Investment attraction to be main driver of the Portuguese economy says minister

Portugal’s Minister of the Economy, Pedro Reis has defined the main markets where Portugal will seek to attract investors. The list of markets is not closed, but has priorities says the minister as he sets out on a month-long overseas investment roadshow.

Pedro Reis’ experience at the helm of Portugal’s foreign investment bureau AICEP, which he led between December 2011and April 2014, will stand him in good stead and he has no doubts that Portugal needs to attract more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

And he sees countries like Germany, the US, South Korea, Japan and the Arab countries as the main thrust of this strategy according to Jornal Económico.

Instead of being another cost centre in the Government, like so many other ministries, Pedro Reis has placed on the Prime Minister’s desk a bolder and more profitable strategy for the country: to turn Portugal into a revenue centre, that is, to put the attraction of foreign investment at the centre of operations. “I am convinced that this is really the most important strategy that still needs to work fully in the Portuguese economy,” he has told Jornal Económico.

“Portugal is being seen as a very interesting destination within Europe to invest”, with emphasis on the tourism sector, and “the year 2025 can be very interesting for the Portuguese economy”, emphasised Pedro Reis earlier this month at a lunch~debate organised by the Association of Hotels and Hospitality of Portugal (AHP), which took place at the Pousada de Lisboa.

Pedro Reis says that now is the time to put investment on the agenda in Portugal, particularly given issues associated with the American elections or geo-political conflicts, and at a time when “we have assured stability thanks to financial packages such as the Recovery and Resilience Programme, which is in a crucial phase”.

The minister said that this didn’t mean downplaying other priorities, but rather concentrating a relevant part of the ministry’s energies on international contacts with governments and investors.

“Naturally, we have to overcome the phase that we’re in regarding the State Budget (impasse), political stability, Recovery and Resilience Plan payments (which are often late), and Portugal 2030 (EU funds), but that’s just our starting point.

“International investment is a fundamental driver that can help turn different geographical areas into business opportunities and push exports, encourage the qualification of our workforce, and even our internal economy,” he said.

Since taking the helm at the ministry, Pedro Reis has already led trade delegations to Angola, China, Macau, and this month will be heading off to Germany where he will have round-table talks with Germany’s Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck, as well as the shareholders and CEOs of large German companies.

France, the UK, the US, South Korea, Qatar, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, China and Brazil will all be on the minister’s list of countries to visit over the next few weeks and months.