Ikea invested 65 million euros in Portugal this year and is planning on investing another 60 million.

The multinational Swedish company Ikea, which is part of group Ingka, invested 65 million euros in Portugal during the fiscal year that ended in August 2023 and is planning on investing another 60 million during this year’s homologous period.

According to an interview given by the group’s Retail Operation Manager, the 2023 fiscal year was amazing for both the company and the country. Ikea grew by 11% in Portugal alone, a number that is almost twice as big as the company’s global average.

For now, the focus has been on the storage sector. Ikea is planning on transforming the existing stores and investing in automation, in order to allow orders and deliveries throughout the entire country without having to rely on the Spanish warehouses.

Instead of buying more property and building new warehouses, the company’s plan is to develop the larger stores, like the one in Loures, so that it becomes possible to deliver such service without unnecessary costs.

The truth is that many of the company’s best examples, when it comes to operations, are being developed in Portugal, and then copied all over the world.

In the Manager’s words, “there are several reasons why Portugal stands out”. The home furnishing sector is growing. Not just because of Ikea, but a lot because of it. During the last fiscal year, Ikea Portugal, which has 2 thousand and 8 hundred workers, reached 611 million euros in sales.

Hopefully, with the new investment and the current strategy, it will be able to surpass that number.

Portuguese startups generate a turnover of 2.3 billion euros and create 25 thousand jobs.

According to the numbers released this week by Startup Portugal during the WebSummit, there are 4,073 startups in Portugal.

Note that Lisbon and Porto are the two districts that concentrate the most startups. There are 1,822 startups in Lisbon and 643 in Porto.

The term startup, according to the definition provided during the event, refers to companies that employ less than 250 workers and a turnover of less than, or equal to, 50 million euros. Note that there are other criteria, but these are the more relevant.

Of the 4,073 startups, 35% are exporting companies. This value (35%) is 11% above the number of Portuguese exporting companies that are not startups. Of the 2.3 billion euros in turnover, 1.3 billion come from those same exporting startups.

Between 2019 and 2022, the turnover produced by the national startups (not just the exporting companies) grew by 24.4%. This is way above the 9.1% of the total number of Portuguese companies (startups and not startups). Moreover, 26% of the 4073 startups grew non-stop during those 3 years.

When it comes to the impact on employment, Portuguese startups have already generated 25 thousand jobs. This corresponds to an employment growth of 17%, a value that is also way above the national average, which was 1.6%. 3.8% of the startups are High Growth Companies. The term refers to companies that have an average yearly organic employment growth of 20% for three consecutive years.

Wages are also above the national average. The average monthly wage paid by startups is 1,700 euros, a number that is 37% above the average monthly wage paid by all Portuguese companies.

70% of the 4,073 companies were created during the last five years, but the years 2021 and 2022 are the ones that hold the record. In 2021, 600 startups were created, and in 2022, 706.

In terms of ownership, the majority of the startups are owned by single partners. 83.2% are owned by single partners, 9.4% belong to foreign companies, and 7.5% by other national companies.

When it comes to their sector, the vast majority belongs to information and communication technologies. 3278 of the 4073 startups belong to this sector. 61% of the 2.3 billion turnover comes from these tech companies. Notwithstanding, even though the startups that belong to the industrial sector are significantly less, their combined turnover corresponds to an astonishing 26% of the total.

During the searches connected to the investigation that led to the resignation of the Portuguese Prime Minister, the authorities found 75,800 euros in cash inside the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff’s office. 

While the Prime Minister was speaking to the country on Tuesday, announcing his resignation, the police force, the relevant judge, and the public prosecutor were conducting searches within his official residence, Palácio de São Bento.

During the search, which lasted from 2 pm until nighttime, the authorities found 75,800 euros in cash hidden inside books and empty cases of wine within Vítor Escária’s office.

According to the official statement, the Chief of Staff wanted, and managed, to conceal the illicit provenance of the money, and reinsert it into the economy to make it legitimate, knowing that such an amount resulted from the commission of a crime.

Up until now, there was nothing directly connecting the Prime Minister to the crimes committed. However, the digital evidence is yet to be analyzed. The authorities collected the Chief of Staff’s electronic agenda, emails, texts, and WhatsApp messages, in order to discover if there is any link to the Prime Minister. This will be known during the upcoming weeks.

Moreover, the authorities also searched the house of the Minister of Infrastructures, João Galamba. During the search, the authorities seized phones and computers, in order to extract and analyze the digital evidence, similar to what will happen with the Chief of Staff. Nothing illegal was found, however, the Portuguese media are reporting an apprehension of a small dose of an illicit smokable substance called hashish.

