In collaboration with DISCOVER WHY PORTUGAL IS OPEN FOR INVESTMENT

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1 In collaboration with DISCOVER WHY PORTUGAL IS OPEN FOR INVESTMENT

2 the labor market, education and justice systems and to the tax frameworks for people and companies. Ongoing reforms, combined with the quality of our infrastructure workforce and the continued proficiency in English, have made us much more competitive internationally, Frasquilho says. We have come a long way and we will continue to work and improve. Industries innovate and adapt PORTUGAL: EUROPE S TRENDY HOT SPOT HITS GLOBAL INVESTMENT MAP Foreign investment, technology and innovation are transforming the Portuguese economy P oised confidently on the westernmost edge of Europe, Portugal throughout its long history has been a pioneer of globalization, opening up new trade routes to Asia, Africa and the Americas as far back as the 15th and 16th centuries and bringing the Portuguese language to every corner of the planet. In the 21st century, this outward-looking and forward-thinking is now on the frontier of the global technology revolution. From the bustling start-up scene in the capital city Lisbon, to family-owned businesses in cork and agriculture, to giant multinationals in construction, aerospace and automotive industries, investments across all sectors and technology have put Portugal on the frontline of economic transformation. Portugal is now widely seen as a that is at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship, says Miguel Frasquilho, President of AICEP, the s trade and investment agency. We have built a very strong start-up community and ecosystem. We are also seeing technology in more unexpected sectors such as food, fashion, clothes and shoe-making, as well as in the more obvious industries like aeronautics. Today, technology touches all sectors of activity and segments of our lives. In Portugal we feel this impact significantly. Portugal s emergence as a global technology hub was sealed last November when Lisbon hosted Web Summit 2016, one of the largest technology conferences in the world. Some 55,000 entrepreneurs, tech professionals, investors and other industry professionals descended on the capital city to share their vision, discover start-ups, raise funds and make deals. This year and next, they will be doing it all over again. The Web Summit exceeded all our expectations, Frasquilho says. It was by far the biggest edition of the event. There was a Portugal before the Web Summit, and there will be a Portugal after the Web Summit. And it is already helping to change the dynamics of the economy. Pride of place at the Web Summit went to technology start-ups and venture capitalists from Portugal itself; more than 10% of companies at the event came from the host nation. High-flyers from Portugal at the Web Summit included Unbabel, which uses artificial intelligence to translate customer service, Codacy, which automates the process of reviewing 25th easiest for doing business (World Bank) 16th with better infrastructures (World Economic Forum) 78% of students learn 2 or more foreign languages software code, and Kinematix, which has developed TUNE, a sophisticated wearable device for runners. Providing increased support to start-ups and entrepreneurs is one of the cornerstones of the government s economic growth strategy. An official four-year plan, Startup Portugal, is focusing on three key areas. Firstly, the program is enhancing the s ecosystem for start-ups, by encouraging business incubators, fab-labs and design factories as well as cutting red tape and making it easier for companies to invest in the research, development and production of new technologies. Foreign employees of science and technology-based companies may also be eligible for special fast-track visas. Secondly, Startup Portugal aims to improve the access of new companies to financing, including public finance. Rather than having to rely on bank loans, businesses will find it easier to use crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending to raise capital. At the same time, the government is strengthening Portugal Ventures, the s official venture capital fund, designing new tax incentives for entrepreneurs and creating vouchers for incubation services. Finally, the program is also internationalizing the s start-up sector, both by promoting Portuguese companies at overseas trade fairs and tech events and also by attracting foreign start-ups, investors and incubators to the. Obviously, we like investors to come to Portugal whatever their specialist sector, but of course it s APCOR preferable to have investments that can create more value, wealth and employment, Frasquilho says. We are very open to attracting investment in innovation and technology. Portugal s official investment incentives are increasingly geared towards high-value projects, projects which bring cutting-edge technologies and processes to the and which help internationalize the economy. Significant funds are also available from the European Union s Portugal 2020 program, which is designed to enhance the s competitiveness and human capital. In certain areas the value of our incentives can reach 25-30% of total investment, which is an extremely competitive level, Frasquilho says. As well as strengthening incentives for high-value investors, successive governments in recent years have pushed through broad-based reforms in 22nd with highest availability of latest