ZEC News

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Juan Alberto Martín describes the outcome of the first quarter as one of the best ever since the ZEC was established
[2008-04-07]

Juan Alberto Martín describes the outcome of the first quarter as one of the best ever since the ZEC was established

 

·          The President of the ZEC Consortium, Juan Alberto Martín, says that the current crisis hanging over the general economic scene “is not being felt in the ZEC”

·          Mr Martín describes the outcome of the ZEC in the first quarter of the financial year as “one of the best ever”

·          The ZEC and the Chamber of Commerce have set up the SAPPE, a service to advise entrepreneurs on how their projects can be implemented through the ZEC

 

 

 

Canary Islands 07/04/08.-  The President of the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC), Juan Alberto Martín, this morning described the outcome of the first quarter as “one of the best” in the history of the ZEC. In line with this, Mr Martín said that within the ZEC “the economic crisis affecting the overall scene is not being felt”. He highlighted the fact that the outcome for the end of March was a total of 29 companies authorised, with commitments to make initial investments totalling 133 million euros and employment creation figures of around 380 new jobs.

 

The announcement was made at the signing of a co-operation agreement this morning, by the President of the ZEC Consortium and the head of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Shipping, Ignacio González. The purpose of the agreement is to set up what will be known as the SAPPE (from its Spanish acronym): Personalised Attention Service for Business Projects. From now on, this entity will advise entrepreneurs through the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce on the feasibility of implementing their projects within the Canary Islands preferential tax regime, and in particular on the recently updated regulations concerning the use of funds from the Canary Islands Investment Reserve (RIC) to create new companies in the low tax zone.

 

Mr González said that the aim of this co-operation between the two institutions lay in “strengthening the mechanisms for promoting the ZEC through the Chamber of Commerce, both in terms of the services the Chamber provides for entrepreneurs and business representatives as well as in activities abroad”.

 

He added that “with this agreement, we also wish to continue participating not only actively in the strategy for diversifying the economy of the Islands, but also in permanently supporting entrepreneurs in making their business projects a reality”. Mr González also said that at present, “the extension of the time frame of the ZEC until 2019 and the possibility of using RIC funds in ZEC projects has provided a real incentive, particularly for local entrepreneurs”.

 

Setting up the SAPPE

The public needs to be made aware of all the measures included in the Canary Islands tax regime. Therefore, the SAPPE will provide detailed information on the regime, listing all the tax exemptions available, and will circulate information concerning one of the Canary Islands economic resources whose benefits place it at the highest level in the European context. The President of the ZEC Consortium highlighted the interest of the ZEC in this service, which will be run by specialists who will provide local entrepreneurs with information and assess how their projects may be included in the Special Zone, in order to find solutions to “any technical queries” they may have.

 

In this respect, Mr Martín said that the priorities of the Consortium included attracting companies with added value, whose land-use requirements “are not excessive”. He reiterated what the President of the Chamber of Commerce had said, that the Canary Islands economy “especially at a time like this, cannot pass up a single business investment project”, adding that the public institutions, organisations and political powers have the obligation to ensure that “we do not miss out on any of these projects”.

 

In relation to the problem of the limited amount and the high price of land set aside for industrial activities, Mr González referred to the action plan announced in November last year by the President of the Canary Islands Government, Paulino Rivero, which aims to put more than 10 million square metres of land on the market. “The plan was announced five months ago and we hope that the regional government puts it into effect as soon as possible so that the development of the industrial sector is not strangled,” he said.

 

Mr González also mentioned the activities undertaken on an international level to take advantage of the trade missions and fairs organised by the Chamber of Commerce in more than 20 countries in Europe, Africa, America and Asia, designed to attract the attention of new foreign investors and enable them to explore the vast opportunities of the Canary Islands as a business platform. 

 

The President of the low tax zone, Mr Martín, said that the ZEC currently shows greater diversity in the companies registered, in line with one of the main objectives of the tax regime. He added that “while not wishing to appear too optimistic”, this situation showed that the use of the tax regime would encourage business diversification and “ease the duopoly that has formed the base of the Canary Islands economic structure”. In this respect, he said, “we have to work to make the coast clear”.

 

 

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