Investment news

In this section you may access the most relevant news relating to foreign investment.

MARKET RESEARCH COMPANY COMSCORE OPENS A SPANISH OFFICE IN MADRID

23/06/2010
Online audience specialist comScore has opened an office in Madrid, from which it will service the Spanish and Portuguese market. The new operation will be led by media specialist Jaime Agulló as General Manager for Iberia.

The new office adds to their presence in the UK, France, Germany and Turkey, as well as their operations in Latin America, Canada, Asia Pacific and the US.

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ComScore is a global leader in measuring the digital world and the preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. In Spain, comScore provides information about consumers’ consumption of digital media through an Internet panel of more than 27,000. Additionally, the firm is implementing its new hybrid measurement UDM (Unified Digital Measurement) product in Spain, to integrate sample data from panelists and census data from web sites.

Source: La Vanguardia
Link: http://www.lavanguardia.es

TRACE ONE IBÉRICA INTENDS TO BECOME THE BENCHMARK COLLABORATIVE PLATFORM FOR SPANISH MANUFACTURERS ANDS RETAILERS

17/06/2010
The leading European e-collaborative solution provider Trace One has confirmed plans to open up to the Spanish market by opening its subsidiary Trace One Ibérica in Madrid. After signing agreements with Carrefour España and Eroski, who are already working with their suppliers through this platform, Trace One has confirmed plans to become the leading supplier of collaborative solutions for manufacturers and retailers working together to optimize private-label product development.

To achieve that objective, Trace One provides a comprehensive platform enabling collaboration between private-label product manufacturers and retailers, and guaranteeing product food safety and quality.

Four factors prompted Trace One to launch Trace One Ibérica:
• Provide a solution for the 400 Spanish manufacturers who already use Trace One to liaise with French retailers and want to use the same platform with Spanish retailers.
• Support French retailers such as Carrefour and Auchan with their operations in Spain, where they have a prominent presence.
• Penetrate the Spanish market, which is one of Europe’s most dynamic, with a 35.3% market share.
• Use its foothold in the Spanish market as a springboard to other Southern European markets and on to Latin American markets.

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Trace One is the European leader in e-collaborative solutions for managing consumer goods products for retailers and manufacturers in all categories. With 140 employees, Trace One Group today has a global presence through its five offices around the world: France, Spain, UK, USA and Hong Kong. Trace One’s solutions are adopted by European leading retailers including Auchan, Carrefour Group, Carrefour Spain, Casino, Eroski, Franprix-Leader Price, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, as well as 6200 suppliers in food and non-food sectors, 80% of the private label suppliers to the French market. Major multinational companies in the FMCG sector also work on Trace One solutions for managing their electronic catalogue: Coca-Cola, Danone, Kraft Foods, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Sara Lee.

Source: Empresa Exterior
Link: http://www.empresaexterior.com

VODAFONE AND ERICSSON OPEN MOBILE SERVICES TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CENTER

08/06/2010
Vodafone and Ericsson have opened a mobile services technology innovation center in Madrid, the Vodafone Ericsson Radio Innovation Centre, in order to promote the development and innovation of radio access technologies, according to information released jointly by the companies.

The centre will prioritize the provision of constant innovation for 2G and 3G networks, and will place a premium on improving the quality of high performance voice and broad band services supplied by Vodafone to clients around the world through Ericsson networks.

Source: FDI Markets
Link: http://www.fdimarkets.com

EUROSCRIPT EXTENDS EUROPEAN PRESENCE WITH NEW OFFICE IN MADRID

03/05/2010
Euroscript International S.A. today announced the opening of a new office in Spain. The new entity "euroscript Iberia S.R.L." is registered in Madrid and will be managed by Aldina Rodrigues and Marilita Oliveira. Both persons are already successfully managing euroscript’s operations in Portugal.

Euroscript Iberia S.R.L. will initially provide language services in the field of technical product documentation for both the local market and euroscript’s global manufacturing customers. The new subsidiary will gradually increase the range of content management services provided by the group.

In combination with the existing operations in Portugal and Argentina, the new office reinforces euroscript’s presence and network in Spanish-speaking countries.

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Euroscript International is a leader in providing customers with global solutions in content lifecycle management. The euroscript divisions deliver comprehensive solutions that help customers design, build and run content management operations of all sizes.

With a market presence in over 15 countries, euroscript serves customers in a variety of business sectors including the public sector, aerospace, defence and transport, manufacturing, life sciences, financial services and energy and environment.

Source: Euroscript International
Link: http://www.euroscript.com

LAMBIE-NAIRN LANDS IN MADRID

21/04/2010
Lambie-Nairn, a leading branding and design consultancy, strengthens its international footprint with the opening of an office in Madrid, Spain.

The new operation will enable the company to work more closely with Telefónica, its key client in the region. Christian Schroeder, CEO of Lambie-Nairn explains, “Developing long-term partnerships with global companies requires an intimate understanding of local markets. We want to achieve a balance between adhering to cultural sensitivities whilst maintaining overall coherence of the brands we work with. Having a team on the ground in Spain allows us to work more closely with Telefónica on a day-to-day basis, and helps ensure the success of this unique programme.”

Lambie-Nairn’s Global Executive Client Director and Global Head of the Telefónica account Nicky Nicolls, together with Madrid Creative Director Tim Simmons, will be responsible for Lambie-Nairn’s new Spanish operation. The office will open with 10 employees. Lambie-Nairn’s expansion into Spain further illustrates the company’s significant recent growth, which has seen the launch of 4 offices outside its UK base.

Source: Lambie Nairn
Link: http://www.lambie-nairn.com

STELTIX OPENS NEW BRANCH IN SPAIN

06/04/2010
Steltix, European supplier of IT solutions based on Oracle applications and technology, has expanded its international activities to Spain with the opening of new offices in Madrid, Girona and Sevilla. The new branch will focus on activities oriented towards sales and software development.

The expansion is in perfect harmony with Steltix’ strategy in becoming the most important European IT service provider in the area of Oracle Solutions. Steltix, which was founded by Dutchman Jasper van Wijk, has branches in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Thanks to the Spanish office, Steltix will be better able to support international organizations that operate locally in Spain. Customers in this way also get access to a less costly developmental capacity.

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Steltix is a pan-European provider of result improving IT solutions, in which customers and quality are the central focus. The organization provides industry-specific applications, implementation services and support based on Oracle software and technology. The purpose of this is to improve business performance, reduce costs and to minimize risks. Steltix has ten branches in Europe and Asia. The head office is located in Sarnen, Switzerland.

Source: Steltix
Link: http://www.steltix.com

FXPRO, THE GLOBAL FX BROKER, EXPANDS BUSINESS PRESENCE IN EUROPE

30/03/2010
FxPro Financial Services Ltd (FxPro), a leading global retail broker in forex and CFDs, has expanded its business presence in Europe by establishing a country office in Madrid, Spain. It is FxPro’s sixth country representative office created since operations began in 2007.

The launch of the office is another milestone achieved in FxPro’s organic growth strategy, with the aim of building presences in geographic markets that represent strong commercial opportunities and help to roll out services to clients with language support that serve those markets.

Located in the prestigious Salamanca district in the heart of Madrid, the FxPro representative office comprises a team whose operational focus is to provide comprehensive customer services support to all Spanish and Portuguese speaking clients not only in Spain and Portugal, but also to those clients worldwide.

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About FxPro

FxPro is the brand name of FxPro Financial Services Ltd. Founded in 2006, FxPro is a leading global retail broker in the forex market and CFDs, trading with leverage. FxPro is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, under licence number 078/07, and operates under the EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). They serve clients from more than 120 countries, with trading and customer support 24 hours a day, five days a week.

Source: FxPro
Link: http://www.fxpro.es

TECHNIGRAPHICS CHOOSES MADRID FOR ITS NEW EUROPEAN CENTER

02/03/2010
North American company Technigraphics has decided to set up the headquarters of its recently created subsidiary, Technigraphics Systems Spain, in Madrid. This project is part of the international expansion plan of the multinational, currently present in the United States, Europe and India. The region constitutes the hub of a strategic plan for Europe through the construction of a robust operations base in Spain with technical capacity and resources to meet the demand for services in Europe and to serve as a multinational coordination point for Outsourcing projects.

Some aspects that have contributed towards choosing Madrid as the ideal location are its geographical strategic location and the fact that the Information and Communications Technologies sector is one of the priorities of the economic policy of the regional government, which make it a "hub" in which the most important ICT corporations with presence in Spain are located.

PromoMadrid is the public company of the Region of Madrid that has helped Technigraphics in its decision making process. Its personnel has collaborated providing information related to operational and business costs, availability of a qualified workforce and other information referred to the viability of Madrid, as well as coordinating the relations with the different public organisms and sectorial associations. PromoMadrid has also advised the company throughout its implantation, with information about the most suitable locations and the incentives they can apply for.

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Technigraphics is a company dedicated to geospatial services linked to geographical information systems, PLM (Product LifeCycle Management) environment engineering services and graphical information systems in general.

Source: Empresa Exterior
Link: http://www.empresaexterior.com

UK FIRM SINCLAIR PHARMA SETS UP IN MADRID

02/03/2010
United Kingdom Company, Sinclair Pharma, has established an office in the San Fernando Business Park in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid), in order to begin activities in Spain.

This UK Company founded in 1971, specializes in the sales and marketing of dermatological and oral health products in more than 85 countries around the world. It has subsidiaries in the United States, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. It is listed on the London stock exchange and Euronext Paris.

Its business strategy is based on the acquisition of patented products at an advanced stage of development, their registration in key markets and their subsequent sale and marketing. Its international partners include US multinational Johnson & Johnson and German multinational Bayer.

Sinclair Pharma has a manufacturing plant with capacity to produce 6 million units a year.

Source: El Confidencial
Link: http://www.elconfidencial.com

IKEA INVESTS 15 MILLION IN ITS NEW HEADQUARTERS IN SPAIN

03/02/2010
Ikea has inaugurated its new headquarters in Spain in San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid), with an investment of 15 million Euros, according to a company press release today, which underscored how the company was bolstering its commitment to Spain and Portugal as a strategic market through the new headquarters.

Specifically, as part of this expansion plan, the Swedish company will open three new stores on the peninsula this year, in Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz), Loures (Portugal) and A Coruña. Furthermore, they have an investment plan of around 2,000 million Euros up to 2015 with the creation of 20,000 jobs (direct and indirect jobs).

The new Ikea headquarters has 3 floors and parking for employees, with capacity for 300 people. It is located close to the company’s store in this municipality of Madrid.

Source: Cinco Dias
Link: http://www.cincodias.com

FACEBOOK OPENS OFFICE IN MADRID

02/02/2010
Facebook has opened an office in Spain according to plan. The social network says that the office will meet the need to respond “in situ” to the nearly 200 advertisers that use Facebook as a communication vehicle in Spain.

The news did not come as a surprise since last April the commercial director of Facebook in Europe announced the company’s intention to hire approximately 300 people worldwide, including Madrid, which joins the list of offices in Europe (Britain, Paris and Ireland).

Facebook, with 6 million users in Spain, wants to equal or surpass the Spanish social networking website Tuenti, which claims 7 million.

Source: El Confidencial
Link: http://www.elconfidencial.com

BIOMERIEUX MADRID: NEW PLANT IN TRES CANTOS

15/01/2010
The President of the Region of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, has inaugurated today French company BioMérieux ´s new plant, in Tres Cantos. This is the only one located in Spain and the third one in production in Europe. The plant will enable the manufacture of 50 million units per year for hospital diagnosis and the creation of more than 45 jobs.

Esperanza Aguirre, highlighted that this Production Center helps the Region of Madrid to be the first biotechnological pole and the second one in the pharmaceutical sector, at the national level. Aguirre celebrated the choice of Madrid by many multinational companies such as BioMérieux, to develop their international projects. During the 1999-2008 period, the Region received 61% of total foreign investment in Spain.

Furthermore, BioMérieux can benefit from incentive programmes such as the Business Innovation Plan or the Regional Plan for Biotechnological Research and Development, for the development of specific projects that will generate new products and processes. In the 2008- 2009 period, the Community of Madrid approved 148 projects in the Biotechnological and Human Health area with € 19,3 million in grants.

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A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for 45 years, BioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (reagents, instruments, software) that determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety.
BioMérieux has more than 6,000 employees. Headquartered in France, the company is present in more than 150 countries through 39 subsidiaries and a large network of distributors. In 2008, revenues reached €1.111 billion with 84% of sales outside of France.

Source: Europa Press
Link: www.europapress.es

NORBERT DENTRESSANGLE OPENS NEW DISTRIBUTION CENTER IN SPAIN

04/12/2009
Leading European transport and logistics company, Norbert Dentressangle has announced the opening of a second facility in Madrid to accommodate continued growth in its Spanish distribution network.

Norbert Dentressangle Gerposa S.A. is a major provider of next day delivery services via a comprehensive network of 60 sites. In the last 12 months, the company has experienced a 30% increase in volume in its pallet distribution business, handling in excess of two and a half million pallets, and this growth is expected to continue.

In the short term, the newly built 4,000 sq m centre in San Fernando De Henares will act as a consolidation and trans-shipment point for product from customers in the area, prior to onward, next day delivery throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Furthermore, it will also act as a distribution centre serving customers in the north zone of Madrid.

The announcement follows the opening of a 14,000 sq m, fully automated distribution platform in Leganes in 2008, serving the southern zone of the Spanish capital.

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Norbert Dentressangle is a leading player in Logistics and Transport in Europe. With 27,000 employees operating across 355 sites in 16 countries, Norbert Dentressangle generated revenues of over EUR 3 billion in 2008 and develops high value-added solutions for customers in its two core businesses.

Link: http://www.norbert-dentressangle.co.uk

FJORD’S GROWTH CONTINUES WITH NEW SPANISH LAUNCH

12/11/2009
Due to a strong increase in the Spanish digital sector, and as part of its ongoing growth strategy, Fjord – Europe’s leading digital service design consultancy - is today opening a new office in Madrid, Spain.

Since early 2009 Fjord has worked with a variety of Spanish clients including leading brands such as Telefonica and BBVA. Opening an office in Madrid will enable Fjord to better support these and the many innovative, forward thinking Spanish companies.

As leaders in cross platform digital design, the award-winning team at Fjord is committed to delivering services that are both elegant and simple. Working with Fjord enables companies to transform their products and services, while always keeping the end-user in mind. Fjord is perhaps best known for its work with the BBC iPlayer, as well as Nokia, Yahoo! and Flirtomatic.

The new Spanish office is a key component of Fjord’s planned expansion following investment in the company in late 2008, and the opening of Fjord’s first US office in New York. The company also has offices in Berlin, Helsinki, and London.

Source: Fjord
Link: http://www.fjordnet.com

CHINESE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, MINDRAY, OPENS MADRID OFFICE

19/10/2009
Chinese medical equipment manufacturing and development company, Mindray, has opened an office in Madrid, which will make it the first company of its kind to locate in Spain.

The company presented its new office during a business symposium entitled “Chinese High Technology Companies” held in Madrid on the 19th of October.

Mindray currently manufactures 60 products in three lines of business, such as devices for patient monitoring and life-support products, ‘in-vitro’ diagnostic technology and medical imaging systems. Its intention is to present six to eight new products every year in order to increase its market share nationally and internationally.

The company has distributed more than 40,000 products to hospitals, clinics and medical centers in China. Outside China, the company exports to 142 countries and has since its beginnings marketed devices in more than 190 countries. It began exporting products for the first time in 2000, and in the second half of 2007 income generated in international markets exceeded national income for the first time in its history.

In June 2009, the company had a workforce of 5,600 worldwide. It is currently increasing distribution, sales and its services network in order to bring its products closer to the end users. It now owns 29 subsidiaries in the main cities of China, and 12 subsidiaries abroad: in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, City of Mexico, Milan, Moscow, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, and now in Madrid.

Source: Europa Press
Link: www.europapress.es

EMB OPENS NEW OFFICE IN SPAIN

15/10/2009
EMB, the international actuarial and business consultancy, has continued its global expansion with the opening of an office in Madrid to service the Spanish and Portuguese markets.

This will be headed up by Oscar Huerta, who has previously held a number of leadership positions within international insurance companies.

The new office will provide both business consulting and software solutions and will specialize in personal lines pricing, including price optimization, and reserving. The range of services will also include assistance to prepare for, and implement, the requirements of the Solvency II Directive and assessment of financial entities in the management of bancassurance.

As part of its international strategy, EMB opened an office in the The Netherlands last year. Elsewhere in Europe, it also has offices in France, Germany and Norway while further afield, it has a number of offices in the US and businesses in India, Japan, Brazil and Australia. Most of these operations have been established in the last five years.

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EMB is one of the largest and most successful firms of specialist non-life insurance experts in the world. With offices around the globe they advise insurers, reinsurers and distributors including 28 of the world’s top 30 non-life companies and many of Lloyd’s syndicates.

Source: www.rrhhdigital.com

ITV SETS UP MADRID PRODUCTION BASE

07/10/2009
Continuing its international production center rollout, Blighty’s ITV Studios is setting up ITV Studios Spain in Madrid. The production facility will be headed by Fran Garcia, the veteran TV executive who was formerly CEO of Atlas-Grupo Telecinco, where he was responsible for news programmes and documentary production.

ITV Studios Spain’s launch comes as ITV Studios has signed a two-pilot programme commission with Telecinco, Spain’s biggest commercial broadcaster.

The studio will create new formats and remakes of ITV formats for Spain. Productions will focus on entertainment, as well as factual and lifestyle shows.

