Despite a constant positive growth of imports and exports between Luxembourg and Portugal, there is still a lot of untapped potential in the fields of tourism, space, clean technologies, health, maritime logistics or crafts, for example. "We believe that there is indeed great scope for strengthening the intensity of Portugal's economic and commercial relations with Luxembourg,” says Rui Paulo Almas, director of the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (AICEP). “We believe that the Luxembourg economic mission that will visit Portugal in May will help to relaunch these relations and highlight new areas and sectors of activity for collaboration and cooperation between companies and public and private entities in our two countries."
In terms of exports of goods, Luxembourg was Portugal's 47th client and 57th supplier in 2021. Portuguese exports of goods to Luxembourg reached €113.1m, while imports amounted to €71.9m. In 2020, around 1,031 Portuguese companies exported goods to Luxembourg. In 2021, the main groups and products exported from Portugal to Luxembourg were food products (27.4% of the total), followed by agricultural products (19.4%), vehicles and other transport equipment (7.4%), minerals and ores (7.4%) and machinery and equipment (7%).
Towards “tech” diversification of exported services
As regards services, Portuguese exports to Luxembourg in 2021 reached approximately €531.5m, while imports were €301m. The main exports by type of service were travel and tourism (39.6% of the total), followed by telecommunications, computer and information services (24.5%), other business services (14%), transport (6.8%) and financial services (5.8%). Rui Paulo Almas also notes that "most of the requests we receive from Portuguese companies for the Luxembourg market still concern the export of goods, in the most varied sectors of economic activity. However, we have seen an increase in requests related to the export of services, particularly in the digital, information technology, space and financial sectors."
We have seen an increase in demand for services exports, particularly in the digital, IT, space and financial sectors.
Porto and Lisbon are two important hubs for tech in Europe. Lisbon organises the Web Summit, one of the largest tech gatherings in the world, to which Luxembourg brought a delegation of companies in November 2021. The start-up ecosystem is growing on average twice as fast in Portugal as the European average, according to various reports. The population also speaks English, the language of business and finance, very well compared to its immediate neighbours, which favours exchanges.
Growing interest from foreign companies
With regard to the attractiveness of Portugal as a destination for foreign investment, the AICEP also notes a strong increase in enquiries from Luxembourg companies. "Particularly in the digital and fintech sectors, about the conditions for setting up in Portugal." A trend that AICEP is also seeing from Belgian and Dutch companies.
Several Luxembourg companies have launched investments in Portugal, in various sectors of activity, among which:
- ARHS Group, an ICT systems company, which entered the Portuguese market in 2019, with offices in Lisbon providing software development, infrastructure and end-user support services, as well as nearshore managed services;
- Losch Digital Lab, part of the Losch Luxembourg group, a software development centre for the automotive sector at the University of Porto's Science and Technology Park (UPTEC);
- SolarCleano, a Luxembourg robotics company specialising in solar panels, part of a virtual incubation programme at the Science and Technology Park of the University of Porto (UPTEC).
- The Eurofins Group, a Luxembourg-based laboratory services company, which has four laboratories in Portugal for food testing (Lisbon), environmental testing (Porto), clinical diagnostics (Porto) and agroscientific services (Minho).
50 to 80 Luxembourg companies are expected to accompany the economic mission to Portugal. Among those already active or interested in further exchanges with the Portuguese are EY Luxembourg, KPMG, Cargolux SA, Excellium Services, Root SA and Luxcontrol. Public bodies could also have an interest in joining the delegation, particularly in the field of health, as Portugal is very much at the forefront of the digitalisation of the public health system.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.