Madrid City Council, led by the General Division of the Economy in the field of Economy, Innovation and Finance, and through its office to attract foreign investment, Madrid Investment Attraction, has visited Portugal in a meeting organised by WTC Lisboa, one of the largest business centres in the Portuguese capital.

Other institutions, such as CEIM, Invest in Madrid, El Corte Inglés or Pérez-Llorca, among others, joined this meeting, whose objective is to promote Madrid as a business opportunity for Portuguese companies and to strengthen ties.

Portuguese investment in Madrid 

According to the latest data from the Foreign Investment Register (RIE), Madrid absorbs 35% of Portuguese investment (flows) in Spain. Portugal is also consolidated as the eleventh largest investor in Spain (2.1% of total flows). It has investment stock in Spain of €14,426 million (2022), of which €3,044 million (21%) is in the Community of Madrid.

Portuguese capital companies provide 15,069 direct jobs in Spain, almost 4,000 of which are in the Community of Madrid (26%). The National statistics Institute (INE) indicates that the number of Portuguese subsidiaries in Spain amounts to 426 (business statistical units, excluding those in the financial, construction and agri-food sectors), which represents 2.9% of foreign subsidiaries in Spain. The turnover related to these companies reached €13,939 million in 2021 and they accounted for €1,566 million of Spanish exports in the same year.

Some private sources, such as SABI, indicate that the number of companies in Spain controlled by Portuguese capital amounts to 1,226, of which 336 are in the city of Madrid, providing 6,000 jobs. The leading Portuguese companies in Spain include: EDP (Viesgo, Hidrocantábrico), Galp, Modelo Continente, Grupo Sonae (including Continente, Modelo Continente, Worten…), Luis Simoes, Parfois, Navigator Tissue, etc.

The aim of Madrid Investment Attraction, Madrid City Council’s foreign investment office, is to facilitate the landing and subsequent growth of companies that choose the Spanish capital as a destination, and help them to integrate into the local ecosystem, maximising their contribution to Madrid’s economy and society.