Note that, like the Chief of Staff and unlike the Prime Minister, the Minister of Infrastructure is considered a defendant.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the Portuguese President of the Republic, has announced his decision on Thursday to dissolve Parliament and schedule anticipated elections for March.

After a four-hour meeting with the State Council, due to the resignation of the Prime Minister, the Portuguese President of the Republic chose to dissolve the Parliament and schedule anticipated elections.

As it is now known worldwide, for the first time in the history of Portuguese democracy, because of the actions of third parties, the Portuguese Prime Minister will be subject to an autonomous investigation performed by the Supreme Court of Justice.

As a consequence, due to the degree of seriousness of the investigation and the elevation of the office in question, the Prime Minister presented his resignation. Such action was praised by the President itself, and by the majority of the population. With it, Prime Minister António Costa was able to maintain, and maybe even increase his political capital.

According to the Portuguese Constitution, the resignation of the Prime Minister leads to the dissolution of the Government, and the decision on what to do next rests with the President of the Republic.

There were two options. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa could either maintain the composition of the Parliament and invite the ruling party to form a new Government, or he could choose to dissolve the Parliament and schedule anticipated elections.

Despite the tie in the State Council’s voting during the meeting, with 8 votes in favor of each option, the President decided to go for the latter. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will dissolve the Parliament and schedule anticipated elections.

Notwithstanding, even though the President has already accepted the resignation of the Prime Minister, that decision will only be formalized at the beginning of December. So as the dissolution of the Parliament and the scheduling of the elections.

According to the President’s speech, such actions can only take place after the approval of the 2024 State Budget. This, according to his words, will help guarantee the necessary degree of social and economic stability.

Note that, if the actions were to come into effect immediately, the State Budget could not be approved, and most of the measures that were proposed would not move forward. This, according to the President, cannot happen.

In the meantime, António Costa will hold his position and perform all the duties required for what needs to happen now, and what will happen next.

It is important to consider that the current Government, the one that fell, resulted from a dissolution of the Parliament decreed by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at the beginning of his second Presidential term, after the failure of the 2022 State Budget Proposal. Given the scenario, in 2022, the President chose to give the power to the people.

Now, he chose to do that again. In his words “giving the floor back to the people is the strength of democracy”. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa believes that the Portuguese, given the opportunity, will be able to choose a Government that will guarantee stability, and social, economic, and cultural progress, in liberty, pluralism, and democracy.

The anticipated legislative elections mandated by the President will be scheduled for the 10th of March 2024, well over two years ahead of schedule.

The President of the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice publicly denounced corruption within the country and criticized the political power.

According to Henrique Araújo, the current President of the Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice, corruption is widespread throughout the country, and the political power does not do anything about it.

Last Friday, in an interview with the newspaper Nascer do Sol, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice stated that justice does not seem like a priority for the Government.

Amongst the problems for which he proposes changes to the existing legislation, the most pressing is the degree of corruption that is spread throughout the country. One of the solutions he proposes is the creation of a new crime category – illicit enrichment.

According to the statement, the proposed category would be an effective mechanism to fight the corruption that is deeply installed within the public administration, and this affirmation is something the President of the Supreme Court of Justice is sure about.

Even though there has been more investigation into the phenomenon of corruption, the results of that investigation have not been satisfactory. The increase in the investigation efforts has not led to a decrease in the corruption that indeed exists.

Despite the continuous warnings of the judiciary power, nothing has really changed and corruption remains the same, if not worse. The current Minister of Justice has not been able to produce the required reforms effectively, and the President of the Supreme Court of Justice believes something is holding her back.

Moreover, Henrique Araújo also advocated for a true separation of powers. As he stated, there is an urgent need to provide financial autonomy to the judiciary branch. Currently, Portuguese courts function with funds provided by the Ministry of Justice, and that is not right.

In his opinion, for a true separation of powers to exist, the Superior Council of the Judiciary should supervise the budget of the judiciary branch, not the Government.

Last but not least, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice also noted some of the pardons granted because of the Pope Amnesty. Nine cases of serious and very serious infractions committed by judges were archived, and nothing actually happened to the wrongdoers.

This, according to him, gives a terrible example to society. Judges, being judges, should be one of the first to set an example. Pardoning their offenses sends a very bad signal to society, argues the judge.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced his resignation on Tuesday afternoon, amid the ongoing lithium corruption scandal. The PM presented his resignation to the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who accepted it.