Via ITV Studios, British commercial broadcasting group ITV now has production centers in Los Angeles, Cologne, Stockholm and Sydney as well as the U.K.

Source: www.tvlatina.tv

INTERXION EXPANDS DATA CENTER IN SPAIN

21/09/2009
Interxion, a leading European operator of carrier-neutral data centres, today announced the completion of a 1,500 m² expansion of its Madrid Data Centre. Due to sustained demand from customers in the enterprise, Internet and public sectors, 60% of the high-specification, connectivity-rich space has already been sold.

The new data centre space has minimum N+1 power and cooling and 2N UPS, as well as the most advanced security, alarm and monitoring systems. It supports the latest high-density power configurations and has been designed using Interxion’s energy-efficient modular architecture, with free cooling and maximum-efficiency components and management as standard.

The opening of the new facility coincides with the implementation of a new Point of Presence in the data centre for Espanix, the leading Spanish Internet Exchange. Interxion’s Madrid customers will be able to reduce latency and transit costs significantly by peering directly across the Espanix exchange. In addition to Espanix, Interxion Madrid customers have direct access to more than 30 carriers and network service providers within the data centre.

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Interxion is a leading European operator of carrier-neutral data centres. Headquartered in Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands, Interxion serves its customers from 26 carrier-neutral data centres located in 13 cities across 11 European countries. Interxion serves network and carrier-based, hosting and enterprise customers who require professionally managed and strictly controlled physical environments within which to operate mission-critical applications and computer systems. Interxion’s data centres offer cost-effective and fast access to multiple local and global communication networks.

Source: www.interxion.es

AUSTRIAN COMPANY EMPORIA TELECOM OPENS SPANISH OFFICE

14/08/2009
Emporia Telecom, the Austrian company specialized in the manufacture of mobile phones for the elderly, announced the opening of an office in Madrid to back up its presence (in the Iberian Peninsula´s market (in the market in the Iberian Peninsula), where it has been selling mobile phones for two years now.

The Austrian company is specialized in the manufacture of terminals for the elderly with hearing and sight problems.
The new Madrid office arrives in conjunction with three new models launched on the Spanish market: EmporiaTALKpremium, EmporiaLIFEplus, EmporiaTIME., which are mobile phones with basic functions and big keys.

The company, with presence in other European markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, Holland, Belgium or Austria, distributed 300.000 terminals in 2008. This generated a turnover of 60 million Euros.

According to the company, 79% of people between 55 and 64 years old and 58% of people older than 65 use mobile phones in Spain.

Source: Emporia Telecom
Link: www2.emporia.at

VAS PROVIDER 3GMOTION EXPANDS TO EUROPE WITH OFFICE LAUNCH IN SPAIN

29/07/2009
Chilean value added services (VAS) mobile phone provider 3Gmotion has opened a subsidiary in Spain, marking the company´s first appearance in Europe and opening up business opportunities with 47 million people.
With this move, the Digevo Group, of which 3Gmotion forms a part, consolidates its position in the Iberoamerican mobile sector, completing operations with 40 mobile operators in 16 countries following its foundation 4 years ago.
Currently 3GMotion operates in this region successfully, selling its applications - games, music and mobile TV - to 250 million customers throughout Latin America, with subsidiaries in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay, with the exception of Brazil.

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The Digevo Group (www.digevogroup.com,) is a Chilean consortium of innovative ICT companies, specialized in electronic channels with regional coverage from Mexico to Chile.

Source: www.transmedia.cl

THE INTERNATIONAL LAW FIRM DEWEY&LEBOEUF OPENS NEW OFFICE IN SPAIN

23/07/2009
The American law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf sets up a new office in Madrid. The firm had already shown its interest in the Spanish market and the project was begun a few weeks ago.

The firm was trying to reflect the strategic desire of the company to open in Madrid in order to reinforce its presence in Europe. At the moment, it is a representation office with ten lawyers from the firm´s other offices, who have the possibility of practicing law in Spain. The firm has qualified Spanish lawyers on the staff but it will initially focus on providing US-only advice in its Spanish office.

Margaret Civetta is the lawyer that is heading up the base from Madrid. Together with corporate partner Berge Setrakian, they organized the launching of the US firm in Spain. Madrid lawyer Teresa Zueco, corporate partner of the Paris office, will also take part in this venture.
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Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP is a global law firm, headquartered in New York, with over 1,400 lawyers in 25 offices in 15 countries. 600 of those lawyers are in New York and 180 in London. It is the third biggest law firm in New York, after Skadden and Weil Gotshal.

Source: Negocio & Estilo de Vida

ENZYME LABS EXPANDS INTO MADRID

15/07/2009
Enzyme Testing Labs announced last July 15th, the expansion of its international state-of-the art game testing facilities, with a new facility in Madrid, Spain. This 5500 square foot addition to the current facilities increases the total size of the game testing labs to over 28 000 square feet of fully equipped and secure lab space. Enzyme already has locations in Montreal, Sainte-Adele and Tokyo.

The new facility in Madrid will specialize in multilingual linguistic testing and hardware manufacturer terminology compliance pre-certification. The facility will be staffed by an additional 85 testers, dedicated technical and project management staff and a Studio Manager.

Miguel Sepúlveda will be heading up the new Madrid studio. He is a Quality Assurance veteran certified in Testing by the British Computer Society that brings with him a wealth of experience as the new Studio Manager for Enzyme Labs new Testing facility in Madrid.

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Founded in 2002, Enzyme Labs is dedicated to providing customers with quality multilingual game testing services as evidenced by our ISO 9001:2000 certification. Enzyme Labs is a certified or recommended game testing facility for all major console manufacturers and it is responding to increased global demand for its quality services by increasing the full-time staff to more than 450 fully trained multilingual testers available to publishers and developers for a complete range of video game testing services from pre-certification testing, focus groups, game evaluation to linguistic testing in over 16 languages.

Source: Village Gamer
Link: http://www.villagegamer.net

RSA EXPANDS INTO SPAIN

23/06/2009
British insurance group RSA has announced the opening of its new office in Madrid, Spain.

The new Spanish base is to be the sixth European office for RSA´s Risk Solutions Europe division which also has offices in France, Belgium, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. The office will provide brokers with the entire range of RSA´s Risk Solutions Europe services.

“Spain represents a good fit for Risk Solutions Europe´s existing niche market strategy whilst providing us with an opportunity to build on our experience of working with clients with exposure in Spain”, explained Chris Smith, Director of RSA´s Risk Solutions Europe division.

Source: IPAWorld Global, Trade and Investment News

NOKIA SIEMENS NETWORKS AND VODAFONE HAVE SET UP A JOINT RESEARCH CENTER IN MADRID

18/06/2009
Nokia Siemens Networks and Vodafone have set up a joint research center in Madrid with worldwide scope which will focus on radio technology and developing proof of concepts.

The Nokia Siemens Networks Innovation Center (NICE) will work closely with the Vodafone Access Networks Centre of Competence.

“The setting up of NICE reflects our increased R&D focus on Radio," said Tommi Uitto, Head of Wireless Access Product Management, Nokia Siemens Networks.

Vodafone explained to EFE that Nokia Siemens Networks staff will be permanently established in the center located in Tres Cantos (Madrid), whereas Vodafone will contribute its specialists to the different projects to be developed, especially those related to second and third generation mobile networks. They will subsequently engage in fourth LTE projects.

Source: www.soitu.es

ECOPETROL S.A. TRANSFERS ASSETS TO ITS AFFILIATE IN SPAIN

18/06/2009
Ecopetrol S.A. reports it has undertaken a reorganization of its affiliates abroad, to which end it has established Ecopetrol Global Energy S.L. (ETVE), a foreign securities holding company headquartered in Spain.

As part of said reorganization, Ecopetrol transferred all of its stake in Ecopetrol America Inc (Ecopetrol´s affiliate in the United States) to its investment affiliate Ecopetrol Global Energy S.L.

The transfer of the assets amounts to USD 610.1 million (EUR 445.7 mn) and was carried out at book value, in accordance with the norms and procedures set forth in the jurisdictions involved in the transaction.


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Ecopetrol is Colombia´s largest integrated oil company and is among the top 40 oil companies in the world and the four largest oil companies in Latin America. Besides Colombia, where it accounts for 60% of total production, the Company is involved in exploration and production activities in Brazil, Peru and the United States (Gulf of Mexico). Ecopetrol has the principal refinery in Colombia, most of the network of oil and multiple purpose pipelines in the country, and it is considerably increasing its participation in biofuels.

Source: Ecopetrol : www.ecopetrol.com.co

WITRON LOGISTIK ESTABLISHES SPANISH SUBSIDIARY IN CIEMPOZUELOS, MADRID

09/06/2009
Witron Logistik + Informatik GmbH, one of the leading general contractors for the design and realization of highly dynamic and automated warehouse and picking systems, increased its international market presence and established a new subsidiary in Ciempozuelos near the Spanish capital Madrid at the end of March 2009.

Witron has been successful in the Spanish market since 2004. The four OPM (Order Picking Machinery) systems they have designed and implemented for the Spanish retail company Mercadona provide proof of that success. The subsidiary in Spain helps them in supporting Mercadona and the rest of the Spanish market, which presents a high potential for their innovative tote and pallet picking systems.

They are convinced that the new subsidiary in Spain will increase their cooperation with Mercadona and will help to realize similar projects with other Spanish companies.

So far, Witron has implemented 245 COM (Case Order Machine) machines in 15 OPM (Order Picking Machinery) projects throughout the world. A total of 98 COM machines are operated in Spain alone, with OPM systems serving ambient, cooled, and frozen environments.

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The WITRON Group has more than 1,100 employees worldwide. The annual turnover in 2008 amounted to 200 million Euros. Some 80 % of the turnover is earned by follow-up projects from existing customers. Besides the main headquarters in Parkstein (Bavaria), Witron also operates subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, UK and the Netherlands. Witron’s Dutch subsidiary is successfully supporting customers in Scandinavia and throughout the Benelux region and the UK.

Source: IBC Ltd. www.logisticsit.com

CELVITAE WILL SET UP A STEM CELL BANK IN MADRID TOGETHER WITH MD ANDERSON

04/06/2009
Celvitae, the first private family bank of adult stem cells in Spain and MD Anderson International Hospital (Spain) have reached a strategic agreement through which all samples of umbilical cord stem cells gathered by Celvitae will be processed in this hospital from July onwards. The agreement is based on maintaining the highest quality requirements because “the shorter the time to process samples of the umbilical cord, the fewer stem cells will be lost during transportation, storage and processing” explained Eladio Peón, Celvitae´s General Director.

Stem cells obtained from the umbilical cord are used in transplants necessary to cure illnesses such as leukemia, lymphomas and other blood related illnesses. There are already seven public stem cell banks in Spain and 12 private banks. In Madrid there is only one.

The future Celvitae bank with its storage systems will be located in the MD Anderson facilities.

Currently, samples gathered over the past year are not stored in Spain but rather they are sent to Portugal and the United Kingdom. However, clients will soon be able to choose whether to store their samples in Spain or whether to send them abroad.

Celvitae had a revenue of 2,3 million Euros last year and gathered 450 samples. It expects to increase the gathering of samples up to 2100 in 2009.

Source: CincoDías.com

SIEMENS INAUGURATES A NEW TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN GETAFE WHICH WILL EMPLOY 1.000 PEOPLE

21/04/2009
Regional President, Esperanza Aguirre, inaugurated today the new Services and Technology Centre that German company Siemens has established in La Carpetania Business Park, in Getafe (Madrid). In the company of Getafe´s mayor, Pedro Castro and Siemens CEO in Spain, Francisco Belil Creixell, Aguirre highlighted the importance of this 29.000 m2 complex with capacity for 1.000 people.

Furthermore, Ms. Aguirre emphasized the significance of the activity Siemens will be carrying out in this centre which will focus on design and manufacturing in the field of healthcare, as well as designing and producing equipment and electronic units for airports, security and defense.

Along these same lines, Siemens´ CEO remarked that this centre will contribute towards the technological development of the Getafe area and added that “this centre is an indication of the commitment towards innovation, industrial development and value added services, and it will play an important role in developing Siemens´ I+D+I activities in Spain”.

Source: www.europapress.es

RWE WILL INVEST 300 MILLION EUROS UP TO 2013 TO GET STARTED IN THE BIOMASS FIELD IN SPAIN

14/04/2009
After strengthening its wind power division in the summer of 2008, German giant RWE has decided to set off its biomass activity in Spain by creating four companies (for four different projects). Three of these companies will be located in San Sebastian de los Reyes (Madrid).

These companies are the first step towards attaining the goal RWE has set itself: that is to obtain 100 MW between 2009 and 2013, which will imply an investment of around 300 million Euros in Spain.

The corporate purpose of these companies is the analysis, advice, development, promotion, construction, operation and maintenance of the power production facilities. As well as the acquisition, processing and efficient use of biomass for heat production.

RWE has looked towards Spain because it considers it an attractive market with a stable regulatory framework.

RWE is already present in the renewable energy field in Spain especially as far as wind power is concerned.

Source: Negocio & Estilo de Vida

BRAZILIAN FLIP-FLOPS CHOOSE MADRID

02/04/2009
Brazilian shoe wear company Alpargatas, owner of the Havaianas brand, is establishing its European Headquarters in Spain to gain easy access to the European market. From now on it will handle all distribution in Spain, France and the UK from its Madrid Headquarters which will have a logistic team, juridical and operations teams as well as a marketing team.

The havaianas flip-flops initially came onto the market in 1962. They are now a successful product in Brazil (where two out of three Brazilians own a pair). The aim is for a cross range of people of diverse social extraction to purchase this article, as they do in Brazil. The group wants to develop the Havaianas brand more and more and plans to invest between 12% and 14% of Alpargatas global revenue in marketing. The foreign market represents 15% of the group´s revenue, a percentage that they wish to increase up to 30% by 2011. The company employs 19.000 people in 80 countries. In Spain Alpargatas became known to a great extent when it began its relationship with Tavex Algodonera in 2006 reaching a strategic industrial agreement to create one of the main groups in denim fabric worldwide. The company´s revenue for 2008 was 781,67 million Euros.

Source: Negocio & Estilo de Vida

THE LARGEST MOROCCAN BANK OPENS BRANCHES IN SPAIN

09/03/2009
“We decided to open up branches in Spain long before the crisis because Moroccans living outside the country are an important sector to us” says the president of Morocco´s largest bank.

Banque Populaire du Maroc has launched a project to open 40 branches in Europe through its European subsidiary Banque Chaabi du Maroc. The aim is to gain Moroccan workers abroad as clients and handle their remittances back to Morocco.

Banque Populaire du Maroc has also set its sights in Spain, where there is currently a population of 700,000 Moroccans, 16% of those residing outside the country. The bank, which has recently opened up a branch in Madrid, expects to open a further seven this year in major Spanish cities. This project will mean creating 40 jobs through a 16 million Euro investment. One of the goals is to succeed in having 20% of Moroccans residing in Spain become clients in 4 or 5 years´ time. This would mean around 140,000 clients.

Source: Fuente: Expansión

SMARTCLIP OPENS OFFICE IN MADRID WITH KLEINDL AS STRATEGIC INVESTOR

04/03/2009
Smartclip, the specialist in video online arrives in Spain helped along the way by Michael Kleindl. Smartclip first arrived in London in 2008 as part of its European expansion programme and is now ready to set up in Madrid. The team is led by Xavier Rius Planas and Fernando García Diez. They will count with the support of Michael Kleindl as strategic investor. Mr. Kleindl is co-founder and CEO of the online marketing network AdLink and current EIAA president.

Source: www.marketingdirecto.com

FRENCH MULTINATIONAL CORTIX OPENS TWO BRANCHES IN MADRID

27/02/2009
Cortix, a leading French company specialised in offering a complete range of services for company websites announced last week the setting up of its Madrid-East and Madrid-West branches. They will provide services to the Madrid Region as well as Guadalajara, Toledo, Avila and Segovia.

The company expects to complete 1800 web pages in Spain in 2009. The French group had a turnover of approximately 4,4 million Euros for the period June 2007-June 2008 and it plans to reach a turnover of 11 million Euros this year.

Cortix was founded in Bordeaux in 1999. It is part of the 2H Technologies group and has 30 agencies throughout Europe.

Source: www.empresaexterior.com

GERMAN COMPANY RETARUS CONSIDERS ENGAGING PARTNERS TO EXPAND ITS PRESENCE TO SPAIN

16/02/2009
The German company announced last week that it has commenced operations in Spain and is now in a position to offer its solutions to optimize business communication processes here.
Retarus hopes that the opening of offices in Madrid in July 2008 will serve as platform to enter the Latin American market and expects to achieve an ROI in under 12 months in Spain with its business solutions for SMEs and large corporations commercially oriented and B2B and B2C management.

This subsidiary in Madrid is part of the company´s international expansion plans and will improve dealings with the Spanish market. Currently Retarus is considering following a strategy which will engage partners to distribute its solutions and offer post-sales service.

The Retarus group, was founded in 1992 and has headquarters in Munich. As one of the largest providers of professional messaging solutions, Retarus offers services for electronic corporate communication and business processes.

Source: www.empresaexterior.com

GLOBAL BUSINESS CONSULTING FIRM PROTIVITI SETS UP IN SPAIN

16/02/2009
The global business consulting and internal audit firm has opened a new office in Madrid from which it will offer its services which include solving problems in finance and transactions, operations, technology, litigation, governance, risk, and compliance.

Currently Protiviti has 60 offices worldwide.