technologies (World Economic Forum) 4.2% export growth in 2017 (Ministry of Finance forecast) 5th most peaceful in the world 8th place on the global quality of life index (Global Peace Index 2016) (Numbeo) Far away from the pitching, cocktails and networking of the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal s more traditional industries are undergoing their own technological revolution. Nowhere is this more visible than in the s cork industry, long the world s largest producer and exporter. Cork companies are responding to the competitive challenge of screwcap bottles and plastic stoppers by finding innovative new applications for this most traditional and sustainable of materials. Cork from the historic forests of the Alentejo region has become an increasingly popular choice with architects, fashion designers and interior decorators around the world for floor and wall coverings. At the same time, the material is playing a key part in the US and European space programs. A highly effective flame retardant and thermal insulator, it is Portuguese cork that protects spacecraft from the high temperatures they encounter when entering a planet s atmosphere. Cork can be used everywhere, Frasquilho says. Our cork industry is investing a lot in innovation and supporting numerous start-ups and cork projects. It s revolutionary. Two of the most dynamic industries in Portugal aerospace and automotive make intensive use of local cork for insulation and interior design. In these two industries, the quality of the s workforce and its infrastructure have helped attract some of the world s largest businesses, ranging from airplane manufacturers Airbus and Embraer to car makers Toyota, Peugeot Citroën, Volkswagen, and Mitsubishi. Additionally, many car and bus manufacturers have built factories in the and Portugal is home to a thriving supply chain of component producers, including businesses that produce dashboards, batteries car doors, cockpit consoles, fuel tanks and wing components for airplanes. In both the automotive and the aerospace sectors we have built strong communities of suppliers and industrial clusters, Frasquilho says. It is Portugal s compelling combination of cutting-edge technology and skilled labor that attracts the world s largest aerospace and automotive brands to the, Frasquilho says. Portuguese companies in these industries do much more than supply basic parts and fittings; Airbus uses fiber optics sensors made in Portugal in its aircraft, while NASA and the European Space Agency both use Portuguese software to detect and correct flaws in their mission-critical systems. Back on earth, the Portuguese genius for design and innovation is helping companies in sectors as varied as fashion, furniture, textiles and food emerge as world-beaters. Technical textiles produced in Portugal helped power Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps to new heights, while brands such as Burberry, Kenzo and Dior have brought Portuguese quality to the catwalk. Buildings as iconic and as daring as the Rockefeller Center in New York and the Sagrada Família in Barcelona rely on Portuguese construction materials to turn their The Web Summit has found a home in Portugal. As well as being a very good calling card, it will also be an excellent catalyst for growth. Miguel Frasquilho President of AICEP architects dreams into reality. Meanwhile, Portuguese wines, olive oils and preserved foods are winning ever greater international acclaim. In services sectors such as life sciences and communications technology, Portugal is also punching above its weight. In recent years, the s medical researchers have made major breakthroughs in areas such as neurology, oncology, degenerative diseases and pathology, and have developed two new medicines for the treatment of Parkinson s disease and epilepsy. In the telecoms industry, some 150 mobile carriers from all over the world use Portuguese technologies in their operations. Meanwhile, the quality of Portugal s workforce and infrastructure and the s strategic location just a 3-hour time difference from both São Paulo and Moscow have made it a leading location for Shared Services Centers and Business Process Outsourcing. More than 450 companies, including Altran, Cisco Systems, BNP Paribas, Europcar, Fujitsu, Xerox and IBM have installed SSCs in Portugal. Not only is there already a very strong presence of SSCs in Portugal, but they are also becoming more and more advanced, Frasquilho says. Innovation in the sector is increasing, and of course the Web Summit will empower this trend. Businesses investing in Portugal come not just from traditional partners in Europe but from an increasingly diverse range of countries. AICEP itself is now present in more than 60 countries, up from just over 50 in 2014, after opening new offices in strategic global cities including Doha, Mumbai, Riyadh, Seoul, Sydney and San Francisco. While the US is still the s largest trade partner outside the EU, in recent years Portugal has cemented a particularly close economic relationship with China. AICEP has opened offices in Beijing, Shanghai and former Portuguese colony Macau, while Chinese companies have made major investments in Portugal, in the financial services industry and above all in the electricity sector. We are very happy with the presence of China, Frasquilho says. We are an open and multicultural and we are ready to use all our experience and know-how to help global businesses grow, wherever they come from.

