Renewable energy sources (“RES”) play an important role in the energy mix of the future. The requirements set for climate preservation, the increase in energy consumption and the limited life of fossil fuels have been taken into account by European Institutions and countries in order to stop the vicious circle of energy consumption and climate changes.
The alternative is renewable energy. There are several clean and environment-friendly energy sources that do not have negative effects over the climate such as the sun, the wind, biomass or ocean waves. In 2016, from January to September renewable sources represented 62% of the electricity generated in Portugal. Still, more than 34% of the renewable quota was achieved by the electricity generated by large-scale hydro power plants (with more than 10 MW of capacity), which in the market are not considered as being part of the renewables sector.
Portugal has been one of the most enthusiastic countries as regards renewable energies. Portugal has achieved its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and was allowed to increase 27% of the emission of greenhouse gases, however they had increased only by 19% until 2012. Decree-Law 141/2010, of 31 December 2010 established as a binding target that, by 2020, at least 31% of Portugal’s primary energy consumption should come from renewable sources (higher than the 20% set by the European Union). By 2020, the use of energy from renewable sources in energy consumption in all modes of transport is set at 10% of the total energy consumption. In 2016, from January to September, 62% of our electricity was already coming from renewable sources. Portugal reduced its foreign energy dependency from 89%, in 2005, to 71% in 2014. Between 2011 and 2014, a total 2.757 MW from renewable sources were licensed, achieving 11.6 GW of installed capacity.
As far as MIBEL is concerned, according to the monthly report of October 2015, 18.506 GWh of energy were negotiated on the daily market (14.410GWh of energy acquired in Spain and 4.096 GWh of energy acquired in Portugal. 54% of the energy placed on the daily market came from renewable energies.
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Following the end of Portugal’s bailout programme by the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB), which lasted from May 2011 until June 2014, foreign investors are now looking at Portugal with different eyes.
As part of the bailout programme, Portugal implemented an ambitious privatisation programme and made other reforms to reduce its public debt, attract foreign investment and foster competition in closed or semi-closed sectors.
Foreign investment showed some positive signs in 2014 pushed by the success of the privatisation programme, increased activity in private sector, M&A and investments in residential and commercial real estate.
The golden visa programme which gives foreign investors the possibility of obtaining a Portuguese visa provided they invest a minimum of €500,000 is probably the main factor in attracting investment in medium-size properties, especially in the residential market.
Still price and yield in the current market conditions remain interesting, as local banks and corporations holding large real estate investments are looking to dispose or monetize real estate assets.
The recently announced quantitative easing measures adopted by the ECB which will increase liquidity in the financial markets are likely to renew investors’ appetite for real estate assets in Europe.
The Portuguese real estate market now offers very interesting opportunities, as the country emerges from its worst crisis in the last thirty years, with good valuation opportunities.
This paper summarises certain legal and regulatory issues affecting the investment in property in Portugal.
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Travelling to Portugal and you are not an EU Schengen State resident?
You will need a travelling visa to cross the Portuguese border, and a temporary residence permit, if you stay for more than 60 days. To live in Portugal you must have a permanent residency permit.
Find in this paper a quick guide to obtain these permits.
The Portuguese Government launched the Residence Permit for Investment Activity programme (ARI), in 2012. This program known as Golden Visa, is a quick solution for investors from outside the Schengen area to obtain a residence permit in Portugal.
This plan includes new rules on the awarding of residence permits for investment activity, known as “golden visa”, to citizens of non-European Union (EU) countries that wish to make a significant investment in Portugal and meet certain requirements.
The “golden visas” grant their holders the right to free circulation in Portugal and in the rest of Schengen area countries. In addition to general requirements applicable to residence permits, “golden visas” require their holders to undertake the obligation of investing in Portugal of certain minimum amounts for a minimum period.
In this paper, you will find an outline of the opportunities of living in Portugal and of the main aspects to be thought-out by everybody considering Portugal as a place to live.
2016 will be a defining year in the Portuguese telecommunications’ market. A series of events in the period 2013-2015 brought severe changes to the sector: the merger of ZON and Optimus resulting in NOS, the change of ownership of PT, and also of Onitelecom and Cabovisão.
