Strategic location
- Nearest European country to the U.S.
- 3‐hour time difference from Brazil and Russia.
- Same time as UK and Ireland.
- Daily flights to major European cities.
Attractive Consumer Market
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Great and privileged economic relations between Portugal, Brazil, Angola and Mozambique.
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South/Central America potential
Facilities and Resources
- Portugal ranks number one among EU countries in terms of public services online (European Commission)
- Portugal has world renowned logistics and infrastructure in rail, airways and sea, both for passengers and cargo;
- High potential in geological resources
- Safety - low criminality
Human Resources
- Portugal had the biggest overall improvement in education among the OECD European countries (Pisa 2012, OECD)
- Foreign languages: Portugal has the 7th highest score in English tests (TOEFL, 2011)
- The highest share of Science and Engineering degrees in EU (NSF 2012, USA)
- Between 2008 and 2013 Portugal had the second largest hourly labour cost decrease (‐5.1%) within the EU (average 10.4% increase in the euro area).
Entrepreneurship
- Improvement of the business regulatory environment and distance reduction as regards to reference indicators of the ranking, allowing to reduce both time and cost of business registrations, leading to a rise of 17% in the number of start‐ups; among 189 countries,
- 10th position in terms of starting a business.
Competitiveness
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Corporate income tax rate reduction and creation of a simplified tax system for SMEs;
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27th position in terms of the reduction of commercial disputes, an essential element for promotion of a friendlier environment to enterprises.
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Portugal occupies at present the 25th position on the indicator concerning to property registration procedures and is consequence of the implementation of quicker procedures, a fact highlighted on the DB 2013 report, where Portugal was 1st, among the countries that had facilitated property registration procedures the most
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Also noteworthy was the 10th position in terms of procedures for insolvency resolutions.