The decision comes after the public Ministry searched the official residency of the PM and the ministries involved in the lithium exploration in Montalegre this morning, leading to arrests.

Antonio Costa told the country: “The dignity of the prime minister’s role is not compatible with any suspicion of criminal activity. I have, of course, submitted my resignation to the President of the Republic”.

He goes on to state his innocence, saying, “I want to say, looking into your eyes, that I do not carry any guilt of any unlawful act on my conscience. I have faith in justice”. Costa also said he was “surprised with the information that there will be a criminal case put forth against him” and that he is unsure what he is accused of.

The Prime Minister will maintain his position until he is replaced, calling it his “constitutional duty, legal and civic”.

In what was seen as his farewell speech, he thanked the Portuguese “for the trust placed in me over the past years” and his family.

“This is a chapter of life that comes to a close, and one that I close with my head held high, a clear conscience, and the same determination: to serve Portugal and its people just as I did on the day I became prime minister”, he stated.

This corruption case involves a business deal that gave the company Lusorecursos the right to the exploration of the lithium mine in Montalegre, although it was not part of the group of companies that were officially authorized.

Five people have been arrested surrounding the lithium corruption case, including businessman Diogo Lacerda Machado (a close friend of the PM), Vitor Escaria (Costa’s cabinet chief), and socialist Nuno Mascarenhas. Two businessmen from Sines were also arrested, including the CEO of Start Campus, Afonso Salema, and Rui Oliveira Neves.

The Portuguese minimum wage is set to increase again in 2024. The 7.895% surge will be the largest yearly increase ever registered.

According to the statements of the Prime Minister, and of the Minister of Labor, the minimum wage is expected to increase once again at the beginning of 2024. It will be the biggest increase ever in relative, and absolute terms.

Starting in January, the national minimum wage will go from 760 euros to 820 euros. This represents a 60 euro increase.

Note, however, that the values of 760 (current minimum wage) and 820 (future minimum wage) are not what the company pays or would pay, nor what gets or would get to the worker’s hand. The numbers 760 and 820 represent the values of the gross salary.

Currently, with the 760 gross salary, a company needs to spend 940.5 euros per month to pay a minimum wage, and the worker will only get 676.4 euros (liquid wage). In short, the real cost of the 760 gross wage, for the company, is 940.5 euros, and the real immediate value, for the worker, is 676.4 euros.

When it comes to the incoming 820 minimum gross wage, the company will have to spend 1014.75 euros per month, per salary, and the worker will only get 729.8 euros. So, the real cost, for the company, is 1014.75 euros, and the real immediate value, for the worker, is 729.8 euros.

Where does the difference go? According to the Portuguese legal system, minimum wage workers are not subject to taxes. Because they receive the minimum wage, they do not need to pay the Personal Income Tax (IRS). Although, there is money going somewhere.

The difference between what the company pays, and what the worker gets, in this case, is the value of the Single Social Fee (Taxa Social Única – TSU). This monthly fee, which is deducted from the gross monthly wage, works like an insurance.

Social Security, which is the governmental body to which the value of the Single Social Fee goes, is the institution responsible for the management of the Portuguese social protection system. Its objective is to promote social wellbeing and justice, by protecting the citizens in situations of vulnerability.

In short, the purpose of the social security system is to ensure complete social and economic protection in situations such as temporary or permanent incapacity, unemployment, oldness, disease, illness, and death, among others.

Even though the real immediate value of the wage for the worker is less than what the company actually spends on it, its real value should be the liquid value plus the perceived value of the existence of such insurance. This is why experts are requesting a software that enables workers to see what the company actually pays and what is deducted.

The Single Social Fee is deducted in two steps. First, the company itself has to pay a part of the fee, corresponding to 23.75% of the salary. If we’re talking about the 760, the company would have to pay a fee of 180.5 euros.

Then, the worker would have to pay an 11% fee on that same salary. So, now, for each 760 salary, the company and the worker have to pay a Single Social Fee of 180.5 euros and 83.6 euros, respectively. When it comes to the 820 gross salary, the company will have to pay 194.75 euros, and the worker 90.2 euros.

The 60 euro increase in the gross minimum wage corresponds to a 20.85 increase in the value received, per wage, by Social Security. The Single Social Fee per wage/worker will go from a total of 264.1 euros in 2023, to a total of 284.95 euros in 2024.

According to some, who have advocated for a reduction, the Single Social Fee is too demanding. Especially when it comes to the burden for the companies. However, according to the Government, it cannot be lower than what it is. If it were, the social protection system would not work.