SEVEN GOOD REASONS TO DO BUSINESS IN PORTUGAL
4 August 2021, By Canela
If you work in a company that is committed to international expansion, why not enter the Portuguese market? In addition to being one of the most dynamic economies in Southern Europe, the country is undergoing a profound transformation that offers opportunities in many sectors. At Canela PR we´re present in Portugal since 2016 and we want to share with you seven good reasons why you should also consider doing business in this country.
We are a bridge between Europe, America and Africa
Portugal's geographical location has traditionally made us look to the Atlantic as our sphere of expansion. In the past, this made us a great maritime power. Today, our country is an international communications hub: from Lisbon International Airport it is possible to fly to more than a hundred international destinations, especially in America and Africa.
By land, we have a high-speed train that links our main cities and will soon link up with Spain and Europe. In addition, various submarine Internet cables that converge on our coasts make Portugal one of the great telecommunications hubs of the planet.
We have a universal language and a good level of English
Portuguese is the fifth most widely spoken mother tongue in the world and the third most used Latin-script language after Spanish and English. Adding our "brothers" in Brazil, Angola, Mozambique and elsewhere, there are more than 270 million Portuguese speakers in the world.
In addition, Portugal is the seventh country in the world with the highest level of English as a second language, according to the EF English Proficiency Index. Of course we also love Spanish, the language of our neighbours, which is spoken by 10% of the Portuguese population, along with other languages – more than 60% of the Portuguese speak at least one foreign language!
Our economy is thriving, open and digital
According to World Bank data, Portugal ranks 30th in the world's richest countries ranking in terms of GDP and 24th in terms of per capita income. With a population of ten million inhabitants, an unemployment rate of 6.8% in 2020 and a GDP growth of 2.2% in 2019, we have a solid, internationalised and increasingly digital economy.
Since 2016, the organisation of the Web Summit Lisbon, considered the largest global technology event in the world, puts us in the centre of the international digital sector scene every year and attracts thousands of professionals from all over the world to do business.
Entrepreneurs are always welcome
Through the "Empresa Na Hora" ("Company in one hour") initiative, we have greatly simplified the procedures for setting up a business in Portugal. It is now possible to register a company in Portugal with a single appointment, in less than an hour and from only 360 euros. In addition, we offer lower taxes to companies than the European average.
Professionals enjoy a special regime if they are non-fixed residents, while cross-border workers, in other words, Spaniards or Portugueses who live in one country and work in the other, have special income tax exemptions.
We are committed to the environment and renewable energies
Portugal has more than 24 natural parks that demonstrate its strong commitment to the environment and the protection of the oceans, which particularly affects us as a country with more than 800 kilometres of coastline. We are also making a strong commitment to renewable energies, which account for almost 60% of the total electricity produced.
We are second only to Denmark in wind energy production and we are developing innovative technologies to harness tidal energy, with the collaboration of companies in the sector that are entering this market.
Tourism is one of our strategic sectors
In 2019, more than 27 million tourists visited our country, the same year in which we were recognised as the Best Tourist Destination in Europe at the World Travel Awards.
With more than 200 days of sunshine a year and an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, one of the main attractions we can offer the world is undoubtedly beaches as famous as the ones in the Algarve region, without forgetting monumental cities such as Lisbon, Porto or Coimbra, as well as the exoticism of our archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores.
However, through the Tourism 4.0 strategy, we are also promoting other types of tourist destinations (rura, cultural, river, etc.), which offers opportunities for companies in this sector.
The Portuguese media landscape is dynamic
As in many other countries, the Internet has brought about a major transformation of the media in Portugal. Traditional media (from public radio and television RTP and private channels TVI and SIC to historic newspapers such as Diário de Noticias or more modern ones such as Público or Jornal de Negócios), are increasingly joined by digital media such as Sapo, blogs, podcasts, streaming channels, etc. We also have influencers such as Cristina Ferreira, Rita Pereira or Ana Garcia Martins, who have hundreds of thousands of social media followers.
If you want to do business in Portugal, we can help you make your company known!