchange rates and the impact of closing down its stores … Read more
Just over 10 years ago Portugal’s credit ratings from the major ratings agencies stood at ‘junk’ status (non-investment) or high-risk investment grades. Stories abounded of angry Portuguese citizens sending jiffy packets and boxes full of waste paper to the ratings agencies in the US and Canada accompanied by indignant letters that Portugal was worth a … Read more
Portugal’s banks enjoyed a “tremendous increase” in profits in 2023 on the back of increased interest rates but expect lower profits in 2024 according to the ratings agency DBRS. Despite higher interest rates having meant significantly less new mortgages and other loans, this was more than made up for by high net interest margins since … Read more
The value of Portugal’s gold reserves has continued to appreciate without moving the gold an inch. The Bank of Portugal’s vaults in Carregado (also reserves in the UK, US and France) contain around 382.6 tonnes — one of the largest gold reserves in the world. According to the latest data for the end of 2022, … Read more
Portugal’s footwear industry has turned to the luxury shoe segment in a bid to face off falling orders that are closing factories and killing jobs. Portuguese footwear entrepreneurs have faced a perfect storm over the past 18 months with falling orders forcing the sector to prepare a production and technology strategy and find the cash … Read more
CorPower Ocean’s C4 Wave Energy Converter (WEC) has completed the first cycle of the ocean commissioning program at the Agucadoura site in northern Portugal. Now proven at commercial scale, at the exposed Atlantic test site, CorPower Ocean’s C4 device has demonstrated unique ability to tune and detune according to varying sea states, limiting response to extreme storm … Read more
Farfetch, the former Portuguese unicorn that was bought out by South Korea’s Coupang, left its offices in Braga at the end of September, 2023. The decision to close the offices it had occupied for just over four years on Avenida Dom João II, was taken in order to concentrate its teams in offices in Matosinhos … Read more
Small investors on the stock market are more numerous and expressive in Lisbon than in some other European capitals according to the president of Euronext Lisbon, Isabel Ucha in an interview with journalists. The growth in the importance of the individual investor in stock markets across the world is a global trend, but is “more … Read more
The Angolan State petroleum company Sonangol is facing increased pressure to sell its 19.5% stake in bank BCP. However, the company’s president Sebastião Martins says it has no plans to do so. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Luanda, Martins said: “I know that there is a lot of pressure, probably from a … Read more