The president, Santiago Sesé, urges to shield legal security and criticizes the “negligence” of the administration to promote projects
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Chamber of Commerce of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has warned this Tuesday of the “slowdown” of the Canary Islands economy, although it maintains that the archipelago will still grow 2% in 2022 –compared to the 7% expected this year–.
This was stated by the president of the institution, Santiago Sesé, in the presentation of the ‘Economic Situation Bulletin’ corresponding to the third quarter, together with the general director, Lola Pérez, and the territorial director of Caixabank in the Canary Islands, Juan Ramón Fuertes.
Sesé has attributed this slowdown to the effect of inflation and the war in Ukraine and the “uncertainty” about how the pandemic will behave during the winter but has made it clear that both the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands will pull the Spanish economy if tourism maintains its good behavior and “slows down the deterioration” of purchasing power.
He has valued the measures of the central and Canarian governments to help the transport of goods and passengers and approve fiscal measures for families but has criticized that public investment “does not advance at the desired rate” due to the “oversizing” of the administration and the ” upregulation”.
Along these lines, he has commented that the business community has “a discouragement and impotence that does not stop growing” while he has demanded that there be no “more legal uncertainty” or “negligence” in the response times to investments because the bureaucracy is has become a “bottleneck” that prevents the archipelago from advancing.
“It is not a question of not respecting the regulations or skipping deadlines, but rather that the procedures are reasonable and operational and that there is a clear framework,” he pointed out.
He has pointed out that there are both public infrastructures and private investments “stuck for decades” and has influenced the “loss of prestige and image” that supposes that one administration of a permit and another deny it — in reference to the Cuna del Alma tourist development –.
The president of the Chamber has also demanded that there be more training and especially linked to the sectors that demand employment — “it is essential” — given that employers cannot find workers in a region with very high unemployment rates.
Lola Pérez has located the recovery of domestic demand and tourist spending as the key to economic growth in 2022, apart from the fact that the sale of homes is in “record figures” in the third quarter and construction has already recovered employment levels pre-pandemic, with more than 56,000 people.
He has highlighted the growth of the Canary Islands economy at 5.8% in the interannual rate –two points above the national average– and that the unemployment rate stands at 17.7%, the lowest since 2008, and Social Security contributors at all-time highs with more than 852,000.
LATE CONTROL, UNDER CONTROL
Regarding inflation, he pointed out that it has been falling due to the drop in the price of fuel and electricity, but he has shown his concern that the underlying inflation, which refers to the shopping basket, is already above the national price “and it is the that it has more difficulty to be reduced”.
Fuertes has highlighted the “strength” of the Spanish economy in this context of slowdown and has warned that “it has nothing to do” with other moments in the past such as 2009 or 2012 since “the differential factor” is that unemployment is not generated .
According to data from his entity, in the third quarter of this year consumption grew 15% in the interannual rate, the best in history, foreign spending another 26%, mortgage granting doubled, consumer credit increased by 23% and the financing of companies another 47%. “This is excellent news,” he said.
Regarding delinquency, he has been satisfied that the year will close at 3.7% and he does not see major difficulties in 2023 despite the sharp rise in the Euribor and interest rates given that most of the mortgages were granted before 2015 and have covered a large part of the interest and of those that were subscribed a posteriori, 80% are fixed.
He has admitted that there will be quota increases but the effort rate will not reach 35% and in any case, if there are difficulties, the Code of Good Practices or individualized solutions will be used.