Protiviti´s professional team in Spain is made up of 15 consultants but it expects to double this number this year. The Spanish office will count with the support of the firm´s global network and its 3,300 professionals for its projects.

Source: www.cincodias.com

MOVIANTO INCREASES ITS STORAGE CAPACITY IN SPAIN WITH NEW FACILITIES IN VALDEMORO

12/02/2009
Movianto, a Europe-wide logistics service provider for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, has further extended its warehouse capacity in Spain, in Valdemoro near Madrid. This second warehouse has been open for business since October 2008.
The expansion was a move to meet the growing demands of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry in the Iberian region. The new warehouse in Valdemoro will more than double Movianto´s capacity in Spain which can now hold up to 23,000 pallets. The central location of the new warehouse will further optimise delivery times.
“The expanded storage capacity and the strategically important geographical location in the Iberian region means that Movianto in Spain is now able to respond even more effectively to customers’ requests which include same day delivery in Spain and Portugal,” explains Pedro Cepeda, Managing Director Movianto España.
Movianto is in a position to offer manufacturers from the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industry a total of more than 175,000 pallet storage places, spread across locations in ten European countries. A broad range of additional services such as financial services, clinical trials, repackaging and re-labelling handling round off the range of services Movianto is able to offer.

Source: www.nexolog.com

ALLEGIANCE CAPITAL OPENS MADRID OFFICE

20/01/2009
Allegiance Capital, a Dallas based investment banking firm which offers comprehensive services, has recently announced the opening of a new office in Madrid. The Madrid office will provide cross-border investment banking services to public and private clients in Spain. In spite of growing global economic concerns, Allegiance Capital has identified significant opportunities for middle market companies seeking acquisitions and investments throughout North America.

The Madrid office will be comprised of a professional team from both Spain and the United States led by Spanish-American investment banker and Managing Partner, Mr. Wilson Hudkins Caceres, CFA.

According to David Mahmood, chairman and founder of Allegiance Capital, the company understands the current economic conditions in Spain and throughout Europe. "The present financial market is not one where many businesses are investing and adopting an expansionist stance. Nevertheless, Allegiance Capital believes that these very tough times financially represent an opportunity to bring quality advisory services to middle market companies".

The new office in Madrid demonstrates Allegiance Capital`s ongoing growth and
commitment to expand its scope and services for its clients worldwide. The
company continues to strengthen its positions in a number of vertical markets
including wind and solar energy, infrastructure, healthcare and financial services.

Source: Business Wire Web Press Release

Digital Marketing agency Bigmouthmedia opens Spanish office

15/01/2009
Bigmouthmedia has opened a new office in Spain.


Europe´s largest independent digital marketing agency today opened for business in Madrid. Led by two of Spain´s best-known search professionals, the new office will offer bigmouthmedia´s full range of SEO, PPC
and digital marketing services to the Spanish market.

"Spain is somewhere that any company with ambition wants to be. It´s a dynamic place to do business in, has many opportunities, and is fast becoming one of the most exciting markets in Europe," said Steve Leach, Bigmouthmedia´s Group CEO.

Founded in the UK in 1997, bigmouthmedia has built an international reputation for delivering maximised online returns and exposure for its big brand customers. A recognised industry leader with annual turnover of €140million, it provides clients with a comprehensive range of digital marketing
services and is the recipient of multiple awards.

Source: Bigmouthmedia Web Press Release

Vestas Mediterranean brings together its activities in Madrid

08/01/2009
The Management of Vestas Mediterranean, the world´s leading supplier of wind power solutions, has decided to gather together its Sales Business Unit and move to Madrid. This unit is responsible for markets in the Mediterranean, Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is expected this will take place before 2010. Activities up to now carried out in Barcelona will in the near future be dealt with in Madrid which is where the new corporate building will be located.

Juan Araluce, Vestas Mediterranean´s President puts it this way: As most of our clients who operate in Spain and other markets covered by Vestas Mediterranean have their Headquarters in Madrid, Vestas Headquarters´ new location will enable the company to develop closer relationships with key clients worldwide.

The fact of being in the capital of Spain will also make it easier to have a more fluid relationship with the Central Governement and with the national energy authorities which will facilitate the development of synergies and the knowledge exchange with other big energy companies located in the area.

Source: Vestas Web Press Release

CODA opens Spanish operation

19/12/2008
CODA Group, the finance systems specialist, today announced the opening of an operation in Madrid, Spain that will provide local support and services to new and existing Spanish customers.

This is CODA’s first direct operation in Spain and increases CODA’s direct presence to 15 countries worldwide. The office has been set up alongside sister company CCS Agresso, and CODA will benefit from the use of CCS support resources and local expertise.

CCS Agresso is the Spanish subsidiary of the Unit 4 Agresso Group and is a leading domestic and European vendor of business software. The company has advanced research and development facilities and practices and has offices and development, support and service centers in a number of regions across Spain. It has around 700 employees and an impressive customer portfolio which includes both private sector businesses across all industries and public authorities. CCS Agresso has an extensive network of partners throughout Spain and Portugal to provide customers with proven experience in implementation, support and training services.

CODA Spain will begin operating from January 2009.

CODA creates, markets and implements a comprehensive range of software systems designed specifically to meet the needs of Financial Directors and Finance Departments.

Source: Comunicado de Prensa Web CODA

Entraction Lands in Madrid

12/12/2008
Swedish online gaming software designer Entraction Solutions AB has opened an office in Madrid, Spain to better meet the strong demand from Southern Europe. The firm anticipates that the gaming market will show an annual growth of more than 17 per cent in Spain and France and 21 per cent in Italy through to 2012.

Entraction has a number of existing partners and potential clients in Spain, making the country a natural choice for an office.

Source: IPA WORLD

THE FOURTH EUROPEAN SOFTWARE GROUP SETS UP IN SPAIN

01/12/2008
The British company Micro Focus announced yesterday that will set up in Spain with a team of 11 professionals and an initial investment of 2,5 million Euro. The goal is to turn over 8 million Euro in license sales for 2010.

The new subsidiary will manage also the operation of the multinational in Portugal and Latin America, where Micro Focus plans to enter in the first quarter of 2009.

Source: Cinco Días

YOOX SETS UP IN MADRID

01/12/2008
Yoox, the global online retail company, for luxury branch, will open an office in Madrid in order to appeal the main Spanish branches. Spain is jointly with Italy the market with best results for the company.

In 2007 Yoox turned over 90 million Euro and delivered more that 1 million items.

Source: Expansion

PROLOGIS OPENS A NEW OFFICE IN MADRID

07/11/2008
Prologis, the biggest owner, manager and developer of logistic infrastructures worldwide, has opened its second Spanish office in Madrid.

The opening of the new office meets the need for expansion into new markets in the Iberian Peninsula. “Madrid is a strategic location due to the presence of many clients´ headquarters and to the fact that it is an area with huge economic activity”.

From Madrid, Prologis hopes to expand its operations in the centre of the Peninsula and in markets with high population density like Andalucia and Portugal.

Source: Prologis

NBA WILL PLAY IN SPAIN

20/10/2008

The Franchise Association opens office in Madrid. “Spain has become a key market for NBA due to the increasing presence of Spanish players in the American league. This has helped to increase the impact of the competition in Europe”, says Sophie Goldschmidt, Vice President of the European Business Area.

At the moment there are no Spanish companies sponsoring the NBA but as Sophie Goldschmidt comments, “We are always looking for new brands that support our league so it would be great to be able to count on Spanish companies”

Source: El Economista

ZYCKO LANDS IN SPAIN

15/10/2008
The new facility will incorporate configuration, testing and a repair facility. “The new office will enable Zycko to consolidate their presence in south-western Europe” said Jose Maria Diaz-Canel, Managing Director of the Spanish office. “The Spanish market is continuously growing in the networking and storage sectors, Zycko’s Spanish office will enable us to use our experience and expertise to tap into this market and increase our European business.”

The office will promote Zycko’s key solutions for storage, date centre and networking including, Riverbed and Hitachi Data Systems. The Spanish office will allow Zycko to expand its presence across Spain, providing partners with localized training and sales support services

Source: IPA World

FTI CONSULTING ANNOUNCES FURTHER EUROPEAN EXPANSION THROUGH A NEW MADRID OFFICE

14/10/2008
The global business advisory firm dedicates to helping organizations protect and enhance their enterprise value; today announced that it has expanded its presence in Europe with the opening of a new office in Madrid, Spain. Initially, the new Madrid office will focus on activities related to the Forensic and Litigation Consulting segment.

Madrid office to support client needs in Europe and Latin America and represents another step in FTI’s plan to expand outside the U.S.

The new office will be led by Mariela Geier, Managing Director, and will deliver global risk advisory, business intelligence, forensic accounting and litigation support services to FTI Consulting clients in Spain and across Europe. José Maria Pineiro, Director, will also provide services from the Madrid office and has experience with forensic accounting, investigation, corporate advisory and restructuring matters.

“The opening of our office in Spain comes at an exciting time for FTI Consulting and follows a sustained period of international expansion in Europe, Asia and Latin America. We are excited to have Mariela and José on the team and to be in a position to broaden and deepen the services we can deliver to both new and existing clients,” said Jack Dunn, President and CEO of FTI.

“The opening of an office in Madrid will further enhance an already dynamic and growing presence in Latin America and Europe, putting seasoned professionals within easy reach of a number of existing clients, and open the door for many new client opportunities. Spain is one of the largest investors in Latin America, and in Emerging Markets in general, and its economy has been one of the most dynamic in Europe in the last decade,” said Frank Holder, Ibero-American Leader of FTI’s Forensic and Litigation Consulting practice.

Source: FTI Press release

EXALEAD PRESENTS ITS ALTERNATIVE FOR EXECUTIVE SEARCH

13/10/2008
Exalead extends its executive search activities to our country by setting up an office in Madrid that will manage the Portuguese market as well.

The French company Exalead, has embarked on an international expansion process which aims to conquer the Spanish market with the opening of a new office in Madrid that will focus on big firms, mainly through its network of partners.

The multinational foresees an important growth in the business share, which this year has already increased up to $300.000 million, from last year´s $80.000 million. According to Mr. Jean Michel Bocchi, General Manager of Exalead for Spain and Portugal, this is due partly to an important growth in the business share, and also due to the disorganised state of the competition at this moment.

The company will target clients in the B2B2C sector (e-commerce websites, mass media), the B2B market (with a new Expanded Business Intelligence proposal that unifies business intelligence and searches), and other suppliers that may need to integrate their technologies with CRM, ERP and storage solutions. Ultimately, the consumers of Exalead are companies that need to manage big amounts of structured data (data bases, ERP, CRM or BI) as well as non structured data (multimedia, email, web). Exalead´s technology is already being used by some Spanish companies like S21Sec or Via Michelin.

Exalead wants to develop 80% of the business in Spain through partners such as IBM, Atos Origin, Steria, Accenture or Sogeti to name a few. “Although we don’t have a definite accurate business objective, we are a start – up and this year we will be focusing on marketing. My personal goal is to reach a turnover between 4 and 4, 5 million Euros during 2009” explains Mr. Bocchi.

Source: IPA World

GIGATRUST OPENS OFFICE IN SPAIN

09/10/2008
Gigamedia Access Corp, known as GigaTrust, a Virginia–based provider of e-mail security and content protection software products and consulting services, has entered the European market with the formation of GigaTrust Spain, headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

“Sensitive content protection is a global issue,” said Robert Bernardi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GigaTrust. “With GigaTrust Spain, we can closely address the growing global demand and broaden our market opportunities in the future. As the first Microsoft ERM partner to expand to the European market, GigaTrust Spain is at the helm of the next generation of content security – persistently securing the important content itself.”

GigaTrust Spain’s new headquarters will provide a full range of services to vertical markets globally, including sales, support and marketing. GigaTrust Spain’s global services will begin in the healthcare, public sector, financial, manufacturing and managed services vertical markets with broader expansion over time. The operation will be led by Marie-Claire Pfeiffer.

Source: IPA World

inVentiv Clinical to Open Spanish Office

08/10/2008
Clinical outsourcing firm inVentiv Clinical Solutions LLC (inVentiv Clinical), a division of New Jersey-based inVentiv Health, has continued to expand its operations outside North America with a new office in Europe.

The new location will be in Madrid, Spain, with the plan to expand operations to other European countries, including the emerging Eastern European countries.

"We are excited to take this next step along the path to globalization, adding this new European location to our already established operations in India and Latin America," said Mike Hlinak, President and Chief Executive Officer of inVentiv Clinical.

Source: IPA World

ADCONION ANNOUNCES THE INITIATION OF SPANISH OPERATIONS

01/10/2008
The company, which specializes in on-line advertising, is becoming a mayor player in its field thanks to its technology for measuring and tracking publicity. This application enables identification of individual consumers and their preferences which allows publicity to be directed towards their actual requirements.

In three years of existence the company has established offices in seven countries and has a market share of 27% of the online audience, with 257 million monthly users.

The Spanish office began operations early in September 2008 and it is managed by two executives formerly in Adlink, Mr. Ángel Nebot, General Manager, and Mr. Carlos Bolaños, Business Development Director.

Adconion foresees a turnover of 100 million USD over the next three and a half years.

Source: Expansión

SPAIN RATIFIES NEW 500-MW SOLAR SUBSIDY CAP

30/09/2008
Spain´s Cabinet has ratified proposals to set a new limit on subsidised solar power at a capacity level of 500 megawatts, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said on Friday.

The approval ends weeks of wrangling over the new subsidy cap, which is far below the 1,200 MW fixed in a current subsidy scheme expiring on Monday that helped make Spain the world´s third-largest solar market after Germany and the United States.
A statement from the Cabinet office said the new cap for 2009 would be 400 MW -- two-thirds for roof-mounted installations and the rest for ground based -- but with an additional 100 MW to ease transition from the current framework.

The total cap for 2010 will be 460 MW, which is in line with government targets to have a total of 3,000 MW installed by the end of that year.

The government has relented on initial proposals to slash the subsidy cap for next year to 300 MW, first mooted in July, after many firms protested that they could go out of business and solar power shares sagged.

Direct subsidies via "feed-in" tariffs -- designed to make solar power gradually competitive -- also will be substantially lower than a current 0.45 euro ($0.658) per kiloawatt-hour, but better than originally proposed.

The government will pay 32 to 34 eurocents/kWh for roof-mounted panels, which compares with an initially proposed 33 eurocents. Ground-based installations will receive 32 eurocents/kWh, up from 29 cents in draft proposals. In comparison, power changes hands for the equivalent of about 7 eurocents/kWh on Spain´s wholesale market.

Spanish lobby groups had previously said that the modified cap does not go far enough as it will be absorbed by solar plants which are already under construction but cannot be finished by the Sept. 29 deadline for current subsidies. However, the sector largely welcomed the government´s final compromise change to the subsidy regime on Friday.

"The sector thinks that the ministry has listened to its concerns and believes the deal reached will be positive both for this industry and for the national economy," Spain´s three renewable energy associations -- AEF, APPA and ASIF -- said.

In a joint statement, they said they were "satisfied" with the commitment received from the ministry to support the photovoltaic sector, although they wanted "more support for roof-mounted photovoltaic installations."

The government said it was essential to overhaul the subsidy regime because solar power has grown at an unsustainable rate and has already exceeded by four times targets it had originally set for 2010.

AEF, APPA and ASIF said the sector accepted that the market would undergo a phase of contraction in 2009 and 2010, but that the latest legislation would allow Spanish solar companies to be among the most competitive in 2015.
"By 2015, the real cost of photovoltaic production will be equivalent to the price of electricity," said the associations.

Spain hopes to have 10,000 MW installed by 2020, in line with European Union plans to derive 20 percent of all energy from renewable sources.

The government is also under pressure to cut a ballooning "tariff deficit," from forcing utilities to sell electricity at below cost. The estimated deficit for this year is 4.85 billion euros.

Spain now has about 1,500 MW of solar power plants, a jump from 470 MW at the end of 2007 amid a race to lock in generous subsidies. It expects to have 1,800 MW by the end of this year.

Source: The Guardian

Colombian TV channel “Caracol TV” opens new office in Spain

25/09/2008
The Colombian channel has established its own offices in Spain in order to cover the entire Peninsula. Through its Madrid offices the contents will be delivered to Spain and Portugal.

At the moment it isn’t known if Caracol TV will be available in free public broadcast or through Digital +, cable operators or Internet TV platforms.

Source: PR Noticias

Priceline.com Strengthens Spanish Operations

16/09/2008
Booking.com, an online hotel reservation company part of Internet travel agency priceline.com Inc, headquartered in Connecticut, has expanded its presence in Spain, launching a second office in Madrid.

Booking.com said that the expansion is intended to broaden its market reach and better serve its local hotel partners.

“We are very pleased to now be operating from Madrid. The ever-increasing number of Spanish partner hotels makes it essential that we maintain our close and reliable relationships with the hoteliers,” said Beatriz de Andres Arias-Salgado, Managing Director of Booking.com in Spain. “With a second office in the capital city, we can attend to the larger hotel chains based thereabout more effectively.”

The Madrid office brings the total number of branches to 21, and Booking.com now internationally employs a staff of 935.

Source: IPA World

Carmignac Gestión opens new Spanish office in Madrid

12/09/2008
This fact represents an important step in the expansion strategy of Carmignac in Europe and proves the compromise of the company with the Spanish market.

With the establishment of an office in Spain Carmignac will be able to provide a tailor made service to their clients who will have access to the company’s experience of 20 years in the field of assets management.

