Egypt and Spain agreed to study the establishment of a navigation line between Alexandria and Spain’s Barcelona to facilitate the trade movement between the two countries, said Trade and Industry Minister Rachid Mohamed Rachid during his talks with Spanish Minister of State for Trade Silvia Iranzo.

The line will also facilitate the access of Egyptian export to European markets to increase the products’ competitiveness,he added .

The two ministers also agreed on cooperating in several fields, including food industries, textiles, ready-made garments, medicine, leather, infrastructure and energy projects.

Despite the financial crisis, the volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Spain reached 2.3 billion euros in 2009, Rasheed said.

Rasheed and Spanish Minister of State for Trade Silvia Iranzo also opened on May 11th 2010 the Egyptian-Spanish business forum, in which 300 businessmen from both countries participated.

Iranzo praised the economic reform carried out by the Egyptian government, positively reflected on growth rates.

A huge number of Spanish companies are willing to invest in Egypt in different sectors, she added.

British Airways, American Airlines and Spain´s Iberia, members of the Oneworld alliance, want to deepen the pact to take advantage of the U.S./EU “Open Skies” agreement, which liberalises trans-Atlantic aviation.

But Branson, who last month called proposals by Oneworld members to cede a number of lucrative trans-Atlantic slots in an in effort to seal approval for the alliance “woefully inadequate”, said he strongly opposed such an alliance.

“We actually believe the Commission should just say: No way BA-AA” Branson told the Financial Times.

“The way the Commission is currently going about it is fundamentally flawed and misguided, and to be honest it´s rather a lazy approach,” he said.

Alliances are seen as a lucrative alternative to mergers and large-scale investments. The airlines want to jointly manage schedules, capacity and pricing as well as share revenues on routes between North America and Europe.

The commission opened an investigation into a planned alliance last April. But Branson said the commission should treat the proposed tie-up as a merger.

“In every other way they´ll be behaving as a single entity,” Branson said.

“So we believe that the Commission should be treating it as they would treat any merger situation.”

Last week British Airways and Spain´s Iberia signed an $8 billion merger to create the world´s third-largest airline, bringing a three-way tie-up with American Airlines a step closer.

(Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

via Branson slams EU Commission over tie-up – FT | Reuters.

The new terminal will replace Terminal 2 and the Queens building which date from the 1950s and it will have the capacity to serve 20 million passengers a year, the company said in a statement.

The contract, which includes design and construction of the new terminal building as well as the access road, a new cooling plant and aircraft stands, is Ferrovial´s largest since it entered the British market in 2003.

Alejandro de la Joya, the CEO of Ferrovial´s construction unit Ferrovial Agroman, said the contract was of “strategic” importance for the company´s international growth.

“It strengthens the outlook for presenting Ferrovial Agroman with further business opportunities in the near future in the key UK market,” he said in the statement.

Star Alliance airlines, whose 26 members include United Airlines, Air China, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada, will be based at the new terminal.

Ferrovial has operated Heathrow, Europe´s busiest hub, since it scooped up BAA in 2006 for 10.23 billion pounds.

Like other Spanish builders, Ferrovial has been seeking to boost its foreign investment to offset weakness in Spain, which has been stuck in a deep recession since the collapse of a property bubble at the end of 2008.

The company posted a net loss of 92.4 million euros last year, compared to a net loss of 812 million euros in 2008.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved.

via AFP: Spain’s Ferrovial to build new Heathrow terminal.

The company, which is owned by Ferrovial, of Spain, reported a pre-tax loss of £822 million for the 12 months to December 31, compared with a £324.2 million loss in the year before.

Stripping out one-off items, which include a £277.3 million loss of the £1.5 billion sale of Gatwick last year, losses narrowed from £190 million in 2008 to £156 million.

Full-year revenues grew by 8 per cent to £1.9 billion.

Colin Matthews, the chief executive of BAA, said: “Our financial performance remains resilient, especially at Heathrow, which benefits from its position as the UK´s only hub airport, higher retail spending by passengers and strong cost control.”

But he warned: “We expect 2010 to present further economic challenges for the industry as a whole, and we will remain focused on improving our efficiency and the service we offer customers.”

Mr Matthews said that he expected a “modest” recovery in passenger traffic this year, which would support similar growth in turnover and underlying earnings.

BAA is awaiting the outcome of a legal battle with the Competition Commission over whether it must sell Stansted.

