Arrivals & Company News
Quantexa, the London-based Big Data analysis company, opened their new R&D centre in the Malaga TechPark after an extensive analysis of countries and cities around Europe. The hub will provide professional services to support customer implementations of Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform throughout Continental Europe. The company expects to create a total of 120 new jobs over the next three years. Intellias, a leading IT solutions & software development company from Ukraine opened its first office in Spain in the new Monday Working Spaces by Urbania in Muelle Uno and plans to hire 150 technology experts.
NTT DATA Corporation, a Japanese multinational information technology (IT) consulting and services company based in Tokyo, opened its new office in Puerta de Mar. In January 2021, the first NTT DATA contracts began in Malaga, taking advantage of the possibility of working remotely. In October 2022, it has 270 employees in the city and they expect by April-May 2023 we will have more than 400 people attached to the center of Malaga. Borealis Hotel Group, the Dutch chain, has subleased the operation of one of the two hotels that will house the skyscrapers that the promoter AQ Acentor is building in Malaga, in the Martiricos area, to the British chain IHG Hotels & Resorts through its long-standing brand Staybridge Suites stay. Once opened with 105 rooms, it will be the first hotel of the IHG Hotels & Resorts brand in Spain. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices opens an office in Malaga to sell luxury properties. They currently have offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Marbella, Mallorca and Denia and have started an ambitious 10-year expansion plan focused on the Mediterranean, Balearic and Canary Islands with the aim of becoming one of the leaders in luxury housing in Spain. Consultec, headquartered in Panama, opened in the Malaga European Business and Innovation Center (BIC Euronova) to formally start operations in the European Union (EU). This information technology consulting company is present in 15 countries and operates mainly in the banking and financial institutions. telecommunications, energy and retail industries. Digitalent Grouphas opened “Digitech” in Malaga, the only higher education center for Vocational Training specialized in Technology and Information Technology accredited by the Junta de Andalucía that offers medium and higher degree.
Derivco, a leading software development firm based in the Isle of Man, hired their 50th employee in just under 1 year since they opened their office in Malaga.
Cosentino Group opens its first "Cosentino City" store in Malaga and its fourth exhibition space in Spain to display the products of the Spanish manufacturer that produces and distributes surfaces for architecture and design. Its trademark products are Silestone, Dekton, Eco by Cosentino or Sensa by Cosentino.
Freepik, the technology company founded in Malaga in 2010, has bought the Colombian Original Mockups, a specialist in the creation of 3D resources and "mockups" (design mockups), and the Danish company Iconfinder, one of the leading providers of icons. A few months ago, Freepik bought Videvo, the British provider of audiovisual resources. It already has teams and offices in Colombia, Denmark and the United Kingdom and 600 employees around the world.
New Routes & Airline News
United Airlines announced in Oct. that they will be flying directly from Newark / New York metropolitan area to Malaga / Costa del Sol / Andalusia starting May 31, 2023, with 3 flights per week on a Boeing 757.
Other notable new direct routes recently announced include: Tel Aviv Yafo, Cairo, Reykjavik, Cape Verde, Tbilisi, Bergen, Stavanger, Guernsey, Belgrade, Warsaw, Vienna, Belfast, Doncaster, Bologna & Marseille. Malaga will continue to build commercial, touristic, cultural and educational bridges with these new destinations.
Malaga at a Glance
The province of Malaga has exceeded 1.7 million inhabitants for the first time, after adding almost 22,000 new residents in just one year. The economic strength of the region is parallel to the constant increase in its population, thanks to the arrival of foreigners and Spaniards from other parts of the country, and everything indicates that this trend will continue in the coming years. The Malaga TechPark turned 30 on Friday, December 9 and plans to host an official celebration in early 2023. The TechPark began in 1992 with just 9 companies and today it is home to 624 companies and 22,238 workers with a combined total revenue of 2.4 billion euros.
The City of Malaga Network of Incubators added a new coworking center for companies with activities related to the economy and business. With this new center, the municipal Network of Incubators reaches 13 facilities with the capacity to host 223 SMEs, freelancers and entrepreneurs and accommodate nearly 700 workers. The Ricardo Valle Institute of Innovation Foundation (Innova IRV) has completed its first year of life with a total of 11 projects in the portfolio whose start-up would entail an investment of 400 million euros. Innova IRV is a center for technological innovation applied to industry that promotes the transfer of knowledge to generate value in three fields: microelectronics (microprocessors), digital technologies (Artificial Intelligence) and advanced 5G networks. 7 cruise ships carrying more than 1 1,200 people docked in the Malaga port and filled the city with more tourists than usual on Sunday, Nov. 6. Malaga metro breaks its historical monthly record with close to 760,000 passengers in November. Testing is being done, but a date has not been set for the opening of the new Alameda Principal metro stop in the City centre. Sohrlin is a new training, research and production center for audiovisual, theatrical and showbiz content that will open in the spring of 2023. This technical training school for the theater industry will be able to provide a true pool of professionals in the cultural entertainment sector. The project is promoted by the Malaga businessmen Antonio Banderas and Domingo Sánchez. Malaga Mayor, Francisco de la Torre, celebrated his 80th birthday on Wednesday, December 21 and tweeted, "I feel happy, full of energy, very motivated and ready to continue giving my best for my city. I am turning 80, but have never had so much desire or energy as now FTP" “Year of Picasso Celebration 2023”The Spanish and French governments and Tourism Boards have declared 2023 as the Year of Picasso to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death and will organize 42 exhibitions and various events in some thirty institutions in Europe and the USA. Malaga, the birthplace of Pablo Picasso, will be the protagonist of this special year with unique exhibitions and events throughout the year. https://celebracionpicasso.es/en
Economic Activity
Malaga province exports reached 2,386 million euros, a “record number” during the first ten months of 2022 which is a +15.2% annual increase and imports grew by +11.8% to 2,563 million euros according to data from Extenda. Malaga mainly exported olive oil with 47 million euros (+29.6%), fruits with 44 million euros (-2.9%), and meats with 19.2 million euros (+22%). The top 3 markets are Italy, France and the USA.