The office is operating since April 2008 and it is made up of a team of four professionals led by Mr. Yon Elosegui, Head of Country Spain and Portugal.

Source: Carmignac

LOEWE WILL TRAIN CRAFTSMANS IN MADRID

19/08/2008
Loewe has decided to set up a training center for craftsman in Madrid in order to tackle the scarcity of qualified personnel that endure companies in the textile sector. As consequence of this decision the input capacity in Spain will be increased.

The garments of the firm are made in Spain, Italy and France. The new center will be placed in the plant of Loewe in Getafe (Madrid). This plant counts with a development center for leather and clothes that will be expanded with the new training center.

This movement stems from the new Strategic Plan announced by the firm which foresees a turnover of 300 million Euro for 2008.

Source: Expansión

SSANGYONG CHOOSES MADRID TO ESTABLISH EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS

10/07/2008
The South Korean car maker Ssangyong has located its European headquarters in Madrid in order to monitor the trends of the regional market and to enable closer collaboration with its European distributors.

The company entered the European Market 15 years ago and has chosen Madrid as the location for its European headquarters mainly due to the fact that over the past three years Ssangyong Spain has been the company´s best distributor.

Last year´s sales in Spain reached 12.000 units. The Bergé Automotive Group distributes the Korean brand in the Spanish market.

Source: El Economista

TERRA TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES MADRID OFFICE

26/06/2008
Connecticut-based Terra Technology LLC, a provider of demand sensing and inventory optimisation software, has announced the opening of an office in Madrid, Spain to manage global interest in its solutions. Terra’s new office will help support growth in Europe and Asia.

“This is an exciting time for Terra as we are expanding into Europe. In the last year we have doubled the number of employees and increased sales by 300 per cent, including projects in Europe and South America” said Robert F Byrne, President and Chief Executive Officer of Terra Technology. “Our new office in Madrid positions us well to continue this growth by supporting our rapidly growing customer base around the world.”

General Manager Paul Conyngham, will head the office which will include sales, consulting and marketing. The company selected Madrid because of its proximity to many consumer products companies, including Terra’s largest clients such as Procter & Gamble.

Source: IPA WORLD

TOYO ESTABLISHED IBERIA REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE

25/06/2008
Toyo Tire’s European subsidiary, Toyo Tire Europe GmbH, has established an Iberia representative office in Madrid, Spain. The office was opened on June 2 and focuses upon sales promotion activities to customers in Iberia, a market Toyo has described in a press release as “one of the major markets in Europe.” Toyo adds it aims to expand its share through bolstering its brand position in this market. Companies Toyo

Source: Reinfresse

THE NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY OPENS A BRANCH IN MADRID IN ASSOCIATION WITH MUNDO-FICCION

24/06/2008
Classes in the world´s most prestigious filmmaking school will be starting next September.

The prestigious school which opened its doors in 1992 in Robert De Niro´s Tribeca Film Center announced yesterday the location in Madrid of its Spanish branch. Michael J. Young and Dan Mackler, the center´s York and Los Angeles’ Directors, attended the presentation to the media, together with Melchor Miralles, general manager of Mundo-Ficcion, the film company that has made it possible for this project to materialize by associating with the New York Film Academy (NYFA). In Mr. Miralles’ own words “This is very important news for film lovers”. The NYFA´s courses are essentially practical focusing on a learning-by-doing approach which requires each student to make a series of short films. Students go through the entire filmmaking process.

What sets this school apart from many other film schools is its integration of knowledge and its hands-on intensive working environment as well as the fact that students immediately start making their own films.

The NYFA is currently experiencing major expansion and has opened centers in Abu Dhabi, Budapest, Florence and Rome.

The Academy offers one and two-year programmes as well as intensive workshops. It also offers the possibility of study programs abroad in London, Paris and Florence.

Source: El Mundo

AMB INAUGURATES THE BIGGEST LOGISTICS CENTER IN THE BARAJAS AIRPORT CARGO TERMINAL

24/06/2008
AMB the leading third-party owner/operator of distribution real estate at major cargo and logistics airports globally, inaugurated in Madrid yesterday the largest logistics park it the Barajas Airport cargo terminal.

The multinational´s first incursion into the Spanish market consists of modern facilities of 41.000 s.q.m. divided into 3 warehouses which has meant a total investment of 25 million Euros. This comes as an addition to the facilities the company already has in Paris, Frankfurt or London-Heathrow.

The Business Development manager for Spain, Cesar Vazquez said that conversations with potential clients had already begun in order to commercialize the available space. The goal is to assign 25% in the next two months.

The company is considering new developments in Barcelona, Valencia or Zaragoza.

Source: Cinco Días

BOVIS CHOOSES SPAIN AS A BASE FOR ITS OPERATIONS IN SOUTHERN EUROPE

24/06/2008
The Australian group which is one of the world´s leading project management and construction companies has made Spain a key area of its new geographic strategy by choosing it as its new operations hub for Southern Europe.

Alberto Frutos, the former general manager for Spain, will become the new responsible for the domestic market as well as for Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Malta and North Africa. According to Mr. de Frutos, a key factor in making this decision has been the fact that over half of the group´s revenue is generated in Spain.

In 2007 Bovis doubled its revenue in Spain up to 61 million Euros, this makes it a leading company in the sector, ahead of its most immediate competitor, Gerens. Bovis hopes to further increase this amount in 2008.

Source: Expansión

WEBGAINS, ONE OF EUROPE´S FASTEST GROWING AFFILIATE NETWORKS, LAUNCHES IN SPAIN

02/06/2008
Webgains, a division of ad pepper media International N.V. and one of the fastest growing affiliate marketing networks in Europe, today announced the opening of offices in Madrid, Spain.

The Spanish digital market is seeing exponential growth with investment for online media in 2008 predicted to be over 700 million Euros. Investment in online media increased by 55% in the last year. Pan European affiliate networks which operate in the Spanish market include TradeDoubler and Zanox.

In the last two years the company has opened offices in France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Netherland, establishing Webgains as the fastest growing affiliate network in Europe.

Commenting on opening the Spanish office Iñigo Abrisqueta, Managing Director of ad pepper media and Webgains said: “The Spanish digital space market has a wealth of big advertisers such as Ebay and Vodafone to name a few, however only 10% of the affiliate market potential is being tapped into. Bigger networks have become complacent in terms of the service they offer and new product developments for the local market. There is a real opportunity for us to come in and shake up the status quo. We have an aggressive recruitment plan in place and are already in talks with several interested advertisers”.

Source: E - Consultancy

INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS CHOOSE MADRID

02/06/2008
According to a survey of the Regional Ministry of Economy, the Region of Madrid attracted more than 22.000 million Euros from other countries which entailed 77,1% of the overall inflow of investment that came into Spain in 2007.

Last year’s amount is the biggest since this statistic exists and it is due to the momentum created by the injection of 19,125 million Euros in the last quarter of the year, of which 80% has to be attributed to the takeover of Endesa by ENEL.

However, aside from this operation, Madrid is positioned as the first investment location in Spain, ahead of the rest of regions, with 4,351 million Euros of foreign direct investment during 2007.

With regard to the origins of the inflow, Italy was the main investor with 81, 2%, ahead of the Netherlands (6,5%), Sweden (2,5%), Luxembourg (2,1%) and the United Kingdom (2%). From the point of view of wide geographical areas, the European Union – 25 is by far the main source of inflow with 80,3%, Latin America accounts for 7,9% of the overall inflow while Asia and the rest of Europe account for 4,9% and 4,6% respectively. North America is responsible for 1,9% of the inflow.

The areas that have particularly benefited from this inflow have been the cement, metal, food products, chemicals and real estate sub-sectors.

Source: La Gaceta

Paramount Expands Into Spain

30/05/2008
California-based film studio Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of media firm Viacom Inc, is expanding its overseas activities with the launch of a Spanish operation.

The company´s Spanish operation will be up and running in July 2008, led by former Paramount Home Entertainment Marketing Chief in Madrid, Pierre Auger.

"This is part of our strategy as we set up international offices. We want to be in business with local filmmakers” said Paramount Pictures International President, Andrew Cripps, adding: "We´re delighted to have this deal in place right before we even open our offices in Spain."

The local office is expected to get into business with Spanish producers once the operation is launched. A similar operation will be established in Germany in January 2009.

Source: IPA WORLD

THE PRESIDENT OF MICROSOFT IBERIA IS APPOINTED VICEPRESIDENT FOR WESTERN EUROPE

20/05/2008
Rosa María García will leave the Spanish subsidiary of Microsoft on June 30. She is to be the software giant´s next VP for Western Europe. From this position she will manage the new division that the company has created for the consumer segment.

The new division will gather together the different business lines focusing on consumer markets such as Windows Consumer, Windows Mobile, Windows Live and MSN.

Ms. Rosa María García will be based in Madrid from where she will lead the sales, marketing and business development policies of the new division which covers 14 countries. The geographical scope of the new division includes Spain, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland.

Source: Cinco Días

T – SYSTEM IBERIA MOVES THE DECISION – MAKING CENTER TO MADRID

20/05/2008
T – Systems Iberia, ICT subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, undertakes a mayor overhaul of its structure and moves its decision – making center from Barcelona to Madrid, where the company foresees a turnover of 200 million Euros by 2010.

T – Systems Iberia is one of the top five ICT companies in Spain, which is “the Group´s main unit after Germany” according to the President of the company.

With a turnover of 355 million Euros in 2007, it is foreseen it will surpass the 400 million mark in 2008.

Source: Expansión

Gateway to Europe: Starting in Madrid

08/05/2008
With Old World charm and a modern approach to encouraging entrepreneurship,
Madrid is winning over businesses seeking a European presence.

Marc Michel, director of digital marketing firm Greater Than One, based in New York, needed a local office to run European ad campaigns for U.S. medical firms. So he spent July 2007 scouting London, Hamburg, Zurich, and other cities. But Michel soon settled on Madrid.

Why? Because of a meeting with the last source he expected to be helpful: a local government agency. "I rattled off a list of legal issues, office space, how to find the right people," Michel says. "The next thing I knew, they´d prepared a 100-page customized kit with answers to everything, all in English" - plus a list of local headhunters.

Now, amid a small-business boom in the area, PromoMadrid is hunting for foreign investment and winning high marks from U.S. companies. Madrid has emerged as a European hot spot. "It has a low cost of living and a high quality of life," says Aric Wood, 37, CEO of design consulting firm Xplane, based in Portland, Ore. "You can attract people from all over Europe. Everybody wants to move to Madrid." Xplane, which has 57 U.S. employees, opened a Madrid office in January 2007.

Xplane´s graphic communications campaigns require a lot of face time. Few of its European clients, which include BP (BP) and InterContinental Hotels (IHG), are based in Spain. But Madrid "makes a fabulous jumping-off point for all of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa," says Wood - not to mention the Spanish-speaking world of Latin America. Madrid appears to be embracing free enterprise. The regional economy grew 4% last year, more than double the rate in the rest of Europe, and growth is projected to be just as strong this year. Madrid´s GDP per capita of 27,000 euro is 30% higher than the overall European Union average.

The Madrid Region created PromoMadrid in 2004. They assist foreign entrepreneurs with everything from work permits to corporate taxes to commercial real estate. "We are a one-stop shop," says Vicente Orts, Director of Investment at PromoMadrid. PromoMadrid helped OpciónDos Energía Natural, a Spanish solar energy company co-founded in 2005 by American Greg Lukens, land a contract with Spain´s largest mall. The key: PromoMadrid provided introductions to key energy policy officials in the provincial government. "In Spain it´s still a relationship market," says Joseph Geman, 35, a San Francisco-based consultant who opened a Madrid office in early 2007. "I´ve seen a lot of foreign companies underestimate that. You need a door opener to have sustained success."

Source: Fortune Small Business

BARAJAS BECOMES THE TENTH LARGEST AIRPORT IN THE WORLD

10/04/2008
Mission accomplished. Last year Barajas entered the Top Ten list of mayor airports, worldwide. Barajas grew 14% in 2007, which means it has grown more than any other of the major airports in the world.

A total of 52.12 million passengers travelled through Madrid airport which places Barajas as tenth in the world, three positions up from 2006 and makes it the third in Europe, surpassing Amsterdam. Barajas has also beaten Las Vegas and Denver.

The contributing factor has been the extension the airport underwent with the opening of two new runways and a new terminal, which entailed an investment of 6.000 million Euros.

The airlines have taken advantage of the extension in order to increase their routes from Madrid, both for long haul traffic and for European and national flights.

Source: Expansión

ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES RELOCATES SPANISH TEAM

24/03/2008
Orange Business Services, a company offering communication services to businesses worldwide, and part of French telecommunication operator France Telecom, has announced the relocation of its Trading Solutions division to new offices in central Madrid, Spain.

The company said the move was made necessary by the strong growth of the Spanish customer base. It follows several years of consistent expansion and the success of the firm´s activities in Spain, where it has captured a 75 per cent market share since its establishment in 1989.

"I am very excited about the new office opening. We have been growing fast and our products and services are being received extremely well in the region" said Giovanni Giacometti, Regional Manager for Southern Europe and Latin America at Orange Business Services Trading Solutions.

Pierre Louis de Guillebon, Chief Executive Officer of the Trading Solutions business unit, will officially open the new office at the end of March 2008.

Source: IPA WORLD

TELEFONICA FORGES AN ALLIANCE WITH THE LEADER OF ROAMING SERVICES TO CONNECT ALL OPERATORS

11/03/2008
Telefonica has created a joint – venture with the Group Mach from Luxembourg (which is the global leader of roaming services to telecommunications companies), in order to give roaming services to the almost 700 mobile phone operators that exist in the world.

Roaming services (when a client from one country can use the network of another operator in a different country), are one of the most important advantages of the GSM system, the most extended worldwide. However, each of the agreements between operators entail a complicated negotiation process and a period of technical tests of 3 to 4 months. This situation means operators from small countries or with few clients have problems in obtaining roaming services agreements, due to the imbalance between the costs and potencial income.

Telefonica is one of the four operators that have signed more roaming agreements (470) due to its international presence and the fact that Spain is a major tourist location. The majority of the operators have roughly 100 agreements each, with means that the opportunities for new agreements are very limited. According to Angel Merodio, Wholesale Business Director of Telefonica, “from a potential market of 180.000 bilateral agreements between operators, only 30.000 have materialized which means that business opportunities for the new company are huge because it can participate in 150.000 agreements”.

The new company, pioneer in the market, wants to change the model with the creation of one hub that centralizes and standardizes all the technical tests of the process so that one operator only has to connect with the hub and automatically can be connected with the rest of operators. Through a single connection one telecommunication company has access to the same level of service as with the bilateral agreements. Martin Lippert, General Director of Mach, estimates that at the end of this year there will be 100 operators connected to the roaming hub.

The technological platform of the new company will be established in Madrid and Barcelona. Telefonica contributes with its experience as roaming services provider for the operators it manages and Mach`s main asset is the fact that it is the global leader of clearing services, fraud control and rate – setting processes with a market share of more than 70%.

Source: IPA WORLD

IBERIA AND SINGAPORE SET UP A SUBSIDIARY IN MADRID THAT WILL SERVICE PLANES FROM ASIA

11/03/2008
The new company will invoice 40 million from the maintenance of landing gears.

Iberia and Singapore Technologies, a giant of aerospace maintenance in Asia, signed an agreement on the 20th of last February for the setting up of a joint – venture based in Madrid devoted to repairing landing gears of planes from all over the world, but especially from Asia. The new company will be called Madrid Aerospace and it is foreseen that in 2011 it will invoice 40 million and have 100 staff members.

There will be an initial investment of 6 million Euros and there will be 40 employees. The new company will start operations in the second quarter of 2008 and its core business will be the reparation and checking of landing gears in Airbus models 320, 330 and 340.

Source: Cinco Días

DANONE´S MADRID FACTORY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT WORLDWIDE

11/03/2008
The President of the subsidiary in Spain, Javier Robles, pointed out that it is the multinational´s most efficient factory in terms of costs and daily and annual production.

Coinciding with the visit to the factory of the President of Madrid´s Regional Government, Esperanza Aguirre, Mr. Robles announced that the Tres Cantos facilities have become the most important yoghurt manufacturing centre for the multinational in terms of production and costs.

It was opened in 1994. It measures 61.500 square metres and its average cost per metric ton is one of the smallest in the world.

230 employees work in the factory which has an annual production of 170.00 tons and a daily production of 5 million yoghurts. The factory can process more than 150 million litres of milk annually. As well as the factory, Robles highlighted the existence of an excellence center, where 20 workers from different departments from around the world develop new products in order to launch them in Europe.

The factory in Tres Cantos manufactures natural and flavoured yoghurts, Activia natural and low–fat, Vitalinea and Danet. The logistic aspect is handled by the different logistic platforms of Salvesen that supply to 13 local distributors. Danone also has one of its more important logistic platforms in Getafe. In 2006 the Tres Cantos factory won the “Dairy Factory Challenge” that Danone awards to the group´s most efficient plant.

Danone´s turnover in Spain was 1.170 million Euros in 2006.

Source: La Gaceta del Lunes

RED HAT EXPANDS ITS PRESENCE IN SPAIN BY OPENING A NEW OFFICE

11/03/2008
Red Hat, the leading global provider of open source solutions, announced the opening of a new office in Madrid in order to support the company´s expansion both in terms of new clients and new staff.

Red Hat´s new office is located in the north of Madrid and has a wide range of facilities that enable the company´s team to keep growing and to build close relationships with clients and partners.