3 INVEST IN PORTUGAL RIGHT CHOICE RIGHT TIME Miguel Frasquilho President of AICEP How would you describe Portugal in terms of innovation? Portugal is now seen as a at the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship. Technology and innovation are present in all segments of our lives and throughout all economic sectors. We have very good examples of innovative and diverse companies, from the most traditional, to the most advanced as well as several startups. These companies range from fashion and luxury to finance, music, golf, and even apps for androids, etc. We have an excellent startup ecosystem and it has been growing organically. The Web Summit in Lisbon was a great opportunity to promote ourselves even more internationally. We have several Portuguese startups that got their financing in London, New York and San Francisco and today are seen as success stories. The technologically advanced automotive and aeronautics sectors have also been extremely innovative in Portugal and these clusters are contributing to our development and internationalization. In Portugal, we support a lot of innovative projects with global potential, those that favor exports and job creation, especially in R&D and internships. Innovation needs to create more value, wealth, and jobs. This is the ideal scenario. How much is Portugal investing in R&D? Many companies in Portugal are strengthening their position through R&D and innovation. Very well-known corporations are expanding their investments in R&D and building strong partnerships with universities. Bosch, for example, is working together with the University of Minho. Industrial companies in northern and central Portugal are conducting research programs with the University of Aveiro. This also applies to universities in Lisbon and Porto. So R&D is definitely on the agenda of most Portuguese companies nowadays. What is your assessment of the Portuguese work force? Our work force is highly qualified, which was not the case 20 or even 10 years ago. They are extremely competent and Portuguese engineers, businessmen, managers, etc. are constantly hired by international companies because they are very competitive. How is innovation boosting the cork industry, one of the traditional leading sectors of the Portuguese economy? Our cork industry was in decline, but we have managed to turn it around, AICEP has two inter-related goals, one is to promote and support exports, and the other is to attract investors to Portugal. and it is currently performing very well due to a lot of investment in innovation. Corticeira Amorim, for example, invests in startups looking for different uses for cork. Cork can be used in fashion, agri-foods and several other areas that you would not have thought of or imagined before. Did you know that you can use cork to help make yogurt? And that you can even apply it in a more sustainable refrigerator? Cork really can be used everywhere, it is such a versatile product! Which sectors are making the most progress and being globally competitive? Portuguese exports have been performing very well for the last six ot seven years and 2016 was record-breaking. Sectors that are doing well include machinery, automotive, aeronautics, cork, agri-food and fashion. We probably became more competitive due to the crises we experienced. It made the domestic market shrink, so companies had go out and get into the global market place to survive. That s why our exports have grown from less than 30% of GDP in 2010 to more than 40% at the current time. However, if we compare Portugal to our peers in Europe of the same size such as Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, or Ireland, you will see that their exports to GDP ratio is more than 50%, while we are still at 40%. We have come a long way, but we still have to improve. The recovery of the Portuguese economy is ongoing and GDP is now growing at a moderate pace. What are the remaining challenges that you believe the government needs to address? Growth is still not as strong as we would like it to be, but I believe the conditions are there for the GDP growth rate to accelerate. Many reforms have taken place in recent years: in the justice system, labor market, rental market, tax policies, de-bureaucratizing public administration, education, health, etc. But we still need to implement new measures to improve our competitiveness. One of the areas where I think we are less competitive is regarding taxes: tax incentives, corporate and personal income tax. We should reform our tax system, especially when it comes to direct taxes. We still have severe constraints in the financial area though. Our 2016 budget deficit will be around 2% and should foster a good economic environment, making us more competitive and interesting to investors. However, we are doing well in comparison to other countries when it comes to infrastructure and a qualified work force. The quality of our infrastructure such as roads, railroads, etc., is excellent. And the level of proficiency in English here is exceptional compared to other European countries. This is important since English is the international language in business. And this is not only in Lisbon, but throughout the whole. Can you describe AICEP s role in bringing in foreign direct investment (FDI) and where it is present? AICEP has two inter-related goals, one is to promote and support exports, and the other is to attract investors to Portugal. We believed