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UEFA EURO 2020: SPAIN vs POLAND

Spain’s green power potential goes head-to-head with Poland’s highly educated talent pool

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Kirsten Hastings

SALOMÉ BOUZAS ROMERO

MUTUAL FUND ANALYST & PORTFOLIO MANAGER

TRESSIS SV

Score prediction: SPAIN 1 – POLAND 0

INVESTMENT INSIGHT:

We are committed to the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs. But this is not just a political statement made on TV.

Here in Spain, we have a popular saying that tells us something like “the movement is demonstrated by walking” and we have been proving our engagement with the energy transition for a number of years.

Spain is currently ranked tenth in the world for renewable capacity, third within Europe just after Germany and Italy. In 2020, wind power generated enough energy to meet almost 22% of the national demand, to which we have to add another 8% that came from solar.

Furthermore, people are also well aware of the climate change challenge, as surveys show this is the biggest concern for half of the population.

In this environment, companies have found a good and fashionable place to develop new processes and technologies.

Companies like Iberdrola, Siemens Gamesa, Solaria, Grenergy or SolarPack are already attracting direct foreign investments and seducing the biggest investors in the world as it is expected that investment for the next 10 years in the industry is going to account for near €100bn.

Blackrock, Goldman Sachs, Natixis and Invesco are relevant shareholders in the aforementioned enterprises as they have seen the potential of the clean energy industry that is growing in our country.

LUCAS STROJNY

MULTI-ASSET PORTFOLIO MANAGER

AMILTON AM

Score prediction: SPAIN 3 – POLAND 1

INVESTMENT INSIGHT:

Three decades ago, events in Poland touched off changes that swept Central and Eastern Europe, resulting in massive economic and political transformations.

As the Polish economy emerged from decades of state control, industries were privatiSed and market-based competition was introduced. Within a few years, Polish GDP and living standards began to rise significantly, as the country started on a growth path that has not ended.

Accession to the European Union in 2004 confirmed the success of Poland’s effort and indicated a development path that was leading toward the level of Europe’s most advanced economies.

Amoung the core growth drivers, we can mention service industries, including outsourcing and offshoring, legal, and business consulting, as well as financial services and telecommunications.

In Poland this cluster accounts for 11% of GDP and it is growing fast. Poland’s services industries are experiencing a 6% compound annual growth rate on average, compared with 1% in Germany.

This exceptional growth can be explained by few advantages. Poland has a talent pool of highly educated workers earning less than Western European workers and its geographical situation provides another cost advantage.

Business services can be provided in an EU time zone and familiar legal code, at convenient locations with easy access.

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