Sánchez presents the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the associated investment opportunities, in the USA

New York (United States)

During these meetings, President Sánchez presented the investment opportunities that Spain offers in the context of the post-pandemic economic recovery and the profound modernising transformations that our country's economy will face in the next decade.

The President of the Government of Spain stressed to investors that the Recovery Plan "will allow our country to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis in the short term, and will lay the foundations for strong, sustainable and inclusive growth in the medium term". Sánchez also explained that the Plan will enable Spain to successfully tackle the two innovations that will characterise the global economy in the coming decades: the digital transformation and the ecological transition.

The meeting with banks and fund managers brought together the President of the Government of Spain and senior officials from Ares Management Corporation, Bank of America, Blackstone, Bank of New York Mellon, Brookfield Asset Management, JP Morgan, L Catterton Partners, Rokos Capital Management, Lone Star Funds, Morgan Stanley, Providence Equity Partners, Soros Fund Management, Wellington Management Group and AmChamSpain.

The objective of the meeting was to outline the opportunities that the Recovery Plan, our country's biggest investment and reform effort since joining the former European Economic Community 35 years ago, opens up for US companies. The Plan will allow €69.5 billion in public investment to be injected into the Spanish economy up to 2026, of which €54 billion will arrive before the end of 2023. If necessary, this figure could rise to €140 billion in loans up to 2026, which would be equivalent to 12.5% of Spanish GDP in 2020. Sánchez highlighted the key investments of the plan, and in particular the digital transition and the green transition, mentioning issues such as green hydrogen, batteries, renewable energies, electrification of transport, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaHe also highlighted the investment that Spain plans to make in education, including vocational training, digital training, and the national research and science system. In terms of strengthening trade relations, the US is the leading foreign investor in our country and the top destination for Spanish investment in terms of stock, accounting for almost 19% of Spanish investment abroad, the equivalent to almost €90 billion a year. Spain is the 10th largest investor in the US market, where around 650 Spanish companies directly employ more than 113,000 people and indirectly employ around 300,000.

Likewise, the good trade relations between the two countries are evidenced by the fact that Spain is the 19th largest destination for US foreign investment, with a total investment stock in our country of more than €89,000 million, generating more than 204,000 Spanish jobs. Trade relations between the two countries have particularly strengthened over the last decade, with the value of Spanish exports growing by more than 70% between 2009 and 2019 and the number of exporting companies almost tripling. To illustrate the point, in the infrastructure sector alone Spanish companies have been awarded works and service contracts worth €34 billion in the United States in the last five years. Meetings with Bloomberg and BlackRock.

After the meeting with investors, Sánchez had lunch with businessman and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and held a meeting with the CEO of the investment fund BlackRock. The President and Mr Bloomberg discussed issues of shared interest such as post-pandemic economic recovery, global health, climate change, public education and government innovation.

Sánchez shared with the businessman the political priorities of the Government of Spain, with an Executive that is embarking on a new stage to undertake a fair recovery. To this effect, Sánchez explained that with the vaccination programme in an advanced phase, the government's main task is to consolidate economic recovery and job creation and to manage the enormous opportunity represented by the Recovery Fund, a project that offers private enterprise numerous investment opportunities. He also met with Larry Fink, co-founder, chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest investment fund with assets in excess of $9 trillion under management, and one of the asset managers most committed to investing sustainably.

Economic and Commercial Office of Spain

Foto: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la BellacasaBefore travelling to Los Angeles for the next stage of his economic and investment trip to the US, the President inaugurated the new headquarters of the Spanish Economic and Commercial Office on the 47th floor of New York's Chrysler Building. Sánchez was accompanied by members of the Spanish business community in the city, US businessmen, and representatives of the regional trade promotion organisations present in the country. These offices are one of the cornerstones of the Action Plan for the Internationalisation of the Spanish Economy 2021-22.

The President of the Government of Spain underlined the Office's trade promotion work, especially in three of the "most important [sectors], and ones that are representative of our image as a modern, healthy country with a sustainable growth model", featuring agri-food, fashion and housing, while also pointing out that "Spain is currently one of the most attractive places in Europe for investment".

Non official translation