- The functions of these organizations will be provided from the ICEX onwards
ICEX Spain Export and Investments will integrate the state company Spain Expansión Exterior and the public Foundation CECO (Center for Economic and Commercial Studies), both attached to the Secretary of State for Commerce, to become the internationalization agency contemplated in the plan of measures of structural reforms for the next semester. The integration process, which will mean an estimated savings of 20 percent of the budget allocated to these organizations, will begin in January 2013.
The ICEX will thus become the single window for the internationalization of the Spanish company as a result of the incorporation of four instruments into one: ICEX itself; Spain Expansión Exterior (former P4R); CECO foundation; and Invest in Spain, whose integration began in May this year and is scheduled to end in November.
The functions that have been carried out until now by these organizations, focused on export and investment abroad, the training of foreign trade professionals and the attraction and promotion of foreign investment in Spain will be provided from now on through the ICEX in an integrated and coordinated.
Service guide for internationalization
The Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness today presented the Services Guide for internationalization, which includes the wide range of instruments provided by the Secretary of State for Trade to support the expansion of Spanish companies in foreign markets. This document aims to boost business access to all available services, avoid information dispersion and provide a global vision of all programs that support internationalization.
To this end, the guide brings together the resources of the central services of the Secretary of State for Commerce, its network of 98 Economic and Commercial Offices abroad and the 31 Territorial and Provincial Directorates of Commerce. The publication also integrates the services offered by the entities dependent on the SEC: ICEX Spain Export and Investment (ICEX), Spanish Company for Development Financing (COFIDES), Spanish State Company Foreign Expansion and Spanish Company for Export Credit Insurance ( CESCE). The lines of support for the internationalization of the Official Credit Institute (ICO), attached to the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, are also included.
The new guide is structured according to the needs of the company in the different phases of its internationalization process: initiation in foreign trade; boost to exports; implantation and investment abroad; financing of operations abroad; advice and training. Lastly, he dedicates a chapter to attracting foreign investment and financing for projects in Spain.
The catalog dedicates a chapter to the multiple lines offered by the different organizations to obtain financing, both to finance exports and investments abroad, and to guarantee and insure operations. The guide also includes the lines defined for SMEs and for large investment projects.
The guide is accessible online via free download from the websites of the aforementioned entities and will promptly incorporate all the news and modifications that occur in the different services.
