When Demi Moore, Shirley

McLane and Jessica Lange

arrived in Gran Canaria last

-XO\�WR�ÀOP�¶:LOG�2DWV·��SHR-

ple in the island weren´t sur-

prised. Ridley Scott, Christian

Bale or Sigourney Weaver and

a large list of celebrities befo-

re them had previously visited

the small Spanish archipelago.

Suddenly the islands became

trendy and known as a natural

movie set but also as a very

c o n v e -

QLHQW� ÀVFDO�l o c a t i o n ,

the lowest

within the

E u r o p e a n

U n i o n .

Even S·3, a Swiss Aerospace

Company, has chosen Gran

Canaria as a strategic place to

ODXQFK� LWV� VSDFH� ÁLJKWV�� ´:H�are in Europe but with tax be-

QHÀWV�� D� JUHDW� FOLPDWH� DQG� D�strategic location for a possi-

ble expansion into Africa. We

are in a good position, therefore,

to place ourselves in the global

market. All we need is more

promotion, understanding and

YLVXDOL]DWLRQ´��VD\V�-RVH�0LJXHO�Bravo de Laguna, the president

of Gran Canaria´s government.

Located in the middle of the

Atlantic and much closer to

Africa than to Europe, the Ca-

nary Islands are said to have

the best climate in the world,

never too hot and never too

cold. In very short distances

you can walk from a 2,000

metre mountain peak to a long

sandy beach, with temperatu-

res changing with every step.

43% of the island has been

GHFODUHG�D�81(6&2�%LRVSKH-re Reserve

and is in-

deed like a

min ia tu re

continent.

´7KLV� LV� D�very unique

feature that should become an as-

set”, says Bravo de Laguna. And

it surely has, because for the past

50 years it has been the favouri-

te European holiday destination,

with 12 million holiday-makers

a year. Almost 4 million of them

come to Gran Canaria, which

normally has a population of less

than a million. Some of them

even stay half of the year to

avoid cold winters at home.

The island has become the

foremost international invest-

ment recipient in the region

and both professionals and

multinationals have chosen it

as the perfect location to work

in. Good weather, a low cost

of living -well below Euro-

pean average- and low taxes

are some of the reasons. Com-

panies are also increasingly

choosing the island for its lo-

cation as a gateway to emer-

ging markets in West Africa

and a distribution platform

between Africa, Europe and

$PHULFD�� ´7KHUH� DUH� LQYHVW-ment opportunities in tourism

and transport. We are expan-

ding our airport which alre-

ady has 12 million passengers

yearly and is connected to 275

destinations. There are exci-

ting opportunities in strategic

lines of marine research due

to the geographical location

of Gran Canaria as well as in

clean energy and water treat-

ment. Gran Canaria is globa-

lly recognized as a pioneer in

GHVDOLQDWLRQ� DQG� SXULÀFDWLRQ�of water. But in my opinion,

the greatest potential is yet to

EH� IXOÀOOHG� DQG� WKDW� LV� LWV� UH-lations with Africa”, says the

President. Gran Canaria falls

under the Special Tax Regime

of Canary Islands (REF), one

RI� WKH� PRVW� DWWUDFWLYH� ÀVFDO�schemes in Europe which has

stimulated international atten-

tion and includes the Special

Economic Zone (ZEC) that

offers only 4% corporate tax

and incentives as the Special

Investment Reserve (RIC) that

aims to reinvest dividends in

WKH� LVODQG�� ´%H\RQG� WRXULVP��

the economic engine of the is-

land is our port”, says the pre-

VLGHQW��´1RUZHJLDQV��*HUPDQV�and Americans are locating

their oil-related businesses in

Las Palmas Port to service the

oil rich region of West Africa,

while companies like Kin ross

is managing its mining busi-

ness in Mauritania from Gran

Canaria”. In November 2014

Repsol, the largest Spanish oil

company, started exploring the

subsea of the Canaries hoping

WR�ÀQG�WKH�VDPH�EODFN�WUHDVXUH�that is found in West African

waters. In the meantime, rigs

and cranes from West Africa

sail to Las Palmas Port, the

third biggest port in Spain, for

their mandatory check-ups.