The commission's initial ruling that BAA should sell both Gatwick and Stansted was overturned by the Competition Appeal Tribunal on the basis of apparent bias.

This was because a member of the commission´s inquiry panel that issued the ruling had been on the team investigating BAA.

Two weeks ago the commission said that it was seeking leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the tribunal´s judgment.

The date for the appeal has not been set.

Of the exceptional costs, £218 million was a provision to allow for the costs of covering the emergence of a deficit in the BAA pension scheme during 2009.

BAA said that a further £117 million charge came from “fair value losses on financial instruments” — the extra cost of servicing index linked bonds it has issued.

The group's debts fell by 9 per cent in the year to £8.58 billion.

via BAA losses reach £822 million on Gatwick sale – Times Online.

According to estimates from the sector itself, the reform could contribute to the creation of some 50,000 jobs in the coming years and will generate indirect investment of around 4,000 million euros.

The Lower House of Parliament [Congreso] has approved the reform of Act 7/1996 on Retail Trade Regulation, although this Act had already been amended many times in order to bring its content into line with the constant process of globalisation of the economy and with the need for regulation in this field to be adapted to the reality of the markets.

The new Act amends the retail trade regulation thereby adapting it to the provisions of the “Omnibus” Act [access to service businesses and their operation], responsible for the transposition of Directive 2006/123/EC, relative to services in the domestic market. The Spanish trade model is noted for a high trade density which is characteristic of the Mediterranean countries and for the particular way of structuring urban centres around shopping areas. The aim of the legislative amendment is, without losing these values, to increase the value generated by commercial distribution through liberalisation of the provision of services and the restriction of charges on companies.

The new Act respects the exclusive competence of the Autonomous Regions on matters of domestic trade, although the State is authorised to establish a national regulation to serve as a base so that the Autonomous Regions can implement the regulation appropriate to them in the exercise of their competencies. The new text, together with the provisions of the “Umbrella Act”, will constitute the reference framework for the regional regulation.

The new regulation originates from the principle of company freedom and its purpose is to facilitate the free establishment of trade distribution services through a framework where the various trading formats may freely compete.

The economic impact of the reform will be significant, as according to estimates from the sector, the anticipated indirect investment is around 4,000 million euros and could contribute to the creation of some 50,000 jobs in the short and medium term.

Most relevant amendments introduced in the Act

• The freedom to set up a business as a general principle, eliminating the compulsory trading licence. Nevertheless, an authorisation system may be established, justifying it in accordance with the principle of proportionality and objectively identifying the reasons for the establishment of the same and the estimated impact.
• The restrictive economic criteria of competition are abolished, as well as the participation of competitors in the authorisation processes. Parliamentary processing has entailed the detailed inclusion of the requirements of a financial nature that are banned in the granting of licences; this will contribute to increasing transparency in the procedures and the legal security of the operators.
• Autonomous Regions will be setting up an authorisation procedure that will incorporate all the necessary processes. This will mean bringing forward the start-up of trading activity, saving costs for operators.
• The definition of a large retail business is abolished, thereby avoiding discrimination from State legislation on the various trading formats, since no reference whatsoever is made to the square metres of the establishments. The only relevant aspect will be the environmental or urban impact, or the impact the establishment has on historical-artistic heritage, depending on the area or territory, without taking account of the area involved.
• Prior authorisation for vending machines is abolished, and only the approval of the models is required.
• The duration of permits for street trading is limited so as to guarantee the rotation of competitors due to the scarcity of road space available, in any case guaranteeing street traders the recovery of their investments. The highlights amongst the new features in the text following its parliamentary processing are the automatic renewal of licences granted prior to the Act coming into force and the competence of Autonomous Regions and Local Councils to determine the terms.
• The obligation to officially register before starting up a business is replaced by the need for a communication to the Registry for distance selling and franchisers after the start-up.
• In cases where Spain could be fined in proceedings under European law, whose origin lies in regional trade legislation, any possible fines will be transferred to the corresponding Autonomous Region.

Spanish Foreign Minister Angel Moratinos, who got together with foreign reporters Friday said, as he would not be attending the summit due to his busy schedule, he would have a private meeting with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on Sunday.

Moratinos said during the meeting details about Davutoglu´s recent trip to Iran as well as efforts to resolve the Middle East problem, the Cyprus issue, and Spanish support to Tukey´s EU bid would be discussed.

Spanish Foreign Minister said they were for opening of new chapters to negotiation in EU accession talks with Turkey.

