Africa-Press – Angola. The Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, assured this Thursday, in Benguela, that Portugal has “open doors” for investment from Angolan companies interested in expanding across borders.
The Portuguese ruler was speaking to the press, on his last day of visit to Angola, at the invitation of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, marked by the signing of 12 legal instruments that will reinforce cooperation between the two countries.
Without making it clear, he said that the proposal to lower the Corporate Income Tax (IRC) constitutes a tax incentive to attract foreign investment to Portugal.
According to Press, this is a proposal from the Portuguese Government that foresees a reduction in the IRC from the current 21% to 15% in three years.
The Head of the Portuguese Government highlighted that a reduction in IRC could be “more seductive”, so that companies, including Angolan ones, that want to invest in other geographies can also feel that there is an “open door” in Portugal.
Furthermore, he clarified that this tax benefit includes the simplification of procedures, “unequivocal” support for the hiring of human resources and the licensing of companies.
Trust in companies
He admitted that in Angola there are companies having difficulties in hiring staff, financing and capital flow needs, remembering that public authorities must collaborate in guaranteeing a more “investment-friendly” business environment.
However, Luís Montenegro said he strongly believes in the capacity of companies and the strengths they can bring to countries like Angola.
Accordingly, he launched a challenge for there to be trust and hope in the interaction between Portugal and Angola, which he considered “two allies”.
To Angolan investors, he reinforced the appeal that Portugal “is open” and available to provide a competitive tax framework, administrative support, administrative simplification and removal of bureaucratic burden on the establishment of companies.
The Prime Minister highlighted the expression “win-win”, very common in economic slang, to emphasize that this cooperation benefits both Portugal and Angola, helping companies to create wealth and provide better salaries.
In this sense, he warned that if these conditions are not guaranteed, investments will go elsewhere, where they (conditions) are, in fact, more attractive.
Leveraging an economy, he explained, requires many conditions such as good qualification of human resources, productive, technical and technological capacity, innovation and research.
“If we lose the competitiveness train, namely fiscal, we are condemning the country to have less investment, create less wealth, be poorer and will have more difficulty in retaining its young staff”, he said.
Competitiveness
The ruler wants Portugal to be more competitive, giving the economic fabric the conditions to have even more capacity to produce, innovate, undertake and retain more human resources, paying them well.
“If we want to believe that everything is fine, that the tax attractiveness of companies is to benefit the owners, we are doing a disservice”, he warned, stressing that those harmed are the workers themselves, that is, people who They want to transform the knowledge they have acquired into productive capacity.
When asked about the difficulties faced by some Portuguese businesspeople in Angola, he replied that he is aware that not everything is easy and that the terrain has a lot of rocks, so it is necessary to collaborate, and the public authorities serve this purpose.
Therefore, he argued that it is necessary to generate good mobility channels between human resources and also capital, in a clear reference to credit lines to facilitate companies’ activities.
The Portugal – Angola credit line is crucial to guarantee the continuation and implementation of public investments, on the side of the Portuguese Government, and stimulate Angolan economic activity.
Likewise, the Portuguese Chief Executive said there is a support line for companies, valued at three thousand and six hundred million euros, within the scope of the European Union, with two thousand and five hundred million euros earmarked for the internationalization of small and medium-sized Portuguese companies.
This amount also includes 700 million euros to support innovation, research and science, so essential to promoting the internationalization of Portuguese companies, as mentioned by Luís Montenegro.
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