CATALAN BUSINESS PROMOTION UNIT SEEKS TO REASSURE U.S.

UNCLAS BARCELONA 000031 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/WE (SAMSON/ZERDECKI) STATE ALSO FOR E AND EB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD PGOV AN SP SUBJECT: CATALAN BUSINESS PROMOTION UNIT SEEKS TO REASSURE U.S. COMPANIES, OFFER SERVICES ¶1. (U) Summary: Josep Huguet, Regional Minister (Conseller) for Innovation, Universities and Enterprise, and Carme Botifoll i Alegre, Director General of Business Promotion for Catalonia (ACC1O) hosted a lunch March 2 for U.S. business representatives based in Catalonia. AmCham President Jaime Malet led a group of representatives from companies such as Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Baker and McKenzie, Citibank, Cushman and Wakefield, Dow, Air Products, Mattel, Computer Sciences, Continental Airlines, Sara Lee, Metaldyne Automotive, Hewlett Packard, Yahoo, Hudson, and Dow, among others. The purpose of the lunch was to declare Catalonia still "open for business" and to lay out just what the region could do to help U.S. businesses weather the current financial crisis. End Summary. ¶2. (U) At a March 2 luncheon hosted by Conseller Josep Huguet and ACC1O Director General Carme Botifoll, Catalan officials told U.S. business representatives that ACC1O, a new unit that brings Catalonia's export promotion and foreign investor services offices together under one umbrella, could offer advisory and consultation services to U.S. businesses seeking to establish themselves in the region. AmCham President Jaime Malet and CG Robinson also attended. Huguet noted the Generalitat (Catalonia's regional government) 37 foreign offices worldwide to help potential foreign investors do business here. ¶3. (U) Catalonia is competing with other European regions to attract foreign investment in a number of sectors including water technology, renewable energy generation, and solar panel production. In addition, Catalonia is looking to become a center for innovation that would generate "clusters" across fields to create auxiliary enterprises, introduce technology cooperation, and offer assistance to those who wish to start new enterprises. Huguet planned to use Barcelona's designation as the seat of the Union of the Mediterranean to create and attract an even broader range of companies and disciplines. ¶4. (U) AmCham President Jaime Malet underscored the significant U.S. stake in the region when he said a full 14% of the region's investment comes from across the Atlantic, and 60% of the U.S. total investment in Spain comes to Catalonia. In addition, 50% of research and development in Spain is conducted by U.S.-affiliated businesses. Anheuser-Busch, Nike, Baker and McKenzie, Citibank, Cushman and Wakefield, Dow, Air Products, Mattel, Computer Sciences, Continental Airlines, Sara Lee, Metaldyne Automotive, Hewlett Packard, Yahoo, Hudson, and Dow were among the companies that participated in the lunch. Surprisingly, nearly all of them listed the same problems as they went around the table. Chief among them: finding quality employees, lack of English language skills among university graduates, and too much bureaucracy, including delays in obtaining work visas for the employees they bring to Catalonia. It was mentioned that although Barcelona's two main business schools, IESE and ESADE, ranked among the world's best international institutions, the other Catalan-based schools ranked at the bottom, according to European surveys. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: Catalonia, like other regions in Europe, is facing serious long term economic challenges. Officials are pulling out the stops to keep companies already here and to attract any others that might be interested. Barcelona's quality of life, Mediterranean climate, and reputation for seriousness gives the region an advantage over some others, however, the Catalans know they cannot take anything for granted. With unemployment at 11.8% at the end of 2008, the highest since 1999, an economic slow down of 0.9%, and more and more businesses forced to retrench, the region is going to have to work hard to keep pace with the competition. End Summary. ROBINSON