“We are waiting for the new EU Commission to start working. We will assess the position of the commission and demand new chapters to be opened,” said Moratinos.

Moratinos said as well as bilateral relations between Turkey and Spain, developments in the Middle East, Pakistan, the Balkans, and the Union for the Mediterranean, climate change and Alliance of Civilizations, global financial crisis and energy issues would be discussed during the meeting.

He said ten ministers from Turkey and six ministers from Spain would attend the summit.

Moratinos said they were hopeful about the progress in the extensive talks in Cyprus.

Commenting on the crisis between the international community and Iran, Moratinos said, they expected Iran to accept the proposal of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He said Turkey´s mediation in talks on Iran´s nuclear program was important and Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan would inform them about the recent developments.

Moratinos said new diplomatic measures against Iran was on the way.

Moratinos said the Union for the Mediterranean would be finally established noting that he and foreign ministers of France and Egypt –Co-Chairs of the union– would open the General Secretariat in Barcelona on March 4

via Turkey-Spain governmental meeting to discuss several issues [ WORLD BULLETIN- TURKEY NEWS, WORLD NEWS ].

Despite relief that Britain´s decision to stay out of the euro has avoided the kind of budgetary crisis brewing in Mediterranean nations, figures showing that UK sales to Spain, Britain´s seventh-largest trading partner, plunged by 31% to £7.74bn (€8.92bn) in 2009, reveal how exposed are the balance sheets of some of the UK´s biggest companies.

Top-selling brands such as Vodafone, Burberry and British Airways are suffering from Spain´s shrinking economy – which accounts for twice as many UK exports than China.

Barclays is also suffering from low savings and lack of investments. In a rare piece of bad news from the bank yesterday, it said that its impairment charges in global retail and commercial banking across western Europe rose £370m to £667m, largely driven by losses in Spanish commercial property, construction and small business loans.

With four million – almost 20% of the workforce – unemployed, Spaniards are cutting down on their spending. This trend includes those who have a job and who fear that they may lose it.

Consumers are leaving bills unpaid, forcing companies such as Vodafone to sell lists of unpaid accounts to businesses that specialise in recovering cash. The phone giant recently reported a 6.8% sales decline in Spain, where it generates an annual £1.3bn of service revenues – the third-largest market after Germany and Italy.

The business of recovering money has grown so popular in Spain that it advertises in top venues such as FC Barcelona´s football stadium, grabbing millions of TV viewers. Even Barcelona football club is tightening its belt. It has put on hold a multimillion-pound redevelopment project of its 100,000-capacity Camp Nou stadium, a project assigned to British architect Norman Foster.

London-based Diageo, maker of brands such as Smirnoff and Baileys which are popular in Spain, is suffering from the new habits in a country that has traditionally entertained more outside the home than inside. Now this has changed, people are going out less, and while at home, local and cheaper beer is replacing spirits and wine.

“The challenging macro-economic environment continued to shape Diageo´s performance in Iberia with reduced on-trade consumption [in bars and pubs] and down-trading to value brands in the off-trade [supermarkets, shops],” the company said recently.

Spain and Portugal account for only about 4.5% of Diageo´s net sales, although the company blamed the falls in Spain, as well as Ireland and eastern Europe, for being the main reason for its overall sales decline in Europe.

Spain is one of Diageo´s strongest markets for products such as Baileys, which is often served along with dessert at weddings. Sales of famous names such as J&B fell in shops and supermarkets as consumers moved to cheaper brands. The company is now aiming to sell to customers at home, offering ready-to-serve cocktails such as the Cacique Mojito.

As many as 700 British companies operate in Spain, employing about 100,000 people. Top exporters include British Petroleum, which has a network of more than 300 petrol stations around the country.

The energy sector has been severely affected by the recession: UK energy sales to Spain more than halved to £575m (€663m) in 2009 from £1.2bn in 2008, mostly driven by a plunge in oil exports, according to the data from the Spanish government.

“Spain´s recession implies a big adjustment in the country´s imports, despite the strength of the euro,” said José Antonio Zamora, economic and trade councillor at the Spanish embassy in London. “Energy products and capital goods have been particularly hit because of the fall in investment.”

Tourism companies have also suffered as the number of British visitors to Spain has plummeted to about 11 million from 17 million, due to the UK recession and the stronger euro, which makes trips to the Costas more expensive.

Other big export names include British Imperial Tobacco – which bought Spain´s cigarette maker Altadis – and Bupa, owner of the Sanitas private health insurance brand.