Commercially, we witnessed an increased bet in multiple play, the entrance of Vodafone in the fixed markets and technology investment by all major operators in.
According to OECD statistics Portugal is today ranked in the top 20 countries in the world with more use of fibre optic technologies but service providers are still employing aggressive market strategies in obtaining new customers and are also increasing their bets in technology markets such as bid data, cloud storage and the internet of things.
This report provides the readers with a brief overview of the market and its four major market players as well as a review of the Portuguese telecommunications’ legal framework.
Angola is a leading trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa and has several agreements with the US, which have facilitated trade between both nations. A lot of Angola’s success up to recently is owed to US investment in the Angolan oil and energy sectors.
This African country is ranked as one of the hardest to do business in, as such, understandably, investment in its markets would have to be a well thought and pondered decision, taking into account the level of government intervention and potential corruption issues.
However, in spite of the difficult time Angola is going through as a result of the crude declining prices, significant business opportunities may lay ahead in “one of the fastest growing markets in Africa”.
In this report, we will analyze from an US invertors’ standpoint the basic legal issues and mechanics of investing in Angola as well as several reasons to consider investing in the Angolan power (hydroelectric), construction (railways, roads and housing) and agricultural sector (coffee production), just to mention some of the sectors where there is potential for investment in this Portuguese speaking country.
Following its successfully exit of the bailout of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union (EU) and the European Central Bank (ECB), Portugal is now catching the attention of foreign investors.
Portugal is no longer in the news for bad reasons. Still there are challenges ahead. Portugal needs to reduce historically high levels of Government debt and unemployment and continue reducing its budget deficit still perilously close to 3%.
After implementing a harsh economic program with little social unrest, Portugal is bringing down its chronic trade deficit and correcting some of its imbalances that have hindered its economic growth since the beginning of the millennium.
For international investors looking for a place to invest in Europe, Portugal offers several advantages, of which many investors are not aware. Portugal is an ideal location for nearshoring industrial and services facilities because of its access to Europe’s 500 million consumers’ market and to the Portuguese-speaking world, which spreads across five continents: Europe, America, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Portugal has a proven track record of successful foreign investments across a wide range of sectors.
Investors that are considering Portugal as a place to invest want to know the hard facts about the country and not the stereotypes associated with the country and its people.
Autoeuropa, Volkswagen’s Portuguese auto-plant, is one of its most productive plants. Nokia Siemens Networks chose Portugal to install its new Global Networks Solutions Center. Microsoft, Colt, Ikea have also successfully invested in Portugal in recent years.
Portugal has one of the most favourable business environments in the world. The World Bank's "Doing Business 2016" Report ranks Portugal in the top 25 of the world’s – 11th in the EU – most attractive locations to do business.
WhyPortugal 2016 aims to show international businesses and institutional investors, private equities and industry players considering Portugal as a location to invest in Europe.
This report provides an overview of the opportunities and challenges of doing business in Portugal and reviews the main aspects to be considered by foreign investors considering Portugal as a place to invest as regards the setting up of a business, hiring employees, taxation and government incentives.
Renewable energy sources ("RES") play an important role in the energy mix of the future. The requirements set for climate preservation, the increase in energy consumption and the limited life of fossil fuels have been taken into account by European Institutions and countries in order to stop the vicious circle of energy consumption and climate changes.
Portugal has been one of the most enthusiastic countries as regards renewable energies.
This study deals with the alternative renewable energy sources in Portugal, such as wind sun, biomass and ocean waves. It describes their legal framework giving special attention to the Portuguese windfarm industry.
Portugalia oferuje tzw. rezydentom okazjonalnym szansę zostania rezydentem podatkowym i czerpania korzyści z uprzywilejowanego systemu podatkowego w stosunku do niektórych dochodów uzyskiwanych z zagranicznych i/lub portugalskich źródeł.
Portugal offers "non-habitual" residents the opportunity to become tax residents in Portugal and benefit from a more favourable tax regime in relation to certain Portuguese and foreign sources income.