The World Food Program has

recently established its logis-

tics base in Gran Canaria and

the Red Cross has also located

there to cover the African con-

WLQHQW��´*UDQ�&DQDULD��DGGLWLR-

nally, offers European legal

VHFXULW\�DQG�1$72�FRYHUDJHµ��explains Bravo de Laguna.

FindeMe in Gran CanariaAn investment trendy island

Produced by Global Gulf ConsultingManaging director and editor: Nayra Delgado

Design: Jose MedinaProduction: María José Mujica & Franck Pérez

“A logistic

platform between 3 continents

and a strong private sector”

“The European door

to West Africa”

Gran Canaria

José Miguel Bravo de Laguna, president of Gran Canaria Goverment

Download the full report at www.globalgulfconsulting.es

Transformed into a centre of

oceanographic investigation,

the University of Las Palmas

de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)

has merged all experimental

sciences into the Faculty of

0DULQH� 6FLHQFHV�� ´:H� VWXG\�marine movement and trans-

SRUW�� 2XU� HQJLQHHUV� VWXG\�subsea robotics, or develop

communication satellites that

analyse data from the ocean.

We are a leading manufactu-

rer of underwater technolo-

gy, such as gliders developed

ZLWK� 3/2&$1� DQG� VRPH� RI�our geomantic technology

has even been acquired by

Google Earth. We run one of

the largest marine technolo-

gical research centres in Ta-

liarte, and more recently we

have been studying algae and

cyanobacteria, as the Bank

of Algae is located in Gran

Canaria. We capture and

identify algae, we study their

genetic material, and then we

SXULI\� DQG� VWRUH� WKHP�� ´:H�are developing proto-drugs

with laboratories from cya-

nobacteria”, explains Mr.

José Regidor, President of

U L P G C .

Some of

the Uni-

v e r s i t y

s p e c i a l -

ties and

r e s e a r c h

programs

are orien-

tated to aquaculture and sea

pollution prevention, control

DQG� SXULILFDWLRQ�� ´:H� DUH� LQ�WKH� $WODQWLF� 2FHDQ�� ZKHUH�we visualize a tri-continental

bridge with America, Africa

and Europe. We have strong

relations with European and

American Universities and

researches, and increasin-

JO\� ZLWK� $IULFDµ�� ´:H� ZDQW�to expand to other regions”,

explains Regidor as part of

the University internationa-

lization process. Under the

auspice of the EU, the Uni-

versity leads social programs

in Senegal and international

alliances with international

respected universities, where

transfer of technology is the

key aspect. As the sea is also

the base for the tourism suc-

cess of the island, the Uni-

versity has captured 50 years

of local

expertise

that have

transfor-

med the

i s l a n d

into a

t o u r i s m

magne t ,

and has created some very re-

puted graduate and postgra-

GXDWH�SURJUDPV��´:H�UHFHLYH�many students from abroad

in our exchange programs

and we want to encourage

more to join us for a mutual

benefit of sharing knowledge

and cultures”.

Blue economy in a tourism destination FOTO

ULPGC

Moving towards

better opportunities?

Join us

www.english.ulpgc.es

UNIVERSITY OF

LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA

/ CANARY ISLANDS

CAMPUS DE EXCELENCIA INTERNACIONAL DE ÁMBITO REGIONAL

“Europe #1

tourist destination

(number of nights)”

José Regidor, Dean of Las Palmas University

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With an enviable clean blue

sky and surrounded by some

of the deepest sea waters of the

world very close to the shore,

Gran Canaria offers the scien-

ce community unique charac-

teristics for two things: Mari-

ne technology and astronomy.

