by “IUnfortunately, we live in a country that, for ideological reasons, continues to be hostile to corporations, especially large corporations. It continues to see profit as a sin and we must fight these prejudices.”said the ruler.
Antonio Costa Silva spoke during the opening session of the XI conference of CEFAMOL – National Association of the Mold Industry, which takes place today and Saturday in Oliveira de Azeméis, in the region of Aveiro, in the presence of around 350 participants.
In his speech, the Minister of Economy spoke about the challenges related to restructuring in the automotive industry, which is the main customer of the mold industry, mentioning that the government is working to create an industrial chain of batteries, from lithium mining. , its refinement, the production of cells and components.
“We have already managed to attract one of the largest international battery manufacturers to develop their project in Portugal,” he announced.
Costa Silva also defended the need to change the funding paradigm, which “depends a lot on the banking system”, justifying that, often, commercial banking “is not available to support companies’ projects in the medium and long term”.
In this sense, Costa Silva indicated that the government is developing all the conditions for Banco Português de Fomento (BPF) to be a “big promotional bank of the Portuguese state”, which has access to the guarantee market and the “share” market . of investEU and to be a “full-time partner” of the European institutions.
“The role of the state is to create all the conditions for capitalization to work, because this is one of the great obstacles that have prevented the economic development of the country,” said the minister, adding that the level of capital per employee, in The Portuguese companies , are “among the lowest” in the European Union.
The minister also announced that the Capitalization and Resilience Fund, which currently stands at €1,300 million and is managed by Banco de Fomento, has already allocated around €533 million in projects to be developed and around €533 million in contracts. 333 million euros.
On the same occasion, the president of CEFAMOL, João Faustino, called on the minister to help find new financing and capitalization solutions that allow companies “to be competitive and maintain their high investments in technology and knowledge.”
“Access to finance and the capitalization of companies will be key factors in ensuring sustainability and growth in the coming years, as well as stimulating the launch of new business models that can differentiate us internationally,” he said.
Upon his departure, when questioned by journalists, the Minister of Economy refused to make statements on other current national issues.
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