UK-Spanish mergers have flourished over the past few years as the two economies opened up to competition in Europe. Spain´s Iberdrola took over Scottish Power, while British Airways is now planning a tie-up with Spain´s flagship carrier, Iberia.

via Pain in Spain could fall on British companies | Business | guardian.co.uk.

I am delighted to be visiting Spain and may I start by thanking my hosts for the very warm welcome I have received. I like to think it is a sign of the friendship that exists between our two countries.

Of course, relations have not always been as cordial as they are today. You sent us the Armada; we sent you Posh and Becks! Fortunately, we have managed to put all that behind us and now things couldn’t be more different.

Today our countries enjoy good relations and strong bonds, which connect our people and enrich our lives, both culturally and economically. Spanish is growing in popularity among British schoolchildren as they choose which foreign languages to learn. It is now the second choice, after French, having overtaken German in the past three years.

This makes perfect sense – and not just because Spanish, like English, is a world language that can open many new doors. More and more Brits are embracing the Spanish way of life. Over 16 million British people visit Spain each year; and 1 million properties here in Spain are owned by Britons.

Our economic ties are also bringing us ever closer together: around 700 UK companies have operations here in Spain. I must admit that I was surprised – and impressed – to learn the true extent of our economic relationship. Britain exports twice as much to Spain as we do to China, and three times as much as we do to India. In fact, Spain is our seventh largest export market overall – worth £15.7 billion on latest figures [2008]. In recent years we have been the second largest foreign investor in Spain. In 2008 alone UK investment here stood at £1.6 billion.

But this is not a one-way relationship by any means. Many Spanish firms are also finding new markets and investment opportunities in the UK. Spain has consistently been one of our top foreign investors in recent years – number one in 2006 with Ferrovial and Telefónica. And this country is our eighth largest source of imports, providing goods and services worth nearly £21.5 billion according to latest figures.

I had no idea that our economic relationship was already so deep and broad. I am sure it will come as a surprise to many British and Spanish businesses – and politicians – too. It should encourage our businesses, and our countries, to cooperate even more closely, and combine our firepower to compete with India, China and the other emerging economies.

But I think it also vividly illustrates that, even in a globalised economy where new markets and sectors are developing all the time, it would be foolish for any company, or any government, to overlook the opportunities on our doorstep.

The strong relationship between Britain and Spain is already delivering a huge range of benefits to our businesses and our economies. This event is a sterling opportunity to strengthen our historic friendships and forge new partnerships for the future. Because together we can create new jobs, business and wealth in both our countries.

Business leaders from the UK and Spain attended the event, which took place on the 8 February at the Palace of Westminster.

The roundtable, which coincides with the Spanish Presidency of the EU, was designed to forge stronger business links between the UK and Spain by providing an overview of UK, Spanish and EU business policy, and highlighting investment opportunities in both countries. There are currently 1750 UK owned businesses in the Iberian peninsula and 300 Spanish companies in the UK.

British Minister for Trade and Investment, Lord Mervyn Davies and Silvia Iranzo, the Spanish Minister for commerce also spoke at the event.

“The rise in renewable energy consumption has also been a noteworthy factor,” a Sedigas statement said.

National grid operator REE (REE.MC) has estimated that gas-fired plants' share of Spain´s generation mix last year fell to 29 percent from 32 percent in 2008. [ID:nLDE5BM0TW]

The number of gas-fired plants in service rose by one in 2009 to 55, however, Sedigas said, because they back up demand for power when renewables cannot generate enough electricity.

Spain cannot import enough electricity from France to offset sudden drops in wind power due to a lack of power lines across the Pyrenees, so gas-burning generators have to be ready to start up when wind parks are becalmed.

Conversely, Spain cannot export surplus power northwards, so gas-fired plants have to halt on windy days.

Spain has to import more than 99 percent of its gas needs and Sedigas noted that it bought gas from 11 different markets. Algeria accounted for the biggest share (34 percent), followed by Nigeria (14 percent). Liquefied natural gas, of which Spain is the world´s third biggest importer, accounted for 74 percent of imports, with the remainder arriving in pipelines.

Sedigas tallied 471 LNG tankers which discharged at Spain´s six regasification plants in 2009, but gave no comparative figures. (Reporting by Martin Roberts; Editing by Keiron Henderson)

© Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved.

via Spain gas consumption fell 10.5 pct in ‘09-Sedigas | Markets | Reuters.