That´s maybe why the biggest

telescope in the world is loca-

Around 50 years ago, Mr. Emi-

liano Arencibia started a small

but international business: he

exported coffee

from the Cana-

ries to the West

Coast of Africa

where Spanish

troops were lo-

cated. Today

Emicela is one

of the world´s

largest ameni-

ties manufactu-

rers with businesses in Ame-

rica, Africa and Europe and

exports to more than 35 des-

tinations. It is also the largest

candy manufacturer in Europe

and although it still produces

coffee, it now offers a wide

portfolio of food and beverages.

Emiliano´s sons and daughters

DJUHH� WRGD\�RQ� WKH� EHQHÀWV� RI�

WKH�LVODQG��´*UDQ�&DQDULD�KDV�D�privileged location as a natural

international hub. That´s why

our HQ is still in the island.

However, the company´s suc-

cess lays in our staff, hard work

DQG�ORZ�SURÀOHµ��%HWWLQJ�RQ�UH-newables, in 2011 a ¤6 million

PV plant was installed over the

roof of its facilities, being the

largest of the Islands and the

10th largest in Spain. The 1.75

MWp project has over 15 km

of solar structu-

res and can pro-

duce 2.6 GWh

annually, enou-

gh to power

796 homes and

avoid green-

house gases.

´$� NH\� IDFWRU�to our develop-

ment is innova-

WLRQ��2XU�IDFLOLWLHV�DUH�HTXLSSHG�with the latest technologies and

we develop new products, pac-

kaging and cosmetic formulas;

we register new patents and uti-

lity models, many of them dev-

YHORS�IRU�H[SRUW��:H�DUH�FHUWLÀHG�LQ�4XDOLW\� 6\VWHPV� �,62�������and Food Safety (according to

WKH�,)6��´�

ted in La Palma, a nearby is-

land, or on the Bank of Algae,

one of the most renowned ins-

titutions of the world for this

subject, is examining the deep

waters of the island, looking

for the magic ingredients of

eternal youth and health or the

ultimate gasoline. New tech-

nologies applied to renewables

are developed in the archipe-

lago due to its unique weather

conditions with strong winds,

long daylight hours and even

its volcanos .The largest wind

turbine in Spain, developed by

Gamesa, is in Gran Canaria.

Local researchers have combi-

ned renewables with water des-

alination techniques and have

achieved the unachievable: To

transform El Hierro, an island

West of Gran Canaria, into

WKH�ÀUVW� LVODQG� LQ� WKH�ZRUOG� WR�EHFRPH� HQHUJ\� VHOI�VXIÀFLHQW�through a multi-million euro

project that combines a wind

farm with two hydroelectric

projects and three water desali-

nation plans. The islands are, in

fact, a world reference point in

GHVDOLQDWLRQ�WHFKQRORJLHV��´:H�have a research centre orien-

ted to marine technologies and

renewables in Gran Canaria;

a centre specializing in as-

tronomy and the development

of associated technologies as

surgery in Tenerife and a cen-

tre dedicated to sustainability

and technologies designed for

arid climates in Fuerteventu-

ra”, explains Juan Ruiz Alzola,

Director of ACIISI, the local

authority behind science pro-

PRWLRQ�DQG�LQYHVWPHQWV��´7KH-re are investment opportunities

in biodiversity, sustainability

and astronomy in the islands

that simply can´t be located in

any other part of the world and

in fact we have entire scienti-

ÀF�FRPPXQLWLHV�VSHFLDOL]LQJ�LQ�WKHVH�ÀHOGV�HVWDEOLVKHG�SHUPD-nently here”.

Sea &

Sky innovation

app business

in the island at the reach PG�ZPVS�mOHFSUJQT

Local expertise

International knowledge

ACIISI

EMICELA“4% corporate

tax, lowest

in EU”

Juan

Rui

z Alz

ola,

Dir

ecto

r of

the

loca

l Age

ncy

of

Investi

gati

on, Innovati

on a

nd I

nform

ati

on S

ocie

ty

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