Produced by Global Gulf Consulting Managing director and editor: Nayra Delgado Design: Jose Medina Production: María José Mujica & Franck Pérez
FindeMe in Gran Canaria An investment trendy island When Demi Moore, Shirley McLane and Jessica Lange arrived in Gran Canaria last ple in the island weren´t surprised. Ridley Scott, Christian Bale or Sigourney Weaver and a large list of celebrities before them had previously visited the small Spanish archipelago. Suddenly the islands became trendy and known as a natural movie set but also as a very c o n v e -
Located in the middle of the Atlantic and much closer to Africa than to Europe, the Canary Islands are said to have the best climate in the world, never too hot and never too cold. In very short distances you can walk from a 2,000 metre mountain peak to a long sandy beach, with temperatures changing with every step. 43% of the island has been re Reserve and is indeed like a miniature continent.
“The European door
location, the lowest within the European Union. Even S·3, a Swiss Aerospace Company, has chosen Gran Canaria as a strategic place to
to West Africa”
strategic location for a possible expansion into Africa. We are in a good position, therefore, to place ourselves in the global market. All we need is more promotion, understanding and
very unique feature that should become an asset”, says Bravo de Laguna. And it surely has, because for the past 50 years it has been the favourite European holiday destination, with 12 million holiday-makers a year. Almost 4 million of them come to Gran Canaria, which normally has a population of less than a million. Some of them even stay half of the year to avoid cold winters at home.
Bravo de Laguna, the president of Gran Canaria´s government.
The island has become the foremost international invest-
are in Europe but with tax be-
Gran Canaria
ment recipient in the region and both professionals and multinationals have chosen it as the perfect location to work in. Good weather, a low cost of living -well below European average- and low taxes are some of the reasons. Companies are also increasingly choosing the island for its location as a gateway to emerging markets in West Africa and a distribution platform between Africa, Europe and ment opportunities in tourism and transport. We are expanding our airport which already has 12 million passengers yearly and is connected to 275 destinations. There are exciting opportunities in strategic lines of marine research due to the geographical location of Gran Canaria as well as in clean energy and water treatment. Gran Canaria is globally recognized as a pioneer in
the economic engine of the island is our port”, says the pre-
of water. But in my opinion, the greatest potential is yet to lations with Africa”, says the President. Gran Canaria falls under the Special Tax Regime of Canary Islands (REF), one
explains Bravo de Laguna.
schemes in Europe which has stimulated international attention and includes the Special Economic Zone (ZEC) that offers only 4% corporate tax and incentives as the Special Investment Reserve (RIC) that aims to reinvest dividends in José Miguel Bravo de Laguna, president of Gran Canaria Goverment
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and Americans are locating their oil-related businesses in Las Palmas Port to service the oil rich region of West Africa, while companies like Kin ross is managing its mining business in Mauritania from Gran Canaria”. In November 2014 Repsol, the largest Spanish oil company, started exploring the subsea of the Canaries hoping that is found in West African waters. In the meantime, rigs and cranes from West Africa sail to Las Palmas Port, the third biggest port in Spain, for their mandatory check-ups. The World Food Program has recently established its logistics base in Gran Canaria and the Red Cross has also located there to cover the African connally, offers European legal
“A logistic platform between
3 continents
and a strong
private sector”
Blue economy
and Europe. We have strong relations with European and American Universities and researches, and increasin-
FOTO
in a tourism destination
Transformed into a centre of oceanographic investigation, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) has merged all experimental sciences into the Faculty of marine movement and transsubsea robotics, or develop communication satellites that analyse data from the ocean. We are a leading manufacturer of underwater technology, such as gliders developed our geomantic technology has even been acquired by Google Earth. We run one of the largest marine technological research centres in Taliarte, and more recently we have been studying algae and cyanobacteria, as the Bank
to expand to other regions”, explains Regidor as part of the University internationalization process. Under the auspice of the EU, the Uniof Algae is located in Gran versity leads social programs Canaria. We capture and in Senegal and international identify algae, we study their alliances with international genetic material, and then we respected universities, where transfer of technology is the are developing proto-drugs key aspect. As the sea is also with laboratories from cya- the base for the tourism sucnobacteria”, explains Mr. cess of the island, the UniJosé Regidor, President of versity has captured 50 years of local ULPGC. expertise Some of that have the Unitransforversity med the specialisland ties and into a research (number of nights)” tourism programs magnet, are orientated to aquaculture and sea and has created some very repollution prevention, control puted graduate and postgra-
“Europe #1
tourist destination
we visualize a tri-continental bridge with America, Africa
many students from abroad in our exchange programs and we want to encourage
José Regidor, Dean of Las Palmas University
more to join us for a mutual benefit of sharing knowledge and cultures”.
CAMPUS DE EXCELENCIA INTERNACIONAL DE ÁMBITO REGIONAL
ULPGC
Moving towards better opportunities?
Join us U NI VE R S IT Y O F L A S PA L MA S D E GR A N C A N A R IA / C A NA RY IS L A N D S
w w w. e n g l i s h. u l pg c . e s
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innovation
Juan Ruiz Alzola, Director of the local Agency of Investigation, Innovation and Information Society
Sea & Sky
With an enviable clean blue sky and surrounded by some of the deepest sea waters of the world very close to the shore, Gran Canaria offers the science community unique characteristics for two things: Marine technology and astronomy. That´s maybe why the biggest telescope in the world is loca-
app business in the island at the reach
ted in La Palma, a nearby island, or on the Bank of Algae, one of the most renowned institutions of the world for this subject, is examining the deep waters of the island, looking for the magic ingredients of eternal youth and health or the ultimate gasoline. New technologies applied to renewables
are developed in the archipelago due to its unique weather conditions with strong winds, long daylight hours and even its volcanos .The largest wind turbine in Spain, developed by Gamesa, is in Gran Canaria. Local researchers have combined renewables with water desalination techniques and have achieved the unachievable: To transform El Hierro, an island West of Gran Canaria, into through a multi-million euro project that combines a wind farm with two hydroelectric projects and three water desalination plans. The islands are, in fact, a world reference point in
ACIISI
have a research centre orien-
Local expertise International knowledge
Around 50 years ago, Mr. Emiliano Arencibia started a small but international business: he exported coffee from the Canaries to the West Coast of Africa where Spanish troops were located. Today Emicela is one of the world´s largest amenities manufacturers with businesses in America, Africa and Europe and exports to more than 35 destinations. It is also the largest candy manufacturer in Europe and although it still produces coffee, it now offers a wide portfolio of food and beverages. Emiliano´s sons and daughters
privileged location as a natural international hub. That´s why our HQ is still in the island. However, the company´s success lays in our staff, hard work newables, in 2011 a ¤6 million PV plant was installed over the roof of its facilities, being the largest of the Islands and the 10th largest in Spain. The 1.75 MWp project has over 15 km of solar structures and can produce 2.6 GWh annually, enough to power 796 homes and avoid greenhouse gases.
“4% corporate tax, lowest in EU”
ted to marine technologies and renewables in Gran Canaria; a centre specializing in astronomy and the development of associated technologies as surgery in Tenerife and a centre dedicated to sustainability and technologies designed for arid climates in Fuerteventura”, explains Juan Ruiz Alzola, Director of ACIISI, the local authority behind science prore are investment opportunities in biodiversity, sustainability and astronomy in the islands that simply can´t be located in any other part of the world and in fact we have entire scientinently here”.
EMICELA
to our development is innovawith the latest technologies and we develop new products, packaging and cosmetic formulas; we register new patents and utility models, many of them devand Food Safety (according to
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