IMAP Albia Capital held last Thursday, November 30, the sixth edition of its annual Albiacoustic event at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.
In the presentation on the current economic business situation in Spain made at the 6th edition of Albiacoustic held on Thursday night in Bilbao, Antonio Garamendi, president of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), stressed that “Spain is far behind in innovation”. The sum of investment in this area by companies and universities is far from the 2 percent that should have been achieved and the 3 percent target set by the European Union in 2020 in Lisbon. Along with digitalization, sustainability and the circular economy, innovation is key for Spanish industry. According to Garamendi, “Spain is currently doing well, because tourism is doing well, GDP has risen, but this year we have 70,000 fewer jobs in the industrial sector in our country”. The CEOE president affirmed that, in regions with a strong industrial sector, unemployment is below 10 percent, employment is indefinite and of better quality, in addition to having a tractor effect on the rest of the economy. He highlighted the growth of the Spanish defense and aeronautical sectors and the good prospects for this industry in the future.
In the presentation, Garamendi also endorsed the growth of the Spanish economy of 2.4 percent in 2023, according to official figures, although he was more cautious with expectations for next year: he expects GDP to grow by 1.4 percent of GDP in Spain “and if we are optimistic, 1.5 percent”.
Antonio Garamendi’s statements were made at Albiacoustic, the annual event held by IMAP Albia Capital, an international company specializing in mergers and acquisitions. In his analysis of the current economic situation, the CEOE president identified other challenges facing the Spanish economy, including the lack of investor and business confidence, underlying inflation and the government deficit. The increase in interest rates will have an impact on debt maturing in the coming months. “That is why we are telling the political class, be it the Central Government, the regional governments or the Autonomous Communities, that we must return to economic orthodoxy and budgetary rigor,” said Garmanedi.
Another difficulty faced by companies is the lack of talent. In addition to highlighting the shortage of employees specialized in cybersecurity, engineering and the hospitality, construction or transportation sectors, he advocated bringing more women into STEM careers and professions. Finally, he advocated “reasonable taxation” for companies.