“Our new offices in Spain improve our teamwork and the productivity of the employees”, explains Rodolfo González, Sales Manager of Red Hat Iberia. “These new facilities are centrally located and well connected which are necessary features in order for us to provide good services to our clients”.

Source: IPA WORLD

PromoMadrid organizes the luncheon cocktail “Solar Energy: Investment and Development opportunities in Madrid Region” during GENERA 2008

11/02/2008
The Promoting Investment Department of PromoMadrid, jointly with IFEMA, will hold the cocktail luncheon “Solar Energy: Investment and Development Opportunities in Madrid Region” on February 26.

This event is part of the trade show GENERA 2008 (February 26 – 28) and its main goal is to present foreign companies, with expansion plans in Spain, the potential of the solar energy’s sector in Madrid.

The seminar will be held on February 26th at 13.30 – Venue at Parque Ferial Juan Carlos I, Madrid, Sala de Maquetas, Office Building, 1st floor (South Entrance).

If you might be interested to arrange a brief meeting with PromoMadrid or assist to the event feel free to contact Mr Manuel de la Nava ( manuel.delanava@promomadrid.com)

Documents: 080201_GENERA_Luncheon_Cocktail_Agenda_english.pdf
Link: http://www.ifema.es/ferias/genera/default.html

ADAMED A POLISH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY LANDS IN SPAIN

08/02/2008
The lab will manage its expansion throughout Europe from Spain

Adamed, top one Polish laboratory, has chosen Spain to establish and expand its business in Western Europe. Madrid has been the location chosen to open the subsidiary and launch new products onto the local market.

Adamed has chosen Spain for different reasons: First, Spain is the seventh global market for the pharmaceutical industry and the fifth in Europe. The second reason is the fact that Spain has the same number of inhabitants as Poland. Moreover, the adviser of the Executive Board of Adamed, Tomasz Zakrocki, claims that Slavs have much more in common with Latinos than with Germanics or Anglo-Saxons.

The first products that will be launched, both in Spain and Poland simultaneously, are two compounds that are currently waiting for marketing authorisation by the European Medicines Agency.

Adamed will be investing 35 million Euros in Spain over the next three years, and will be creating a workforce of 50 employees and 200 indirect jobs. This investment will be focusing on R&D because the company would like to establish cooperation agreements with Spanish research centers, like the ones that it has with universities in Poland. At first, the relation with doctors will be a key element to ensure the success of the entry into Spain, said Mr. Zakrocki.

This company was created in 1986 during the communist era by a gynaecologist, father of the current President, who started with the commercialization of gynaecological and urological products. Later, in the 90´s, the company added new areas such as cardiovascular system, respiratory system and metabolism. Adamed´s turnover for 2007 was 110 million Euros, which entails an increase of 10% over last year’s profits, setting it as the twelfth biggest company in Poland. It has a workforce of 600 people, plus another 100 devoted to R&D. Moreover, it holds 22 patents (although it also commercializes generics). Its last developments have focused on metabolism (Type II Diabetes), oncology (lung cancer) and the central nervous system (CNS).

Source: La Gaceta de los Negocios

HP OPENS AN INTERNATIONAL EXCELLENCE CENTER FOR MAINFRAME REHOSTING IN MADRID

08/02/2008
With an investment of 1 million Euros, the HP Mainframe Rehosting Center will tackle projects for the entire EMEA region but without ruling out providing global services worldwide in a second phase.

According to research carried out by HP, mainframe platforms still have great importance in business environments since 75% of the big companies are using them for their key applications. Nevertheless, the Pressure Point Index 2008, also points out that 57% of these organizations are considering changing their systems. The problem is that they find two main obstacles: the high cost and the resistance to change on the part of management.

“The cost of the software for mainframe rehosting platforms is ten times higher than in open environments” points out Elena García, Marketing Director of HP Services for Spain. “There are different strategies to establish an alternative to mainframe: the replacement of the application with another (standard one), reengineering, rehosting by emulation or conversion, etc… The center that HP has opened in Spain will work with the solution that the professionals of HP Consulting & Integration have developed: HP Mainframe Rehosting. This application eliminates the main barriers encountered when moving from closed to open environments”, explains Garcia who highlights that this project entails a return on investment (ROI) above 100% and reduces property costs up to 80%.

Furthermore, Isidoro Paredes, the responsible for HP´s Application Modernisation Solutions, explains that 40 employees will be working in the center, and by mid-2008 they will decide whether to provide these services worldwide.

Some of HP´s clients engaged with this project are Pelayo, EJIE (IT Department of the Basque Country´s Government), Carrefour, Repsol and Barclays. The project’s implementation usually lasts one year and has a minimum impact on the company’s day to day activity. Other organizations that have shown an interest in the application are Carrefour Italy, the Swedish Ministry of Finance and the Portuguese police.

Source: Itweek

MEDIOBANCA SETS UP A BRANCH IN SPAIN LEAD BY BORJA PRADO

24/01/2008
The Italian finance company has started its operations in Spain with the leadership of Endesa´s counsellor, Borja Prado, and under the supervision of Italo Pellegrino, the bank´s International Manager.

Mediobanca has established a branch here first and foremost to operate in the corporate business sector, both in the loans and fixed – income market areas, offering also advisory and management services to its clients. Mediobanca´s Spanish branch was opened approximately a month ago.

The Italian banking group made a net profit of 953,2 million Euros at the end of the 2006/07 financial year, which entails an increase of 11% over last year´s profit, according to information from the entity.

Source: Gaceta de los Negocios

THE MULTINATIONAL LILLY TO MANUFACTURE CYMBALTA IN SPAIN FOR THE WORLD MARKET

17/01/2008
The multinational Lilly plans to manufacture its new anti-depressant Cymbalta at its plant in Alcobendas for the world market, except the US market. This new drug, launched last year, is already leading the anti-depressant segment in terms of sales, bringing in revenues of 943.6 million dollars during the first semester of this year. Together with the launch of this product, the multinational has recently introduced Strattera into the Spanish market and sales of these two drugs place the company in a leadership position in the neuroscience sector.

Spain will be a key location for Cymbalta, and not just in terms of sales, as the company plans to make its factory in Alcobendas (Madrid) the production center for the world market (except the US). This decision strengthens Spain’s position in the multinational’s strategy, borne out by the fact that in 2006 over 50% of its turnover came from drugs manufactured in Spain and then exported to other countries.

Cymbalta is a next-generation anti-depressant with a reduced number of side effects, which can also be used to treat general anxiety disorder and fibromialgy. The multinational’s neuroscience sector is completed with Zyprexa, the market leader in Spain as regards the treatment of depression.

Lilly, a global corporation dedicated to research into new drugs, is in the top ten leading pharmaceutical companies in the world, employing over 40,000 people.

Source: Interes

RÖHLIG ESPAÑA OPENS NEW OFFICE IN MADRID

17/01/2008
Röhlig España, the Spanish subsidiary of the global logistics service provider Röhlig & Co Holding GmbH & Co, based in Germany, has inaugurated a new office in Madrid (ES).

The backdrop to the move is great demand in the Spanish market and Röhlig’s strategic alignment. The Madrid office, which is adjacent to Barajas airport, the fifth largest in Europe, will support the logistics group in its core businesses sea and airfreight in future.

Source: Transport Journal

SOLFOCUS RAISES $52 MILLION LED BY NEW ENTERPRISE ASSOCIATES. Opens SolFocus Europe HQ in Madrid

14/01/2008
SolFocus, Inc., developer and manufacturer of solar energy solutions including concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems, trackers and thermal technology, today announced the closing of $52 million (€38 million) in funding. This included a $27.4 million (€20 million) Series A financing for SolFocus Europe, and the balance as Series B financing for SolFocus, Inc. The financings, both led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), also include Moser Baer India, Ltd., David Gelbaum, Metasystem Group, NGEN Partners, Yellowstone Capital Inc., and others. SolFocus Europe is headquartered in Madrid, Spain and will serve the European market with CPV, tracker and thermal products.

SolFocus Europe operations will include business development, marketing, engineering, research and development activities, along with field operations which will oversee the ISFOC (Institute of Concentration Photovoltaic Systems) program which SolFocus was awarded last October. The ISFOC project is a 3MW installation of CPV technology in Castilla la Mancha, Spain. SolFocus will also continue collaborative work with the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) and its Institute of Solar Energy (IES) in meeting technology challenges to further the proliferation of solar energy worldwide. SolFocus also recently acquired Inspira, a Madrid-based provider of solar trackers for the CPV and PV industries. According to SolFocus CEO Gary D. Conley, the company will base its tracker and solar thermal product development activities in Europe while focusing on panel, optics, and cell technologies in the US.

A pioneer in concentrator solar and the impetus behind Spain’s ISFOC, Dr. Antonio Luque of the Polytechnic University of Madrid sees SolFocus’ expansion into Europe as positive both for Europe and for the CPV industry. “After decades of solar cell research and development to achieve high solar efficiencies, I see strong promise in SolFocus’ ability to deliver high power output, while reducing costs. This is a critical step in bringing CPV to a global market.”

"Aggressive incentives in Europe, coupled with the efforts of visionaries such as Dr. Luque, have resulted in the rapid rise of Spain as a global solar technology hub, making it the ideal center for SolFocus Europe’s headquarters," said Gary D. Conley, SolFocus CEO. "This funding provides us the means to form and operate a separate, fully-operational entity which can better serve the European market’s demand for CPV systems as well as trackers for CPV and conventional flat plate solar panels. SolFocus will also gain considerable solar DNA from the large and experienced solar labor pool in Europe."

HP CREATES A NEW SAP EXCELLENCE CENTER FOR EUROPE IN MADRID

11/11/2007
Yesterday Hewlett – Packard announced the creation of a new excellence center in Madrid where Spanish experts will give technical support to the clients of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) throughout their processes of updating the SAP applications. The center, which became operational early this month, will entail an investment of roughly 1 million Euros during the first few months of activity.

Ricard Fernandez, SAP ´s executive for HP in Spain, explained that most of the investment will go towards human resources. “The center began with 17 consultants, 11 of which were already on the payroll and it is planned to increase that number to 28 experts at the beginning of 2008”.

“The project has been established in Spain due to three main reasons: the experience of the Spanish professionals in the updating of applications, the excellent SAP training of our human workforce, and the country’s advantageous economic structure, where the cost of hiring an expert is lower than in other European countries”, said Fernandez. The executive highlighted that the fact Madrid can offer this service to the EMEA area also means the company will benefit from economies of scale.

Source: Cinco Días

ORACLE WILL BE HIRING 250 NEW EMPLOYEES IN SPAIN IN 2008

29/10/2007
Oracle Iberica, which is based in Madrid, will be increasing its staff by 250 employees in the 2008 fiscal year, which began in June. This will bring the workforce up to 1.154 employees. In 2007 the subsidiary has increased its revenue by 30%, with earnings of 260 million Euros.

The increase in employment is due to the good results the company has achieved. Miguel Milano, Oracle Iberica´s vice-president, has doubled the software giant subsidiary´s sales in a little over two years.

Furthermore, the company will be announcing tomorrow the opening of a new centre of excellence in collaboration with Cap Gemini. With an initial staff of 20 employees (expected to increase up to 50 in 2008) it will be focusing on the area of better practice and will help clients managing Business Intelligence.

As far as the Spanish subsidiary´s vice-president is concerned “In Spain there are proficient engineers, costs are low and R+D incentives are available in many regions.”

Source: Cinco Días

CONERGY OPENS IN MADRID ITS FIRST FACTORY IN SPAIN

09/10/2007
Conergy, the solar panel manufacturer, announced the opening of its first factory in Spain yesterday. The 800 m2 plant will produce photovoltaic solar modules’ structures. The investment amount has not been made public.

The factory is located in Daganzo, 30 Km away from Madrid. It will share facilities with the company’s new logistic centre, the biggest outside of Germany, with an area of 5.000 m2.

Thanks to the new facilities, the company will save 60% in logistic costs. The Rangsdorf factory in Germany will shift 10% of its production to Madrid.

Alberto Sanromán, Spain´s Conergy Manager, declared “the new factory will bring more flexibility which will satisfy clients’ demands and will be more cost efficient. It is a great step forward towards achieving our growth goals for the Spanish market.”

Source: Cinco Días

INFINITE SOFTWARE LAUNCHES SPANISH OFFICE

09/10/2007
California-based Infinite Software Corporation, a provider of software for banks, credit unions and consumer lending institutions, has opened an office in Madrid, Spain.

"Infinite Software is continuing its global expansion plan. The opening of this new office in Madrid will allow us to provide more local support to our Iberian clients," said Bruce Acacio, Chief Executive Officer of INFINITE Software.

The new office will support Spanish and Portuguese clients and will become the new European hub.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

HOWREY EXPANDS COMPETITION PRACTICE TO MADRID

24/09/2007
Martínez Lage & Asociados, Spain’s leading specialist competition firm, will join Howrey LLP, effective January 1, 2008. Howrey, which is consistently ranked as the world’s top competition firm, has a significant antitrust presence in Europe as well as throughout the United States.

Robert F. Ruyak, the firm’s Chairman and CEO, noted the firm’s expertise in a variety of area’s of Spanish and EU competition law. “Santiago Martinez Lage has built, together with his partners Rafael Allendesalazar and Helmut Brokelmann, a firm with a first class reputation for all aspects of Spanish and EU competition law- especially high profile mergers, state aid, antitrust litigation and Article 81 and 82 issues. These are areas in which Howrey, too, excels.

Martínez Lage & Asociados was founded in 1985 by Santiago Martínez Lage, who is its Managing Partner. The firm currently consists of eleven lawyers. The leading international professional directories ( Legal 500, Chambers and, PLC) rank Martínez Lage & Asociados in the top tier of Spanish Competition law firms and the latest edition of Chambers Global The World’s Leading Lawyers, published in 2006, defined it as "the best competition boutique by far".

Howrey opened its first European antitrust practice in Brussels in 2002. With the addition of these Madrid lawyers Howrey will have approximately 60 competition lawyers and other professionals in Europe.

Source: Cinco Días

ROCHE PHARMA INTEGRATES ITS INTERNATIONAL SHARED SERVICES CENTER IN MADRID

24/09/2007
Roche Pharma Spain has opened today its new international centre of software excellence in the Madrid street of Josefa Valcarcel. It will provide global services and support to the Roche Corporation worldwide.

The new centre will rely on a qualified workforce of 250 people from 16 different countries by the end of 2007. It will monitor over 4.000 servers, 60.000 client equipments and numerous systems, such as data bases (SQL and Oracle), e-mail service (with over 70.000 addresses), websites and other critical processes such as data back-up in accordance with the sector´s complex regulations.

Esperanza Aguirre, Madrid´s Regional President, attended the opening ceremony and stated her satisfaction with Roche´s choice of Madrid “I am aware of the great number of Roche’s subsidiaries that have applied to host this modern and technological centre. Madrid´s designation is a clear sign of the confidence the Roche group places in the Madrid Region”

According to Roche Pharma Spain´s director, Luc Dirckx “Roche Spain has become a key subsidiary.” The executive explained that besides shared services, the unit will also play a key role in the definition of the multinational´s strategy and in this regard “there are already 190 projects underway.”

Source: Spanish Association of Consulting Firms
Link: http://www.consultoras.org/

T-SYSTEMS OPENS A NEW CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT IN MADRID

18/09/2007
Deutsche Telecom business solutions unit T-Systems, currently in the process of expanding its d-Core network in Spain, has chosen Madrid as the location for its Spanish centre of excellence.

The new d-Core Madrid centre, which began operations in early September, has an initial team of 100 employees with expertise in d-Core tools, process and methodology. The number of staff is expected to grow in the next few months thanks to increased business development.

D-Core Madrid aims to become the key work distribution and execution hub between the various Iberian research centres of excellence and international units.

The restructuring of the Madrid production centre into a conceptual d-Core centre is an indicator of the confidence that the company has of Madrid as the foremost market in terms of growth and hub expansion in Spain. Madrid´s new centre also faces an added challenge, that of becoming the company´s main excellence centre worldwide.

The new opening in Madrid also corroborates T-Systems´ strategy of proximity to clients. The selection of the location has not been chosen at random, but rather taking into account the region´s potential as far as its clients´ profile, its institutions and its communications, all of which are essential to a company’s strategy.

Source: Spanish Association of Consulting Firms
Link: www.consultoras.org/

THE MADRID REGION RANKED THIRD IN EUROPE FOR HIGH-TECH SECTOR EMPLOYMENT

11/09/2007
The Madrid Region is one of only three regions in Europe providing more than 2% of the EU-27’s high-tech sector employment. Madrid has 2.06% of the total and comes third in Europe in this area. According to the latest Eurostat statistical report on high-tech sector employment, Madrid comes after the Paris Region, Ile de France, which has more than 4% and Lombardy (Milan) with 2.52%.

According to data from the EU statistics office, the Madrid Region employs 193,000 people in high-tech sectors.

Madrid is also among the top regions in Europe in terms of the proportion of tertiary educated specialists and technicians coming third in the ranking, which is also headed by Ile de France.

The data also show Madrid as typical in that the European Commission report demonstrates that the region in which technological employment is predominant is normally the capital of the country, with the exceptions of Belgium, Holland, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Source: Eurostat/ Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

JONES DAY RELOCATES LATIN AMERICA MANAGEMENT FROM NEW YORK TO MADRID

10/09/2007
Jones Day has shifted the management of its Latin America practice from New York to Madrid at a time when firms are reviewing their coverage of the region.

Increased investment in Latin American infrastructure from European companies has forced law firms to change their focus to pick up work from big Spanish clients as they invest in the region.

