2024-10-22 12:27:00
Entrepreneurs perceive good dynamics in their sector and almost half of companies expect their turnover to increase in the next twelve months, expecting a 30% increase in exports, productive investments and workforce, but with lower margins.
As regards business investments in the next twelve months, the companies that will increase their investments in digitalisation (60.3%), as well as in Artificial Intelligence (59.6%) and in cybersecurity (53.9%) stand out. %).
This follows from Business Survey Circle 2024, presented by the president of the Club, Juan María Nin, and the president of the working group that prepared it, Miguel Iraburu, in collaboration with the Association of Economic Information Journalists (APIE).
For 65% of respondents, the main threats to the economy focus on low productivity, which is between 10% and 15% below the European average, and high global geopolitical uncertainty and escalation of war conflicts, reports Europa Press.
The widespread perception of a deterioration of the main competitiveness factors of the Spanish business context remains. The three elements of competitiveness that have worsened the most in the last twelve months are, according to the companies interviewed, public intervention in entrepreneurial activities, transparency in government decisions and legal certainty, while there remains strong concern about the deterioration of institutional quality .
On the other hand, the economic policy measures linked to the increase in tax pressure and the non-deflation of the tax bases of the incomes of natural persons are negatively evaluated (93.6% compared to 72.5% in the previous survey) and the imbalances in public finances (87 .9% compared to 84.3%).
Among the main obstacles to business activity, over 60% of companies highlight the cost of labor and over 50% highlight the difficulties in accessing qualified talent. There is also widespread concern about high taxation, uncertainty over Spanish politics and bureaucratic burden, with more than 40% of the vote.
Although an improvement compared to the previous survey, in the current interest rate context, entrepreneurs‘ perception of the ease of access to financing, both through credit and capital, remains negative.
In the last twelve months, approximately half of the interviewees declared having resorted to self-financing (53.2%) and having obtained long-term bank financing (52%). 43.2% were financed in the short term through trade rebates or similar resources.
Given the sustainability problems of the Spanish pension system, entrepreneurs believe that a reform is necessary that does not reduce the competitiveness and growth capacity of the economy. “It must be done with a long-term vision to guarantee its balance, efficiency and respect for intergenerational solidarity,” they insisted.
In this context, among the measures that would contribute to guaranteeing the sustainability and sufficiency of the system, the need to reduce the unemployment rate (62.8%) stands out, followed by the promotion of incentives, both for businesses and workers, to lengthen life activities beyond the legal retirement age (58.6%) and the establishment of an individual capitalization fund according to the “Austrian backpack” model (56.5%).
For their part, at a working level, among the measures under negotiation or already approved, over 80% of the companies interviewed believe that those that will have the greatest negative impact on their company will be the prevalence of the regional agreement over the state one, the restrictions to external flexibility in terms, for example, of causality or compensation in the event of dismissal, and the reduction of the working day to 37.5 hours per week with the same salary.
Regarding the Next Generation EU Funds, as in previous years, 78% of companies believe that the Government must improve their management and 40% believe that their future impact will be positive in the sector in which they operate.
Less than half (46.3%) requested them either due to the complexity of the procedures or the non-inclusion in the conscription policies of their sector.
A total of 415 companies of different sizes and business sectors participated in the survey. Among the participating companies, the service sector prevails and the majority are small and medium-sized.
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