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Briefs
Updated: 16-Dec-2004
• Lisbon Câmara President, Carmona Rodrigues, has announced that he will seek compensation from the state for what he describes as its “unjustified actions” in stopping works on the Marquês Tunnel for the last seven months. His announcement came after the Lisbon Supreme Court reversed an earlier embargo on construction, so paving the way for the tunnel’s construction.
• The country’s highest profile trial in recent years got under way in Lisbon recently over the Casa Pia children’s home scandal. However, an opinion poll in daily broadsheet, Diário de Notícias, revealed that nearly 65 per cent of the population does not believe justice will be done in the case which accuses TV presenter Carlos Cruz, retired ambassador Jorge Ritto and former Casa Pia director Manuel Abrantes of paedophilia.
• FC Porto boss Pinto da Costa has been notified that there is a warrant for his arrest and detention with regards to corruption and his involvement in the ‘Apito Dourado’ case. Following a search of his house in Gaia, the police failed to find any evidence related to the case under investigation.
• Portugal’s main problem is political instability, according to political commentator, José António Saraiva. With continued instability, “companies, whether foreign or internal, are likely to think twice about investing in the country,” he says. The economy is growing at a weak rate, unemployment is rising and there is an atmosphere of nervousness pervading the country with a lack of public confidence in its leaders.
• Socialist party (PS) would win the elections if they were held now, according to polls published by national weekly broadsheet, Expresso. According to the statistics, 45 per cent would vote for José Sócrates to form a government, against 36 per cent voting for a government led by Pedro Santana Lopes.
• “I’m not making any statements, I’m not talking to anyone and if anyone asks I’m out of the country,” said former sports minister and friend to Pedro Santana Lopes, Henrique Chaves, this week. Chaves made the statement days after his shock announcement that he was resigning from the government after saying he had “been cheated” by the Prime Minster. “I believed in this man for years, but I have to conclude that he hoodwinked me with his lies and cheating,” he said. The lawyer claims that, during four months in his role, he was never consulted, given any power to do his job, which was left to Morais Sarmento and Gomes da Silva.
• Scores of Finance Minister Bagão Felix’s proposals have been ‘put on ice’ following the recent decision by Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio to dissolve parliament and call elections.
• The government is to create a body to co-ordinate the air transport industry in Portugal according to the Minister of Tourism, Telmo Correia, who announced the move in Brazil last week.
• The government is to invest around 600m euros by 2008 to improve the country’s main ports at Leixões, Aveiro, Lisbon, Setúbal and Sines.
Economy
• The Portuguese economy grew by 0.4 per cent in 2002 according to statistics released by the National Statistics Office. In 2004, that figure could be as high as 2.2 per cent according to estimates by the OCDE office, a revision on the 1.5 per cent originally estimated by that body.
• The port wine industry is continuing to decline in real terms as it has been for the fourth year running thanks to the Europe-wide recession. In 2004, the estimated volume of business should stand at 400m euros. The countries that continue to consume the most port are England, Germany, France and Holland in the EU and Canada outside. It is expected sales will begin to recover in 2005.
• Traffic through Portuguese airports rose in 2004 compared with the same period of January-September 2003. The National Statistics Office (INE) registered 17.8m passengers to September, a 7.1 per cent increase on the same period in 2003. The Euro Cup and new local low cost airlines are seen as likely reasons.
Finance
• The crisis in the government isn’t putting the capital markets in Portugal at risk according to Abel Ferreira, director of Euronext, Lisbon.
• Caixa Geral de Depósitos has opened up a credit line of 100m euros to finance Portuguese exports to Morocco and develop infrastructure there in road and rail.
• BPI has launched a new service of making payments between companies. It will help 35,000 companies involved in the scheme to improve its financial management.
• The transference of EDP shares to Caixa Geral de Depósitos is one of the best ways of securing a half of the bank’s capital increase, which will exceed 800m euros.
• Industry and business bosses and unions are trying to reach a compromise over the government’s proposed Social Contract, which aims to raise competitiveness. However union desires to raise salaries in line with other EU countries could hit a stumbling block as the government seeks to control salary increases to avoid inflation and government debt.
Companies
• TAP Portugal and travel agent, Abreu, are to create a new charter aviation company, which will take the place of the controversial bucket charter ‘Yes’.
• The new low-cost charter airline called White, will have the same shareholders as ‘Yes’ in which TAP has a 75 per cent stake while Abreu will hold the remaining 25 per cent.
• PGA – Portugália Airlines is planning to present a complaint against the privileges given to low cost airlines. João Ribeiro da Fonseca, President of PGA criticised the low tariffs offered to some airline companies (meaning TAP) at an airlines conference in Brazil last week.
• French record, book and electronic retail giant FNAC is to open a shop in Forum Coimbra in 2006.
• The Sonae Group is leading the Portuguese food distribution sector with supermarket chain Continente. Of the top 20 distributors in Portugal, Continente turned over 1.157bn euros, Jumbo 1.048bn euros, Modelo 1.012bn euros and Pingo Doce 984m euros.
Transport
• The development of the high-speed rail project (TGV) in Portugal and between Madrid and Lisbon is considered fundamental for improving the Portuguese economy said CP President António Ramalho last week.
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