Jones Day Spain managing partner Luis Riesgo has taken over the reins of the Latin America practice following a review that saw its management shift to Madrid.

Jones Day is now the only US firm to manage Latin America from Spain, although Riesgo believes others may follow suit.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

ELCA INFORMATIQUE SA, AN IT SERVICES COMPANY BASED IN SWITZERLAND, HAS LAUNCHED A NEW SUBSIDIARY IN SPAIN

07/09/2007
“We have already eight people under contract in this development centre. The goal is to increase this number substantially in the coming months” said Christian Hunziker, ELCA´s Marketing and Sales Director and Member of the Executive Board.

Based in Madrid, ELCA Informatica SL will serve as a development centre to complement the company’s head office in Lausanne.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

SOLFOCUS LOCATES ITS EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS IN MADRID TECHNOLOGY HUB

04/09/2007
According to the Chief Executive of the company Gary D. Conley “This funding provides us the means to form and operate a separate, fully-operational entity which can better serve the European market’s demand for concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) energy systems as well as trackers for CPV and conventional flat plate solar panels. SolFocus will also gain considerable solar DNA from the large and experienced solar labor pool in Europe."


SolFocus Europe, with its headquarters in Madrid, will supply the European market with CPV, tracker systems and thermal products. Its functions will include business development, marketing, engineering, R&D and field work such as the program of the Institute of Concentration Photovoltaic Systems (ISFOC).

SolFocus also recently acquired Inspira, S.L., a Madrid-based provider of solar trackers for CPV.
"Aggressive incentives in Europe have resulted in the rapid rise of Spain as a global solar technology hub, making it the ideal center for SolFocus Europe´s headquarters” added Conley.

Source: Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

THE OECD AFFIRMS SPAIN’S POTENTIAL AS LATIN AMERICA’S EUROPEAN BUSINESS CENTER

01/09/2007
An OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) analysis on Spain’s business transformation over the past decade describes the next step following the internationalization of Spanish companies and the generation of economic wealth, as being the consolidation of the country as an international business centre linking Latin America with the rest of the world, which attracts the offices of the main multinationals.

The OECD study also underscores the ranking of Spanish business schools. The IESE Business School and the Instituto de Empresa Business School are both in the top five European schools.

The country should now become Latin America’s European centre. "Spain can be the operational headquarters for Latin American companies and for their European counterparts", states the study, which goes on to point out major examples along these lines such as British Telecom, which charged its Spanish subsidiary to head its Latin American business in 2006 and appointed its Spanish president chief executive for Latin America .

Two of South America’s main multinationals have located their operating headquarters in Spain, the state company Petróleos de México, which moved its European headquarters from London to Madrid in 2005, and the Mexican cement company Cemex, which has made a firm commitment to the "Spanish Connection". According to the study the next companies to follow suit could well come from Brazil.

Source: Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

IKEA OPENS ITS TENTH SPANISH STORE IN MADRID AND INCREASES ITS WORKFORCE IN THE REGION TO 2000

07/08/2007
Swedish company IKEA leads the world in the sale of furniture and interior design accessories. In August it opened its tenth Spanish store in the La Gavia shopping center located in Ensanche de Vallecas (Madrid).Following the opening, IKEA’s workforce in the Madrid region is now over 2000. There are two other stores in Alcorcón and San Sebastián de los Reyes.

The new store has a surface area of 28,000 square meters, 20,000 of which are open to the public on two floors.

IKEA At the close of the last fiscal year (31st of August 2006) it had 237 stores employing 104,000 people around the world. During fiscal year 2006, IKEA had a turnover of 17,300 million euros and welcomed 458 million visitors to its stores.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

ARCELORMITTAL WILL INVEST 300 MILLIONS EUROS ANNUALLY IN SPAIN

04/08/2007
ArcelorMittal, the world´s number one steel company, will invest 300 millions euros annually in its Spanish facilities (with 16 centres and 13.500 workers), in the words of Gonzalo Urquijo. The multinational, under the control of the hindu Mittal family, has in Urquijo the only Spaniard on the board of directors.

In Urquijo´s opinion, the Spanish centres´ excellent productivity rates are a safeguard against emerging low cost markets competitors such as China, India and Eastern European countries, where ArcelorMittal is also present. He also points out “The Asturias blast furnace has the best competitive rates in terms of group cost level, together with Madrid, the Basque Country and Aragon’s long products centres.”

Source: Cinco Días

TOYS “R” US INVESTS A MILLION EUROS OPENING TWO NEW SPECIALIST SHOPS IN SEPTEMBER IN MADRID AND BARCELONA

01/08/2007
Toys "R" Us is to open two new Babies "R" Us stores in September in Sant Boi de Llobregat (Barcelona) and in Alcorcón (Madrid). Opening two new stores devoted exclusively to babies is a major step along the road to creating an independent chain of baby stores.

An investment of a million euros is being made in the new Babies "R" Us stores. They each have a surface area of more than 850 meters squared and are both located next to the local Toys "R" Us stores. The company already had a store of the same nature in Alcobendas, opened in November 2006, and its results are exceeding expectations. The three Spanish stores are the first Toys "R" Us devoted exclusively to babies in Continental Europe.

Toys "R" Us Iberia has 39 stores in Spain and 8 in Portugal. It has a workforce of over 2,600. In fiscal year 2006, the company had a turnover of 286 million euros. Since setting up in Spain 16 years ago, more than 85 million people have visited its stores.

Source: Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

PALLETWAYS EXPANDS SPANISH OPERATIONS

31/07/2007
UK-based distribution company Palletways Ltd, has opened a new hub in Alcala de Henares, near Madrid, to serve its growing Iberian business.

"We place considerable importance on the Iberian market, and in the near future the Iberian network will be integrated with our operations in the rest of mainland Europe," said James Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Palletways.

This new distribution centre, located close to Madrid airport and major motorways, is expected to handle about 20,000 pallets per day.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

BP SOLAR IS WORKING ON A PROJECT TO EXPAND CELL CAPACITY AT ITS TRES CANTOS PLANT IN SPAIN

31/07/2007
At its European headquarters in Tres Cantos, on the outskirts of Madrid, BP Solar is working on a development project that will expand the plant’s annual cell capacity from 55 megawatts (MW) to about 300 MW, quite a big step in the Spanish market.

Encouraged by the buoyancy of the solar market, Group Santander, Spain’s top bank, has offered investors the chance to buy stakes in solar energy plants. Investment aside, engineers’ work the Tres Cantos site must feel energised also by the unique surroundings of the plat., the company is located near the Ribera del Manzanares park.

Spain offers an interesting market for solar energy and renewable in general, In 2006, the solar energy market more than doubled (with a total Installed capacity of 110MW- 120MW, BP Solar owns more than 40% of the total) and it is expected that growth will continue apace this year and next. The Spanish government is one of the most pro-renewable governments in Europe and has created a framework that supports solar energy, planning to increase the installed modules to 400 MW by 2010.

Benefiting from this framework, BP Solar can sell energy into the national grid at 575% of the cost of production; it entered into a 25-year contract with the Spanish government by which utilities providers are obliged to buy electricity from it. With such appealing feed-in tariffs and the hours of sunlight in the country, investment in solar energy in Spain is extremely attractive.
Paradoxically, investing in Spain is even more attractive than investing in Germany, according to BP Solar, because German government support is lower and demand is driven by ecological reasons.

Source: FDI Magazine
Link: http://www.fdimagazine.com

EASYJET WILL DOUBLE ITS AIR TRAFFIC CAPACITY WITH A 100 MILLON INVESTMENT IN MADRID

26/07/2007
Easyjet, the British low cost company, has decided to increase the number of planes based on Madrid in order to expand its routes and face winter campaign. In October, It will acquire two new Airbus A319, with a total price of 100 mill euros. The new acquisitions will take Easyjet to double its carriage capacity, from an initial position of three planes to six.

The number of passengers from/ to Madrid has boost dramatically since Easyjet started operation in February. EasyJet has reach already 1.3 millions of passengers. The company remarked. “Only in July, we have reached 221.150 passengers, which represent a 114% increase over previous year.” The company expects to achieve two millions passengers in the 2007 period.

Source: Cinco Días

AMERICAN CAPITAL LAUNCHES MADRID OFFICE

11/07/2007
European Capital Financial Services, an affiliate of fund manager American Capital Strategies Ltd, headquartered in Maryland, has opened a new office in Spain.

The Madrid-based team, led by Managing Director Luis Felipe Castellanos, will focus on mezzanine investments.

“We are delighted that Luis Felipe Castellanos is joining European Capital at such an exciting time. European Capital has established a strong base in Europe and the opening of the Madrid office is the next step in expanding our presence in the European marketplace” said Ira Wagner, President of European Capital and Chief Operating Officer of American Capital Strategies.

It is the fourth European Capital office, in addition to London, Paris and Frankfurt.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

THE NORHT AMERICAN DESIGN CONSULTING FIRM XPLANE CHOOSES SPAIN AS SPRINGBOARD TO EUROPE

04/07/2007
The consulting company has entered the European market through the acquisition of the Madrid- based company Ideamaps.

X-plane’s founder, Dave Gray, explains the company’s expansion process ”Company clients were requiring XP-plane to go global, meanwhile Ideamaps was also looking to become a global player. They came forward offering us a merging deal.”

At the moment, the consulting firm has 40 employees in the US and 16 in Spain. Since 1993, when the company was founded by Dave Grey in Saint Louis ( Minnesota, USA), Xplane has been working offering visual communications solutions to worldwide clients such as France Telecom, Unilever, British Petroleum or Nokia.

Source: Expansión

MACQUARIE LAUNCHES GLOBAL PROPERTY GROUP IN SPAIN

03/07/2007
The Australian global property group Macquarie has launched in Spain a new global brand – Goodman, emerging as the second largest industrial property group in the world.

The new group is the result of the last two years’ expansion into the European market, and involves four well-known international property players: Arlington, Eurinpro, Akeler and Rosemound.

In Spain, Arlington has two industrial parks, one located in San Fernando de Henares (Madrid) and the second one, close to Barcelona, in the city of Viladecans. Eurinpro, is a leading logistic player. Both companies, Arlington and Eurimpro, will be integrated under Goodman Spain’s umbrella, which already has two logistic facilities, in Alcala de Henares (Madrid) and Sant Fruitos del Valles (Barcelona).

The Goodman group is present throughout 20 countries across Australia, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United Kingdom. With 1.000 employees, it provides services to 2.600 clients and manages assets valued at over 22.000 million Euros.

Source: Cinco Días

DAIMLER CHRYSLER SETS UP EUROPEAN SHARED SERVICE CENTRE IN SPAIN WITH THE SUPPORT OF PROMOMADRID

15/05/2007
German-US car maker DaimlerChrysler has established a shared service centre in Spain. The unit, located in Madrid, will provide accounting, administrative and financial services for the German group´s European subsidiaries. The project has the support of PromoMadrid, a company attached to the Madrid Regional Ministry of Economy and Innovation Technology. Once it is fully operational, the centre will have a workforce of 200.

The decision to locate the centre in Madrid was due to the experience acquired by Daimler Chrysler´s Spanish subsidiary in the development of an internal organisation of shared services, according to the German group. DaimlerChrysler Spain already provides financial and accounting services to 10 of the group´s subsidiaries, and in 2001 set up an international consultancy for the group that works with its American and European branches.

PromoMadrid’s staff has provided key information to evaluate Madrid’s viability as a suitable location, at the same time that has served as one interlocutor with the different government bodies. The Madrid Regional government has also cooperated in the establishment of the centre through the incentives in training programs for unemployed workers.

Madrid has been selected by Daimler among other European location such as Prague (Czech Republic) or Cracow (Poland).Some key facts, among others, that influenced the final decision were: last year’s strong economic growth – 4,6% in 2006- , wide availability of qualified workforce and the Madrid Region’s excellent infrastructures. In 2006, DaimlerChrysler Spain had over 6.290 employees and sales of 4.826,29 million euros, which represent a growth of 10, 1% over the previous period.

Source: Expansión

LIBERTY EXPANDS IN SPAIN

14/05/2007
Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), a division of the leading global insurer Liberty Mutual Group, has opened an office in Spain as part of its continuing continental European growth strategy.

The new branch, in Madrid, will be headed by Fernando Lara and will initially focus on Directors & Officers, Financial Institutions and Professional Indemnity with other products being introduced in the future.

Commenting on the launch, LIU Europe’s CEO, Sean Rocks said: “Fernando has many years’ experience in the industry and the team we have in place in Madrid has a combination of technical skills and local knowledge. This means that brokers in Spain will enjoy the same level of service that brokers in the UK and other European countries do where we have a local presence.”

Source: Liberty

BRAND MANAGEMENT CONSULTING COMPANY PROPHET ARRIVES IN SPAIN

30/04/2007
US brand consulting firm Prophet has set up shop in Spain with a group of professionals from BBDO Consulting.

Within the last few years, brand management consulting has become a growth market area. The American company Prophet is the most recent player to enter the Spanish market. The San Francisco based company was founded in 1992 by David Aaker, a worldwide renowned brand consulting professional. The consulting firm operates in six counties and has over a hundred employees. At present, it is coordinating a project for a construction and services firm in the Middle East from its Madrid office and has clients including UBS, BP, Philips, Visa, Boemg and Kellogs.

Source: Expansión

MSOURCE SETS UP ITS SPANISH SUBSIDIARY IN MADRID’S SAN FERNANDO INDUSTRIAL PARK

23/04/2007
Msource, contract research organization, has set up its Spanish subsidiary in San Fernando industrial park (Madrid).

The Belgian company, founded in 1994, is a full-service contract research organization that provides a range of clinical development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries as certified by quality standard ISO 9001:2000.

In Veldman’s words, Spain’s Msource Contract Hire Consultant “San Fernando’s excellent facilities, its experienced team who has fulfilled all Msource´s needs, and having all services within easy reach in the same spot, have been key factors when making the final decision.“

Source: El economista

CANADA´S CAE AND IBERIA OPEN THE EXTENSION TO THE MADRID FLIGHT TRAINING CENTER

14/04/2007

Canada’s CAE, specialized in the design, manufacture and supply of flight simulation equipment and in aviation services and training, and Iberia have opened the new wing of the Flight Training Center close to Madrid’s Barajas airport. The two training centers owned by each company separately until now, Iberia in Alcalá de Henares and CAE in La Muñoza industrial estate close to Barajas have been combined.

The companies have worked jointly since 2003 training around 8,000 pilots for forty airlines including Iberia, Air Nostrum, Clickair, Spanair and Vueling.
CAE group president Jeff Roberts explained that the opening clearly demonstrates "CAE’s commitment to the aviation sector in Europe".

CAE is the world leader in the supply of simulation technologies and integrated training services for the civil aviation and defence sectors all over the world. In its 110 flight simulators in 24 centres, CAE trains more than 50,000 pilots a year and operates in every segment of the aviation industry, from major international airlines to smaller regional ones, and including business jets and helicopters.

Source: Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

SALANS EXPANDS INTO SPAIN WITH NEW OFFICES IN MADRID AND BARCELONA

13/04/2007
Salans has opened new offices in Madrid and Barcelona to strengthen further the firm´s presence in Western Europe. Salans has acquired the Madrid-based law firm Masons Buxeda Menchen as well as the firm led by Alejandro and Juan Ignacio Alonso, based in both Madrid and Barcelona. The acquisition adds 24 Spanish lawyers to Salans, taking the firm to 550 lawyers globally operating from 18 offices.

The new offices bring with them considerable expertise in the corporate/M&A arena as well as in energy, tax and real estate and construction.

Stephen Finch, Salans´ Chairman commented, "Our new German presence was a big success story for the firm for 2006, and we are excited about expanding further our presence in Europe with these new offices in Spain. Spain is a major world economy and a key market for many of our clients, so it is a natural progression to establish operations there. The firms joining us, headed by Javier Lasa and Alejandro Alonso, combine experience and dynamism."

Source: Pess Release News Wire
Link: http://www.prweb.com/

SCHENKER & SIEMENS LAUNCH SPANISH OPERATIONS

13/04/2007
Schenker Industrial Logistics, the joint venture between Germany-based companies Schenker AG and Siemens AG, has established a new subsidiary in Spain. Schenker Industrial Logistics Iberica SL will work for Siemens Spain providing logistics and warehousing services.

"This tailored solution for Siemens is a prime example of the concept behind Schenker Industrial Logistics: offering customers in technology-driven sectors comprehensive sector-oriented third-party logistics in order to boost efficiency" said Dr Bernd-Rudiger Pahnke, board member of the logistics division of Schenker.

The new subsidiary will operate two logistics centres in Madrid and Barcelona, with around 15,000 square metres of warehouse space for IT components, electronics and industrial goods equipment, goods from product system and equipment businesses at Siemens SA and Siemens Networks SL, as well as other technology companies.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

SAGEM ORGA EXPANDS IN EUROPE

12/04/2007
Germany-based Sagem Orga, a company specialised in the smart card sector, and a subsidiary of the Safran Group, headquartered in Paris, has expanded in Southern and Eastern Europe with the opening of new offices in Madrid and Vienna.

Already present in Portugal, the new office in Spain will complement Sagem Orga’s position in the Iberian telecommunications market.

"To succeed in this mature and extremely competitive market, our strategy is to rely on a highly-skilled local team, supported by a strong global organisation. Throughout the entire Safran Group we focus in particular on delivering innovative technology to large telecommunication groups", said Julien Zuccarelli, head of the business unit telecommunications at Sagem Orga.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

BP EXPANDS SOLAR PLANT IN SPAIN

23/03/2007
BP Solar, a division of UK oil company BP PLC, has commenced construction of a mega cell plant at its European headquarters in Tres Cantos, Madrid.

