China backs Spain by acquiring more debt

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/12/economia/1302595011.html (in Spanish)

Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao has announced today to Spanish president José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero that China will keep on acquiring more debt, as done in the recent months, and will also invest in Spanish saving banks. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has thanked Wen Jiabao for the Chinese support during the toughest moments in which international finantial markets showed little trust in Spanish economy. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s words are explained by the fact that Spanish debt in Chinese hands has grown from 4% in 2009 to the present 12%. In turn, Wen Jiabao has declared Spain as China’s best friend in Europe, whereas Li Keqiang has congratulated Spanish government by the measures undertaken in order to improve the situation of the economy. He has also declared his impression that Spain is back to the path of sustained growth and shown interest in the import of Spanish agricultural products. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and minister Miguel Sebastián have invited Chinese officials to invest in Spanish ports and in the privatization process of airports, and to consider Spain as a prominent destination for Chinese tourists.

Economist Kenneth Rogoff sees a rich Catalonia

From http://www.capital.es/2011/04/04/kenneth-rogoff-%E2%80%9Csi-espana-quiebra-podria-caer-hasta-francia%E2%80%9D/ (in Spanish)

Kenneth Rogoff, who served as an economist at the International Monetary Fund and at the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, was interviewed by the Spanish magazine Capital, where he has declared that "Catalonia, isolated, would be one of the richest countries in the world". Rogoff visited Spain to promote the Spanish translation of his book "This time is different: Eight centuries of finantial folly" and he also declared that if Spain becomes broke, even France might fall.

Unemployment still on the rise in Catalonia and the rest of Spain

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/04/catalunya/1301910595.html and http://www.expansion.com/2011/04/04/economia/1301900769.html (in Spanish)

Job destruction is still on the rise both in Catalonia and the rest of Spain. March figures have shown another increase in unemployment rate, which accounted for 1.44% in Catalonia and 0.80% in Spain. Total number of unemployed people in Catalonia has reached 611,269 people and 4.333.669 people in overall Spain.

Foreign investment in Catalonia in 2010 accounted for 34% of that in overall Spain

From http://www.acc10.cat/ACC1O/cat/empresa-ACC1O/premsa/noticies-notes-premsa/2011/110329.jsp (in Catalan)

According to information from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, direct foreign investment in Catalonia increased from 11% to 34% of that in overall Spain between 2009 and 2010. Total investment in 2010 reached 3.95 billion euros and it was mainly happening in the transportation and logistic sectors.

China increases imports of Spanish olive oil

From http://www.icex.es/icex/cda/controller/pageICEX/0,6558,5518394_5519005_6366453_4472828,00.html (in Spanish)

In 2010, exports of Spanish olive oil reached 60% of its total production and emerging markets like China, Russia and Brazil are becoming of increasing importance. China imports in 2007 ranked in the fifteenth position and in only 3 years have moved to the tenth position, totalling 34.6 million euros in sales.

Barcelona port may steal chinese traffic to northern european ports

From http://www.expansion.com/2011/03/21/catalunya/1300747457.html (in Spanish)

A recent study has concluded that Spanish mediterranean ports, mainly Algeciras, Barcelona and Valencia, may steal up to 15% of traffic to northern european ports like Antwerp and Rotterdam in a timespan of 10 to 15 years. The authors Jacint Soler and Lijing Ye presented the study in the Barcelona offices of Casa Asia and stated that joint promotion efforts and new railroad lines are needed, but that factors such as the increase in the oil prices and the greater depth of Spanish ports as compared to Italian ones may be instrumental for this mid-term shift of tendency. The complete report can be downloaded from the website of Casa Asia at http://www.casaasia.cat/media/asset_publics/resources/000/005/182/original/201009estudiports.pdf.