Portugal managed to achieve positive external accounts in 2023, posting an overseas surplus of €7.2Bn after a deficit in 2022. It was the highest ratio since 2013 according to the Bank of Portugal from data released on Monday. The surplus in the current and capital account balance was 2.7% of GDP. This result was an … Read more
Portuguese exports of cork reached a new record of €1.232Bn in 2023, up 2% on 2022, with bottle corks exceeding €900 million in exports for the first time according to the Portuguese Cork Association. (APCOR) The association also highlights the positive trade balance and behaviour of sales to the US in a communiqué. “Portuguese exports of … Read more
Former Portuguese banker António Horta Osório in a consortium comprising the funds Warburg Pincus and Zeno Partners is still in the race to buy Altice Portugal for €6.5-€7Bn for all of its assets, including control of FastFiber, the company’s fibre optic network arm. According to ECO Online, despite rumours to the contrary, neither the consortium … Read more
Novobanco has authorised a banking syndicate to place €500 million in covered bonds onto the market. This is according to Bloomberg that said the operation was led by Barclays together with Crédit Agricole, Deutsche Bank, IMI-Intesa Sanpaolo, and LBBW. The €500 million in bonds are secured by a number of assets with a three year … Read more
REN – Redes Energéticas Nacionais, Portugal’s national electricity grid company, is to issue green bonds worth €300 million with an eight year maturity aimed at institutional investors according to Bloomberg. According to the news agency, which quotes an inside source, the company led by Rodrigo Costa has authorised the issue via REN Finance BV, for … Read more
The second phase of the Altice Portugal wholesale or partial selloff is about to begin with two of the candidates Illiad and Saudi Telecom sending due diligence teams to Portugal over the next few weeks. However, the fund Warburg Pincus with Portuguese banker António Horta-Osório is likely to withdraw because it is only interested in … Read more
Portugal’s tax authorities have introduced a new measure whereby assets held in offshore accounts will have to be declared from next year. The move will also include income from capital derived from national entities, which together with income from offshore assets, will be liable to a 28% special tax rate according to tax expert Luís … Read more
The increase in the number of houses for rent on the market, seen as a key to lowering the price of rents, does not seem to be working, with no sign that this goal is being achieved by either the public or private sector according to the newspaper Público. In January alone, rents shot up … Read more
José Neves, the founder, chairman and president of Farfetch, the luxury goods platform company that he founded in 2007, has been removed by Bom Kim the Korean tycoon who has absorbed the company into luxury goods rival Coupang. The move, which happened on Thursday, comes two weeks after Coupang, an Amazon-style shopping platform and a dominant … Read more
The company that manages Portugal’s airports, ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal, says that the arguments from the Portuguese environment agency APA not to extend an environmental impact statement (DIA) on the proposed Montijo airport site for a further four years does not justify the decision. The APA’s decision not to renew makes it difficult for … Read more