For phase 1 of the Madrid expansion, BP Solar is aiming to expand its annual cell capacity from 55 MW to around 300 MW. This follows the announcement on 21 March of the construction of a similar facility in Bangalore, India.

BP Solar chose its Tres Cantos facility for one of its mega cell plants due to confidence in the growth projections of the European market. “We already have an established manufacturing presence in Madrid, a skilled and talented workforce, and direct access to some of the fastest growing PV markets in the world,” said Bertrand Boulin, BP Solar’s Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply.

The Madrid mega cell plant will be one of the largest such facilities in Europe.

Source: BP Solar

ACCENTURE CREATES A NEW SAP DIVISION IN SPAIN WITH MORE THAN 1.100 EMPLOYEES

16/03/2007
Accenture has created a SAP Solutions division in Spain, a subsidiary company which focuses on developing and managing solutions for SAP. The subsidiary will gather together the SAP area, which was previously scattered throughout several company departments. Currently the division has 950 employees but it plans to hire another 450 before the end of the year which will bring the number of staff up to about 1.150 employees while taking into account the “rotating factor”. This represents about 10% of the company’s workforce in Spain.

The Accenture SAP Solutions activity will be handled by its four Spanish centres: Madrid, which accounts for 40% of its employees, Barcelona with 30%, Malaga 20%, and Bilbao 10 %.

The Spanish centre is also in charge of monitoring various Accenture overseas projects related to foreign subsidiaries such as The Philippines, India and Argentina. The company is gradually increasing the relocation of overseas subsidiaries’ activities towards the Spanish centre, which according to Victor Casas, Accenture Partner, is a positive gesture. It is significant that the Spanish subsidiary’s competitive advantage does not rely on low labour costs but rather on added value, know-how and the excellence of its resources to meet the demands of international projects.

Overseas projects are an increasing business source for Accenture Spain, accounting for almost 20% of the subsidiary’s business.

Source: Cinco Días

MADRID WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A COMPARABLE CENTRE TO HOUSTON MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTRE

13/03/2007
MD Anderson Houston’s president, Mr. John Mendelsohn along with Madrid City’s major and Madrid Region’s leader, Mr. Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and Ms. Esperanza Aguirre, attended the opening ceremony of the new MD Anderson International Spain facility, last March 13th.

The Madrid centre is the only international subsidiary the M. D. Anderson Cancer Centre, the world’s leading cancer research and care institution, has worldwide. MD Anderson Spain started activities six years ago. The size of its facilities is that of a clinic, whereas the Houston Hospital is the size of a small city focused on cancer treatment. MD Anderson Houston’s head has stated there are strong chances of a similar complex being set-up in Madrid in the future.

MD Anderson Houston’s president explains why Madrid has been chosen as the only city in the world to host the subsidiary, “In Houston, we are very proud of what is being done here. We have a proficient doctors’ team, prestigious specialists and an excellent management team. This enables the cooperation between our Houston and Madrid doctors, which together with information exchange and team work are the key success factors.”

The Houston facilities have an annual budget of 2,500 million dollars. In 2006 the centre treated 79,000 patients. It invests 450 million dollars annually in research.

Source: Cinco Días

EXPEDIA, WORLD´S LEADING ON LINE TRAVEL COMPANY, TO SET UP BUSINESS IN SPAIN IN APRIL

27/02/2007

The world’s leading on line travel company, Expedia, will land in Spain by April, with expectations of escalating to the market’s first positions together with Rumbo and Edreams. To achieve these expectations, the company will be opening an office in Madrid with 30 people.

The site, quoted on the NASDAQ index, is the first operator in most markets where it is currently operating but to date the Spanish market had been left aside. According to company’s directives, it is now the proper time to enter the booming Spanish market, which is currently offering huge potential opportunities. Mikael Anderson, Spain’s executive director states ”This is the right moment to set off operations. Spain along with Italy and the Eastern European countries shows one of the highest growth rates”.

According to Mr. Anderson, the Spanish market growth is between 50 and 60 per cent. In addition, online bookings represent half of the market share while traditional retailers handle the remaining half. These are the two main reasons that have turned Spain into a strategic market as far as Expedia is concerned.

Source: Cinco Días

ALCATEL LUCENT LOCATES ITS MAIN IPTV R&D CENTRE IN MADRID (SPAIN)

21/02/2007
Alcatel Lucent has decided to place its main R&D centre for IPTV technology, which is one of the group’s most significant businesses, in Madrid. Here they will develop the IPTV software R&D activities, including MyViewTV, for its branches worldwide.

Michel Rahier, president of the Alcatel fixed communications activities, remarked that Spain has become one of the most thriving markets thanks to the boost given by network operators. In fact Telefonica has already more than 400.000 clients of Imagenio (Telefonica’s IPTV) whose platform has been developed by Alcatel Lucent. Mr Rahier also pointed out Telefonica´s prominent role in Europe and Latin-America, where it has already begun to launch these products.

Alcatel Lucent has also based its Customer Care Centre in the Spanish capital. From here it will provide back-up support for all its European, Latin-American, African and Indian clients.

Currently, Alcatel Lucent is the world’s leading solutions supplier for fixed communications and is number two for mobile communications.

Source: Cinco Días

SANOFI-AVENTIS TO OPEN A NEW R&D CENTRE IN MADRID

20/02/2007
Sanofi-aventis will be investing 7 million Euros in the construction of its new basic R&D centre.

It will be located in a 1,000 square meter plot, next to the manufacturing plant the company already has in Alcorcón (Madrid). The facilities will consist of an 8,000 square meter three storey building.

It is expected that the opening of the centre will foster scientific life in Madrid, which will imply the increased need for highly specialized university personnel. 90% of current Sanofi- Aventis R&D staff fulfil this profile.

Within the past few years, Sanofi-aventis has signed different collaboration agreements with the Complutense, Autonoma, and San Pablo Ceu universities. With the opening of the R&D centre Sanofi-aventis has, among other aims, the intention of promoting agreements between its own research teams and those of public entities, which will definitely contribute towards boosting Madrid’s Regional scientific and basic research community.

Source: La Gaceta

ATOS ORIGIN OPENS A CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN MADRID FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONVERGENCE SERVICES

19/02/2007
The international information technology services company, Atos Origin, has opened a Center of Excellence in Madrid for the development of telecommunications convergence services. This R&D and innovation centre will provide creation and deployment support for global telecommunications operators.

Mr. Luis Pérez Castilla, Atos Origin Business Development Director, explains the reason that have made the company open the centre in Madrid “Over 20 years experience working in the telecommunications sectors from our headquarters in Madrid, where we have a very strong and consolidated team of professionals, led to the choice of the capital for our Telecommunications Convergence Services Excellence Center. The experience we have gained over the years, the result of the confidence our clients have placed in us, was the determining factor in the decision to locate the R&D and innovation center in Madrid.”


Undoubtedly, a key factor for establishing the centre is the human capital “ Projects such as this are only possible because of the competitiveness and talent of our professionals. More than 100 experts with wide-ranging experiences in the telecommunications sector will work in the new Center of Excellence. Our team is able to quickly create low cost fixed and mobile convergence services for our clients.”

The company provides consultancy services (through Atos Consulting), systems integration and outsourcing to around 350 clients in the telecommunications sector the world over, including the most important European operators: France Telecom, KPN, Telecom Italia and Vodafone. Atos Origin has been active in the telecommunications market for more than 20 years.

Atos Origin has a workforce of 47,000 in 40 countries, and an annual turnover of 5500 million euros. It is a worldwide technology partner of the Olympic Games, and has a client base of international blue-chip companies across all sectors.

Source: Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

RENAULT TRUCKS IS TO INVEST 40 MILLION EUROS IN A NEW CRANKSHAFT FACTORY IN LEGANES (MADRID)

12/02/2007
In the second semester, industrial vehicles manufacturer Renault Trucks, plans to open a new factory in Leganes (Madrid). The new factory will focus on crankshaft production thanks to a 40 million Euro investment.

In 2006, Renault Trucks sales increased by 5,3%, achieving a record after selling over 10,000 vehicles in Spain for first time.

In the holding’s opinion ”this comes as a result of the complete renovation the vehicles’ range has undergone”. By the month of March sales are expected to grow even more, due to the recent launch of the new Renault Master and Renault Maxity models.

Source: Cinco Días

THE NORTH AMERICAN COMPANY GOYA FOODS TAKES OVER NATIVO

07/02/2007
Goya Foods Inc, America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company, recently announced the acquisition of 80% of Productos Nativo. This Madrid based company is the major distributor of latinos food for the Spanish and European market.

Goya Foods, with 21.3 million Euro sales, had been looking for a partner in Madrid for months and the opportunity has finally come from Productos Nativo SL.

Nativo has over 300 food and beverage reference rooted in Latin American cuisine, 65% of which are imported. The chain’s main clients are restaurants and businesses run by immigrants. In 2007, the new alliance will allow Nativo to increase by 30% the number of its products and sales are expected to double up to 20 million euros.

The newly merged company will maintain its headquarters in Madrid and the founding family will remain at the forefront of company management. The business development model will be based on the franchise system. The granting of new franchises in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville is currently under study.

Source: Expansión

LOWE CREATES A LATIN ADVERTISING BRANCH BASED IN MADRID

07/02/2007
Lowe, the advertising agency which belongs to Interpublic, has created Lowe Latina, a new agency born with worldwide vision focused on the Latin advertising market. The branch’s name, Lola, comes as result of combining the companies’ two first syllables.

Fernando Vegas Olmos, one of the most successful Argentinian publicists, has been appointed as executive director and the Spanish Alex Pallete as corporative strategy director.

The newborn Latin agency’s aim is to gather together the global markets that have Spanish as a common language (Spain, United States, Central and South America). According to Pallete, in his recent remarks to Advertising Age, ”Latin creativity travels very well, Latin people have many common values, besides geographic location and language”.

Source: Cinco Días

RIVERSIDE, THE PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM OPENS A NEW BRANCH IN MADRID

02/02/2007
A partner with Riverside in Europe, Eric van den Eijnden, confirmed yesterday to newspaper Cinco Dias that the private equity firm will be opening a new branch in Madrid this year.

In addition to its United States office, the Riverside Company also has offices in Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic. The private equity firm specializes in premier companies at the smaller end of the middle market, focusing on industry-leading companies valued at $10 million to $100 million.

Since its creation in 1988, the firm has invested $6 billion in business transactions. Its current portfolio in the U.S. and Europe numbers almost 60 companies.

Source: Cinco días

SERVIER TO INCREASE INVESTMENT 37% IN ITS SPANISH SUBSIDIARY

02/02/2007
The Spanish subsidiary of the French pharmaceutical firm Servier has announced its intention to invest nine million euros in 2007, 37% than in 2006.

Five million euros will be invested in the company´s chemical plant in Toledo, and two million in its pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Madrid.

Servier plans to invest five million euros to build a new chemical research and development laboratory in Toledo creating 77 new jobs. The therapeutic research centre in Madrid will get a two million euros investment and 36 new employees.

The new Managing Director of Servier Spain, Frederic Morier, highlighted "the importance of research and development in the company allowing us to be independent and at the margin of corporate operations."

Morier declared the investment in research will double in 2007 and the objective in Spain is to continue increasing yearly research investments at a rate higher than growth in turnover. The executive forecasts an increase in business of 20 per cent by 2007. The firm plans to launch a new medicine on the market in the coming weeks, and another in 2008. It currently trades 13 products in the Spanish market.

Source: Cinco Días

SAINT-GOBAIN INVESTS 71 MILLIONS EUROS IN A FACTORY IN MADRID (SPAIN)

29/01/2007
France-based glass and building materials group Saint-Gobain has inaugurated a new plaster board factory near Madrid, Spain.

Benefiting from a 71 million-Euro investment, the San Martin de la Vega factory has generated 80 jobs and will produce a range of plaster board types, such as standard, water-proof, fire-proof and strengthened boards.

Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, World Chief Operating Officer of Saint-Gobain, described Spain´s construction market as a social and economic phenomenon that had taken the rest of Europe by surprise, and highlighted "the upsurge in modern, light and industrialised construction systems that has enabled the construction of higher-quality, better-functioning buildings, which are environmentally friendly."

Source: Europa Press

MERCK SHARP & DOHME (MSD) SPAIN INCREASES PRODUCTION INVESTMENT

23/01/2007
Over the past few years, the North American multinational has had to make severe cuts due to the crisis caused by the market withdrawal of its drug Viaxx. This fact has forced the company to close five production plants and different R&D centres worldwide.

However, the Spanish subsidiary has not only been able to avoid these cuts, but has actually managed to increase the amount of its investments. In 2007 the company is planning to invest 130 million Euros in Spain. This investment will be allocated for the acquisition of new technology, building a new quality control unit and a new logistics platform.

In Spain, Merck Sharp & Dohme has over 1,400 employees working on drug prescription specialities in fields such as R&D, manufacture and marketing. The company facilities in Spain include a production plant which belongs to its subsidiary Frosst Iberica, located in Alcala de Henares (Madrid) and the Center for Basic Research – Merck Research Laboratories, also located in Madrid. This infrastructure provides services to Spain and seventy additional countries.

Source: la Gaceta

MTM LABORATORIES OPENS SUBSIDIARIES IN SPAIN (MADRID), ITALY (MILAN) AND FRANCE (PARIS) TO SUPPORT THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF ITS DIAGNOSTIC PRODUCTS.

04/01/2007
MTM laboratories announced the opening of new subsidiaries in order to commercialize its CE-labelled diagnostic products in Europe. When combined with Germany, these additional European markets represent approximately 65% of the total European cervical cancer screening market.

Peter Pack, CEO of MTM laboratories commented, "Our commitment to expanding into France, Italy and Spain, along with our existing presence in Germany and the USA, signals our intention to make MTM’s cervical cancer diagnostic products globally available.”

MTM laboratories is an ISO 9001 and ISO 13485 certified developer and manufacturer of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) for the screening and diagnosis of cervical cancer. The Company operates on a global basis with headquarters in Heidelberg (Germany) and subsidiaries in the United States, Spain, France and Italy.

Source: MTM LAB.

PETROLEOS DE VENEZUELA, STATE OWNED OIL COMPANY, TRANSFERS ITS EUROPEAN BRANCH FROM LONDON TO MADRID.

21/12/2006
Petroleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) is preparing its landing in Madrid to supervise the market development of Europe, Middle East and Asia from the Spanish capital.

Up till now Venezuela´s state owned oil company carried out those functions from its Pdv UK London branch but, according to close company sources, it has made this decision due to "the good relations with Repsol YPF", the greatest Spanish oil company.

Pdvsa produces 3.3 million petroleum barrels daily, of which it exports 2.3 million, according to company data. It expects to reach 5.8 million barrels by 2012. The company assures that it obtained a 6,500 million dollar (5,000 million euros) net profit in 2005.

Source: Expansión

THE AMERICAN FIRM LATHAM AND WATKINS WILL BE LANDING IN MADRID AND BARCELONA IN JANUARY.

18/12/2006
If the year 2000 marked the massive entry of British law firms into Spain, 2007 could see the arrival of several American firms. American law firm Latham and Watkins has the intention of becoming one of the reference firms for the business world, and will focus its professional activity on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity transactions.

Latham & Watkins, whose annual sales for last year were 1,400 million dollars (1,050 million euros), has decided to take the step of entering the Spanish market due mainly to Spanish companies’ corporate movements. In addition, it means one more step towards the company´s European consolidating strategy. It already has offices in eight European cities (three of them in Germany).

The law firm has 1,900 lawyers throughout the world, their presence being most significant in the New York office where they have almost as many lawyers as they have in the whole of Europe (over 300).

Source: Epxansión

HENDERSON ENGAGES THE SERVICES OF MERRILL LYNCH´S SECOND-IN-COMMAND TO MANAGE ITS NEWLY OPENED MADRID OFFICE.

20/11/2006
The British management group will be focusing on the Spanish institutional market and benefiting from the new Spanish hedge funds regulations. The group plans to enter Portugal in 2007.

The British investment management company, Henderson, is determined to become a key player in the Spanish market. In order to achieve its goal, the company has opened an office in Madrid led by Mr. Alastair Seymour, formerly Merrill Lynch Investment Management’s second-in-command. (MLIM is the management assets unit of the American investment bank Merrill Lynch in Spain).

The British firm will be hiring another two professionals to complete the Madrid team. Its strategy is to become consolidated in the Spanish market, where it already manages about 40 million euros worth in assets, and to enter the Portuguese market next year.

Source: Expansión

THE AMERICAN FIRM LATHAM AND WATKINS WILL BE LANDING IN MADRID AND BARCELONA IN JANUARY.

11/11/2006
BCGI, the products and services provider that enables mobile operators and mobile virtual network operators worldwide to differentiate their offerings and increase market penetration while reducing costs, has announced today the official opening of its Madrid office. This comes as part of its strategy of international growth.

This new location in the economic heart of Spain will make it easier for BCGI’s South-eastern European clients to gain access to the company´s specialized services such as invoicing and payment solutions.

As Spain liberalizes the telecommunications market and allows the entrance of virtual operators (MVNO), BCGI will be in a good position to equip operators with a comprehensive range of products and services.

By establishing an office in Spain, BCGI the main supplier of billing, payment and accesses management services, will be able to offer the consolidated operators and new virtual operators of South-eastern Europe its outstanding experience.