that we needed to expand our overseas network to increase exports and we are now present in more than 60 countries, compared to a little more than 50 in The last three offices we opened were Bangkok, Buenos Aires and Sydney. We are present in all the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries) countries, except for Equatorial Guinea which is covered by our delegation in São Tomé and Príncipe. Being present throughout the CPLP is very important not only because of our historical and cultural ties, but also for economic reasons. It is a market of more than 250 million consumers and we want to maximize the potential of Portuguese as a business language. We also opened our second US office in San Francisco in September 2015, the exact same week when it was announced that the Web Summit would be coming to Portugal. We have also opened branches in Seoul, Riyadh, Doha, Zurich, and a second office in Mumbai (we were already present in New Delhi). We work very closely with the ambassadors and consuls general in each. Two recently opened branches are Havana and Tehran since the international community is once again trying to reach out to those markets. This expansion was not in our original plan, but we need to adapt to current economic trends. Our expansion plan needs to be dynamic and flexible because things change from one moment to the next. As far as bringing in more FDI is concerned, we needed to have a more strategic presence abroad which is why we opened all these new offices. We strengthened our teams with FDI scouts who are specialists focused 40% percentage of exports that contributed to the GDP in AICEP global offices 55,000 attendees at the Lisbon Web Summit 2016 on attracting foreign investment. We identified three geographical areas where we believe we have better chances of attracting the attention of investors. They are North America (Canada and the US); Western Europe (Benelux, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and the UK) and Asia (China, Korea and Japan). We have been getting a lot of interest from Chinese investors who also bought stakes in privatized Portuguese companies. Some examples are China Three Gorges and their stake within our electric company EDP, the State Grid Corporation of China in REN, our electrical network. They are also investing in the banking and finance sector; Fosun International, for example, bought the insurance company, Caixa Seguros and is also present in Millennium BCP. China is the where we currently have the most branches with offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Macau (we cover Hong Kong from Macau.) As soon as Portugal opens a consulate in Guangzhou, we will also have an AICEP representation there. It is a sign of the times we are living in, where no one ignores China. We are happy to welcome these Chinese investors as traditionally most of our investors came from Europe, but the truth is that now we invite investors from all over the world. We are a very open economy. It is not AICEP s role to export or invest, but it is our role to support and work with companies that want to export and those that want to invest here. Was the Web Summit a huge success for Portugal? The Web Summit surpassed all our expectations! It was the largest event that we have ever hosted in Portugal and we think it is here to stay. The attendees were very happy with the event. The venues were great with lots of space and very good services, The Web Summit has been growing each year; from 400 attendees seven years ago to over 40,000 in Dublin in 2015 and around 55,000 in Lisbon in The startups present in Dublin in 2014 and 2015 raised more than US$ 1 billion each year. We expect an even higher number for Lisbon We are hopeful that the participation of the Portuguese companies will also increase. There is the Portugal before the Web Summit and the Portugal after the summit. The impact has been impressive! AICEP is happy that it is contributing to the fact that Portugal can now be seen as a tech hub.

4 COMPETITIVE, EFFICIENT AND ADVANTAGEOUS Portugal punches above its weight across all sectors and is open to investment 35th for availability of scientists and engineers LISBON 2nd Best City to Invest Financial Times 2014 Best European to visit USA Today ST in Trading Across Borders Rank th in the Enforcing Contracts Rank th most competitive within the EU-28, better classification than the Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy The World Bank Portugal has a strategic position to access key worldwide markets it is the nearest European to the US and Canada 15th (out of 141) Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report rd in the Fundacity s Acceleration Ranking in 2014 measures number of startups accelerated 22nd with highest availability of latest technologies 29th with the highest firm-level technology absorption and 21 in the number of fixed-broadband subscriptions per inhabitant Investment (GFCF), Portugal , % rd in services offered fully online 4th in reuse of user data in online forms Digital Economy and Society Index th most peaceful Global Peace Index Great infrastructure The quality of its roads (9th), port infrastructure (29th), railroad infrastructure (28th) and air transport (28th) 6th in motorway network density Exports, Portugal, Euro Zone , % All mainland seaports are connected to the rail network to the Spanish border Portugal Euro Zone

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