Produced by Global Gulf Consulting Managing director and editor: Nayra Delgado Design: Jose Medina Production: María José Mujica & Franck Pérez
FindeMe in Gran Canaria An investment trendy island When Demi Moore, Shirley McLane and Jessica Lange arrived in Gran Canaria last ple in the island weren´t surprised. Ridley Scott, Christian Bale or Sigourney Weaver and a large list of celebrities before them had previously visited the small Spanish archipelago. Suddenly the islands became trendy and known as a natural movie set but also as a very c o n v e -
Located in the middle of the Atlantic and much closer to Africa than to Europe, the Canary Islands are said to have the best climate in the world, never too hot and never too cold. In very short distances you can walk from a 2,000 metre mountain peak to a long sandy beach, with temperatures changing with every step. 43% of the island has been re Reserve and is indeed like a miniature continent.
“The European door
location, the lowest within the European Union. Even S·3, a Swiss Aerospace Company, has chosen Gran Canaria as a strategic place to
to West Africa”
strategic location for a possible expansion into Africa. We are in a good position, therefore, to place ourselves in the global market. All we need is more promotion, understanding and
very unique feature that should become an asset”, says Bravo de Laguna. And it surely has, because for the past 50 years it has been the favourite European holiday destination, with 12 million holiday-makers a year. Almost 4 million of them come to Gran Canaria, which normally has a population of less than a million. Some of them even stay half of the year to avoid cold winters at home.
Bravo de Laguna, the president of Gran Canaria´s government.
The island has become the foremost international invest-
are in Europe but with tax be-
Gran Canaria
ment recipient in the region and both professionals and multinationals have chosen it as the perfect location to work in. Good weather, a low cost of living -well below European average- and low taxes are some of the reasons. Companies are also increasingly choosing the island for its location as a gateway to emerging markets in West Africa and a distribution platform between Africa, Europe and ment opportunities in tourism and transport. We are expanding our airport which already has 12 million passengers yearly and is connected to 275 destinations. There are exciting opportunities in strategic lines of marine research due to the geographical location of Gran Canaria as well as in clean energy and water treatment. Gran Canaria is globally recognized as a pioneer in
the economic engine of the island is our port”, says the pre-
of water. But in my opinion, the greatest potential is yet to lations with Africa”, says the President. Gran Canaria falls under the Special Tax Regime of Canary Islands (REF), one
explains Bravo de Laguna.
schemes in Europe which has stimulated international attention and includes the Special Economic Zone (ZEC) that offers only 4% corporate tax and incentives as the Special Investment Reserve (RIC) that aims to reinvest dividends in José Miguel Bravo de Laguna, president of Gran Canaria Goverment
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and Americans are locating their oil-related businesses in Las Palmas Port to service the oil rich region of West Africa, while companies like Kin ross is managing its mining business in Mauritania from Gran Canaria”. In November 2014 Repsol, the largest Spanish oil company, started exploring the subsea of the Canaries hoping that is found in West African waters. In the meantime, rigs and cranes from West Africa sail to Las Palmas Port, the third biggest port in Spain, for their mandatory check-ups. The World Food Program has recently established its logistics base in Gran Canaria and the Red Cross has also located there to cover the African connally, offers European legal
“A logistic platform between
3 continents
and a strong
private sector”