Source: Interes
Link: http://www.interes.org

THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LANDS IN SPAIN

30/10/2006
The North American private equity group Blackstone, who owns the world´s largest venture capital fund, has established an office in Madrid. Although the firm has its European headquarters located in London since the year 2000, it has engaged Telefonica´s former executive, Mr. Javier Aguirre, to focus its activities in Spain & Portugal. Aguirre will also be part of the company´s international board, together with fellow countryman, Pedro Ballvé, Campofrío and Telepizza´s CEO.

From its new Madrid location, Blackstone intends to seek out new investment opportunities in the Spanish Real Estate sector, which it has been keeping a close watch on for the past three years. The firm has also shown its interest in participating in the capital of Spanish Real Estate companies quoted on the stock exchange. The firm has a 2,000 million Euro fund devoted to Real Estate investments in Europe.

Blackstone is the owner of Cadbury Schweppes’ soft drink division, which is represented in Spain by La Casera and Trina brands.

Source: Empresa Exterior

MADRID, ERICSSON´S NEW EMERGENCIES CENTER

16/10/2006
Madrid has become one of Ericsson Response´s global centres, the emergencies programme set up by the Swedish telecommunications group in 2000 in collaboration with Red Cross, Red Crescent, and various UN relief organisations. The Spanish capital joins the other centres in Sweden, USA and Asia, where the equipment needed to restore telecommunications during relief missions are stored and maintained. Spain is the second country with most volunteer workers signed up to the programme. Last year, workers from the Spanish subsidiary participated in missions in Pakistan and Cuba.

Source: Expansión

RYANAIR TO CREATE SPANISH HUB IN MADRID

13/10/2006
Irish airline Ryanair has announced it will invest $210 million to create its 18th European base in Madrid.

The company plans to buy three new aircrafts and will operate 14 routes from the new hub delivering a million passengers.

Michael Cawley, Ryanair´s Deputy CEO, declared: “Ryanair is delighted to make Madrid Barajas its 18th European and second Spanish base. We welcome the development of facilities in Madrid Barajas airport." He added: "Ryanair´s passengers per annum will deliver a visitor spend of 110 million euros that will sustain 1,000 jobs and stimulate business and tourism throughout the whole Madrid region."

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

NORTH AMERICAN INVESTMENT BANK FOR SMEs LANDS IN SPAIN

20/09/2006
Piper Jaffray, a North American middle market investment bank, has decided to establish its operations’ base in Madrid. This will enable them to provide financial services to SMEs throughout Southern Europe.

Up until now, Piper Jaffray, which employs 2,800 people, was operating in Europe through its London office but, as of January, the firm will be providing coverage to Southern European countries from its Madrid branch.

“Medium sized companies are not currently being looked after, large investment banks are not paying attention to them and that is the niche market which we wish to enter”, stated Mr. Guillermo Menéndez Escandón - Director of the Madrid branch- during the company’s recent launch.

Some of the factors that have prompted Piper Jaffray to settle in Spain are the large number of newly floated companies, a thriving economy and the fact that it is a bridge towards Latin America.

Piper Jaffray provides a comprehensive set of products and services which include advisory services regarding mergers & acquisitions, debt capital markets products, convertible bonds and flotation processes.

In 2005 17% of nationwide transactions by medium enterprises were carried out in Madrid. The most active sectors were energy & computing.

Source: Cinco Días

EASYJET CHOOSES BARAJAS AIRPORT TO SET-UP ITS SECOND OPERATIVE BASE IN SOUTHERN EUROPE

25/08/2006
EasyJet, one of Europe´s leading low cost air companies, recently announced that it will be opening its base in Madrid in February to take advantage of the business opportunities the Barajas airport now offers, following its enlargement.

As far as Mr. Andy Harrison, EasyJet´s CEO, is concerned, “We believe Spain offers excellent growth opportunities because currently the sector is dominated by traditional airlines that neither function efficiently nor work towards the consumer’s benefit”.

The opening of a base by an airline is the best way for a low cost to show its confidence in the chosen location and this will result in the creation of hundreds of jobs. Easyjet´s main airport in Spain, according to number of passengers, is in El Prat, but Iberia´s move to the new terminal T-4 has freed up space in the airport which has made way for the arrival of new operators.

Source: La Vanguardia

INDITEX - A 300 MILLION INVESTMENT AND 4000 JOBS CREATED IN MADRID

10/08/2006
4200 jobs will be created in Madrid thanks to the Logistic Platform Project that textile multinational Inditex is setting up in Meco, in the Madrid region. The project, which will take up a surface of 300,000 square meters, will receive an investment of 300 million € and will be up and running by May 2007. It will enable the distribution of garments amongst the region´s Inditex´ stores, as well as supplying other regions close to Madrid. Madrid´s regional president, Esperanza Aguirre, stated that “the facilities will be a reference model for the rest as they will be tantamount to rapid and efficient functioning”. She also showed her satisfaction as Inditex´ decision was largely based on the high qualifications of Madrid´s workers.

Source: Expansión

SIEMENS STRENGTHENS ITS PRESENCE IN THE MADRID REGION WITH A NEW SERVICES & TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN GETAFE

28/07/2006
Siemens is setting up a new Services and Technology Centre in the Carpetania Business Park, Getafe (Madrid). This new centre will concentrate an important part of the RDI activities the Group carries out in Spain, as well as new business units. Siemens is the first company to settle in the Carpetania Business Park, which has been developed by the Madrid Regional Government through public enterprise Arpegio. The location of the new Siemens´ facilities will help to promote this industrial area as one of the main Technology Parks in Spain, as well as facilitating the establishment of new technology companies.

Aside from fostering RDI, this technology centre will also be hiring over 500 workers who will be distributed amongst the centre´s different units. They will be joining the current staff of 293 professionals. It is an industrial commitment with high added value and shows the intention of industrially developing Madrid´s south.

Source: N-Economía

BERNA BIOTECH AND CRUCELL WILL BE STARTING UP A FLU VACCINE PLANT IN MADRID

14/07/2006
Berna Biotech and Crucell have recently held a meeting with the Food & Health Ministry in which they expressed their intention to go ahead with their project of setting up a production plant for flu vaccines in Madrid.

The agreement is currently being formalized, as it was initially delayed due to Berna Biotech´s take over by Crucell.

Source: La Gaceta de los Negocios

THE TECHNOLOGY OF 200 ENTERPRISES WILL BE LANDING IN MOSTOLES

13/07/2006
Esperanza Aguirre, President of the Madrid Regional Government, lay the foundation stone of the Mostoles Technology park project at the beginning of this month. This technology park is located in Mostoles (Madrid), and has 670,000 sq. meters, out of which 122,000 will be devoted to green areas. It is foreseen that 200 enterprises of the technology, industrial and scientific sectors will establish themselves here which will result in the creation of 3000 jobs. The project is not only open to large corporations, but also to SMEs, i which innovation plays a key role in their production processes as well as in their products. The Mostoles Technology park will be receiving a 50 mill. € direct investment from promoters, the Regional Government and the local administration, as well as a further 250 million € from business investors. This is the fourth technology park the Regional government is promoting, after Tecnoalcala, Legatec and the Getafe park. All four are part of the Technology Infrastructure Development Programme which forms part of the Madrid Regional Government’ s Innovation Plan for 2005-2007. This plan aims to foster innovation within business practices.

Source: Expansión

PHILIP MORRIS LOCATES ITS FIRST INTERNATIONAL

01/07/2006
US enterprise Philip Morris International (PMI) will be locating its first Purchasing Centre outside the United States in Tres Cantos, Madrid. In Mr. Fernando Merry del Val´s (Regional Economy Minister) own words “The company chose Madrid after carrying out an extensive analysis between various European locations as it was found to be the region that offered the best conditions and price/quality ratio as far as business management and the hiring of highly-qualified professionals are concerned”.

Initially, this purchasing and sales centre will be in charge of coordinating the logistics of all its European subsidiaries. If this pilot project is successful, it will be implemented in other regions such as Asia and South America.

The total investment in this centre in Tres Cantos has not yet been made public but it is estimated that it will create 40 jobs. The company´s European needs will be met from these offices who will be in charge of providing professional services, and assisting in marketing and technological innovation aspects, as well as logistic co-ordination and supplying the factories. In this way, the company will diversify the workload of its purchasing centres in the United States.

Source: Expansión

TELIA SONERA WILL BE INVESTING 1€1 BILLION IN SPAIN

16/06/2006
Telia Sonera, the Swedish-Finnish operator, will lay out €71 mill. in order to increase its share in Xfera Moviles up to 80%, thereby controlling the mobile phone operator´s launch of UMTS technology onto the market.

Telia Sonera will be investing about 972 million Euros in Xfera over the next five years, which will cover network costs, setting up expenses and IP platforms. In these 5 years Telia Sonera expects the operation to yield a positive free cash-flow. As far as Mr. Anders Igel, General Manager & President, is concerned “We are going to build a company which will play an important role in Telia Sonera´s growth”.

Source: La Vanguardia

UNICA OPENS OFFICE IN SPAIN.

16/05/2006
Massachusetts-based Unica Corporation, a provider of Enterprise Marketing Management (EMM) solutions, has announced its expansion into southern Europe with the opening of a new office in Madrid, Spain.

Unica said it was pursuing its international expansion strategy into Europe to capture the current economic momentum in the region. "Spain and Portugal have been on Unica´s radar for some time and we have a number of clients already in the region including Vodafone Spain", said Sylvain Pavlowski, Vice President and Managing Director, EMEA at Unica Corporation. Unica serves over 400 customers across six continents and more than 30 countries and has offices across the US, including its corporate headquarters in Waltham, as well as in the UK, France, Germany, Singapore and India.

Source: IPAWorld
Link: http://www.ipaworld.com

LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES WILL BE STARTING UP TWO R & D CENTRES IN SPAIN

08/05/2006
North American multinational company Lucent Technologies is planning to start up two R&D centres in Spain with the objective of researching the field of broadband television. This project is part of the strategic agreement signed with Telefonica whereby Lucent assumes the responsibility to develop and publicise “Imagenio”, Telefonica´s middleware platform for IPTV (Internet Protocol Television).

Lucent will begin to commercialise the platform globally together with other operators and will establish two R&D centres which will become part of the Bell Labs. The 1st one will be located in the Walqa Technology Park, on Huesca´s outskirts (Aragón region), whist the 2nd will be in Madrid. A 3rd one will be established in Sao Paulo. These centres will serve as testing and integration service labs and will display the latest offers available in IPTV services for Telefonica, its clients and associates, as well as other operators.

Source: Empresa Exterior

THE LAFARGE GROUP ESTABLISHES A SECOND SUBSIDIARY IN SPAIN

08/05/2006
Lafarge Aridos y Hormigones is the new brand the French group has created in Spain after taking over 100% of Readymix Asland´s capital. This will be the second subsidiary Lafarge has in Spain, and comes as an addition to the cement enterprise Lafarge Asland already has here.

Lafarge Aridos y Hormigones expects to double the share of high added value products it currently has in its overall turnover. “We wish to become known for having the most sophisticated products and the most efficient solutions on the market” stated Mr. Ives Oudin, General Manager for Spain & Portugal.

One of the strong points in Lafarge´s subsidiary set up strategic plan is that it adds value to the products it commercialises. In this way it hopes the company´s turnover will increase from the current 20% to 40% by 2009. This strategy responds to the necessity to find market niches following the gradual slowing down of the building industry in Spain.

Source: Empresa Exterior

ARLINGTON WILL INVEST 110 MILLION EUROS IN SPAIN.

30/03/2006
Arlington, a British investment & real-estate services company, will be investing €110 mill. in the Spanish market. The company already has two business parks in Spain and wishes to expand the existing facilities in San Fernando de Henares, Madrid.

The San Fernando business park currently consists of 73,034 m2 with 107 companies and 4,000 people. Once the 2nd phase is finished (in about 2 years´ time), the park will have an additional 13,000 m2. In the near future, the company wishes to consolidate its presence in Spain, first in Madrid and Barcelona, and then creating other business parks in Valencia, Sevilla and Bilbao.

Arlington is the UK´s leading property services and investment management business, managing assets of over €10 billion worldwide. It has over 3.2 mill. m2 in business parks throughout Europe, of which 167,000 are located in Spain. Over 50% of the business funds are in Spain, thanks to the San Fernando business park.

Source: Expansión

THE INVESTMENT GROUP LED BY GIULIANI INVESTS 35 MILLION IN A BIODIESEL PLANT.

27/03/2006
US multinational Becco intends to take the budding Spanish biofuel market by storm. The company recently presented its new subsidiary, Becco Spain, in Madrid. Becco will soon be building a new biodiesel production plant in Villaverde (Madrid). This initiative will mean an investment of €35 mill. and will result in the creation of 70 jobs. The plant will begin to function in the 2nd half of this year. Its initial production will be 35,000 tons of fuel, although it is foreseen that fabrication capacity will reach 128,000 tons by 2008.

Becco foresees an investment of over €140 mill. within the next 5 years, in the construction and setting-up of 8 biodiesel plants in Spain. The company estimates this will result in the creation of 300 direct jobs and the production of 500,000 tons per annum. The Spanish subsidiary´s main shareholder is venture capital society Giuliani Sage Capital, which is headed by the former New York mayor, Rudolph Giuliani

Source: Cinco Días

HEWLETT-PACKARD CHOOSES MADRID TO ESTABLISH A NETWORK OF EUROPEAN CENTRES.

25/03/2006
Computing giant HP has valued the Spanish subsidiary´s experience in the field of services to large enterprises and has chosen Madrid to establish a network of European excellence centres in which it will be investing €14 mill. this year. HP has already started-up 3 of these centers, and it is expected that a further 3 will come in addition to these during the year.

The last one, in which €4 mill. will be invested, is a European knowledge & innovation centre for large corporations. After months of negotiations, Madrid was successful in being chosen over other top European cities. In a first stage, it will carry out projects for companies located in Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Belgium. There will be 30 highly-qualified staff working in the company´s head office, located in the Las Rozas Business Park (Madrid). Its main objective is the creation of sophisticated technology projects geared towards large European enterprises.

In November the company announced the opening of software support & business continuity centres in Madrid.

Source: Expansión

HITACHI LTD.´s GLOBAL CONSULTING BUSINESS BEGINS EUROPEAN OPERATIONS AND OPENS OFFICES IN LONDON, MADRID AND LISBON.

14/03/2006
Hitachi Consulting, the company and IT consulting arm of Hitachi, Ltd. has established Hitachi Consulting Europe Limited, as a wholly owned subsidiary, with headquarters in London. Hitachi Consulting´s European business will begin operations in 3 countries: the UK, Spain and Portugal, with organisations headquartered in London, Madrid and Lisbon respectively.

The business in Spain will have an initial market focus on the Communications, Energy and Financial Services markets. Hitachi Consulting plans to have business and IT consulting operations in at least 5 European countries by the end of 2008.

Source: Business Wire

SIEMENS´ NEW SUBSIDIARY FOR HOME SOLUTIONS

15/02/2006
Siemens has created a new enterprise specialised in home communications, a market in which the multinational foresees great growth potential. The new company is called Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices (SHOCD) and has its head office in Tres Cantos, Madrid.

Source: Expansion

BOMBARDIER CHOOSES ALCOBENDAS AS R+D CENTRE FOR EUROPE

13/02/2006
Canadian multinational train manufacturer has decided its Alcobendas (Madrid) plant will become a great technology centre for excellency in Europe. This is a key decision for the future development of the plant, as the latest state of the art technological developments in train signalling and solutions for railway control will be developed here with cutting edge technology and will later be exported to other markets.

This decision supports the company´s belief that Spain is one of the world´s great strategic markets. Currently, the multinational has 2 plants nationally, including Alcobendas, where the group´s offices are located as well as the train signalling division which employs 100 staff. With this appointment, it is possible that the number of staff and technological means will increase in the short term.

Source: Expansion

SANOFI-AVENTIS IS GOING TO INVEST OVER 30 MILLION IN MADRID

27/01/2006
Sanofi-Aventis has chosen Alcorcon´s industrial park, in Madrid as the place from which to promote its industrial & scientific activities within the Madrid region for the next 2 years. The project, including new R&D facilities, will require a total investment of over €30 mill., and will result in an industrial plant with a production capacity of 120 mill. units.

The operation will reinforce Sanofi-Aventis´ presence in Spain: In addition to its headquarters in Barcelona, there will be a commercial delegation in Madrid, a distribution centre in San Agustin de Guadalix (Madrid), a manufacture and research plant in Alcorcon, as well as a factory together with bioanalysis & farmacocinetic lab in Riells (Gerona). The Spanish subsidiary provides employment for over 2,000 professionals and expects to generate a revenue of approximately €1,000 mill. in 2006.

The Alcorcon factory is responsible for generating over 60 mill. units, which are distributed to over 120 countries in 5 continents. In the last few years it has received various awards.

Source: Gaceta de los Negocios

VODAFONE WILL BE SETTING-UP A SERVICES´ DEVELOPMENT CENTRE IN MADRID.

11/01/2006
Vodafone´s Spanish subsidiary will be setting up a development centre for new services, with 25 professionals, in its Madrid headquarters which will service the whole Vodafone group. This will be one of 6 centres of excellence that the multinational plans to establish in Europe.

The aim is to develop the next generation services, which will fill the gap between long term R&D and the developments that are currently underway which will be launched onto the market within the next 18 months. The Spanish centre, will work in collaboration with Universities and will specialise in interactive information services and services based on localisation and personal security.

Source: Expansión