Ferrovial tries to put out the fires that have grown around its decision to move its headquarters from Spain to the Netherlands, fueled by the government’s indignation with this operation. The change, although legal, has put the construction company under the scrutiny of various ministries and public bodies, which monitor the reality of this movement of tax domicile.
It is precisely these doubts that the group has been trying to quell since it made its intentions public on Tuesday night. Those responsible for the group, including its president, Rafael del Pino, are in contact with the Ministry of Finance, the Economy or the Ministry of Labor to insist that their transfer responds to a reality -the establishment of a headquarters in Amsterdam, the epicenter of the investments throughout Europe – and not a fiction – a mere transfer made up to pay less taxes. Company sources indicate that these contacts are being common these days while the Ministry of Economy points out that they are “analyzing what the arguments put forward by Ferrovial and their implications are based on.” However, they rule out that the department led by Nadia Calvio is preparing an ‘ad hoc’ regulation to avoid more cases like this.
In the Executive they continue to be very upset with a decision that they learned about at almost the same time as the stock market, when the corporation announced its intentions with “a statement and a three-page presentation” to justify this change, government sources ironize.
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The Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, has confirmed that she had a “cordial conversation” with the president of Ferrovial, Rafael del Pino, in which she told him that “the Government of Spain regretted that” this intention to go to Netherlands. “It did not seem to us that, after how Spain had treated Ferrovial throughout the democracy.” Also the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz has had an “intense” conversation with Del Pino this Wednesday, according to government sources. In that telephone conversation, Ella Díaz asked him for explanations and demanded guarantees with employment in Spain.
The company insists that it will maintain its activity in Spain, as well as employment and the payment of the taxes that correspond to it, although it is completely silent about the impact that this decision may have on future work awards or contracts with the Administration. It has closed the first business week after the announcement with a revaluation close to 4.5% after the 2.7% registered only on this Friday.
The reactions of the economic world have also come from the vice president of the ECB, Luis de Guindos, for whom the issue of the headquarters has “a symbolic value” and what is important is the level of activity and employment that it generates in the country.
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Ferrovial’s paseíllo in front of several ministerial departments will have its process regulated by the National Securities Market Commission. The supervisor “is unaware” of the “difficulties” that the company has faced in having to move to the Amsterdam stock market and then make the leap to the US. CNMV sources show their “surprise” at the arguments explained to the Commission itself in a more detailed relevant fact this Thursday. In his opinion, it has already been shown that there are many American and world shareholders in companies listed in Spain without having to make this strategic move.
The body chaired by Rodrigo Buenaventura will now be in charge of verifying that the information that the company offers to shareholders is “complete and transparent”. Then, once the process is complete, the CNMV would have to admit the new shares of Ferrovial to trading on the Spanish Stock Exchange, already with its headquarters established in Amsterdam.
Meanwhile, the Spanish stock market continues to applaud the decision: Ferrovial has risen 4.5% on the stock market since Tuesday, after the 2.7% that rose only this Friday.