Malaga is the first Andalusian province in gross foreign investment with € 348 million euros in 2021, a 32.47 % increase compared to the previous year.
Foreign investment in Malaga represents almost 37% of the Andalusian region total.
This summer, overnight hotel stays increased by 5.87% in the City of Malaga based on data from the Hotel Occupancy Survey (EOH) published by the National Institute of Statistics. Specifically, from June to September 2022, 1,144,764 overnight hotel stays have been recorded compared to 1,081,312 in the same period in 2019.
Malaga province ends the year leading the rise in second-hand housing prices in Spain. The average value per square meter, 2,787 euros, is a new all-time high, according to Idealista. Malaga province is the fourth most expensive after Guipuzcoa, the Balearic Islands and Madrid, and ahead of Vizcaya or Barcelona.
Events
On Nov. 4, Malaga Mayor, Francisco de la Torre & CIEDES Foundation Director, Mª Carmen García presented the 5th annual edition of the Malaga Foreign Business Climate Barometer,prepared by the Fundación CIEDES and sponsored by Promalaga & the City Promotion & Investments Department.
VI Inspiring Women Leaders in the Digital Era took place in Malaga Oct. 27-28 and brought together 500 women from 22 countries, with 70 speakers, 100 startups, 100 investors, 20 companies and 2 universities to talk about how women are building the future in the Metaverse, NFTS , Blockchain, AI… in all disrupted tech related to smart Cities. Talent Woman Spain 2022 celebrated its 5th edition Nov. 2-3 in Malaga with more than 10,000 face-to-face and virtual participants this year and the involvement of more than 160 educational centers. The event closed with the II Margarita Salas Awards ceremony, which seek to promote projects led by women in the field of education, science, business or creativity, always under the prism of innovation and technology. The 18th edition of SIMED, the Mediterranean Real Estate Exhibition, brought together more than 8,000 visitors in Malaga on Nov. 10-12. The more than 170 participating promoters, investors and companies expressed great optimism at the positive reception by the visitors. The residential offering exceeded 11,000 homes, of which 70 % are located in the province of Malaga. The 8th edition of the 4K HDR Summitbrought together the world leading multinationals in 4K, 8K and the Metaverse at the National Pole of Digital Content in Malaga on Nov. 14-18. This was the most international edition of the Ultra High Definition (UHD) summit with 450 professionals from 200 companies and more than 60 speakers from the United States, India, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil,... among many other countries.
Canada beat Australia in the grand final of the tennis Davis Cup by Rakuten Final 8 2022 in Malaga. From November 21 to 26, 63,351 spectators enjoyed the matches between Italy, USA, Germany, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Croatia and Spain. 21% of the fans came from outside Spain, with a large presence of Dutch, Italian and German. The economic impact in Malaga is estimated at 41 million euros.
Promotional Travel
The City of Malaga through Promalaga / City Promotion & Investments Department, presented the potential of Malaga as an entrepreneurial ecosystem at the 'Unique Summit' event held in Braga, Portugalthe last week of November. This summit, previously called 'Global StartupCities Summit' , brought together 9 innovative cities from 8 European countries. The Malaga delegation attended with startups, entrepreneurs and investors to give visibility to the business development of Malaga, promote the internationalization of Malaga companies, connect with other startups and attract European investors.
Malaga WorkBay
On December 1, 2022, the Spanish Congress passed the much anticipated Startup Law designed to establish a specific regulatory framework to support the creation and growth of new companies. It includes tax incentives for workers, investors, and start-ups, simplifies bureaucratic procedures to help startups and encourages remote workers.
Awards and Recognitions
Malaga was awarded as Best Real Estate Investment Destination at The World Class District Awards 2022 during the first edition of THE DISTRICT forum that brings together professionals from real estate, investors and new projects. Malaga is # 6 on the Condé Nast Traveler The Best Cities in the World: 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards Tedial´s smartWork NoCode Media Integration Platform developed together with the University of Malaga (UMA) wins the prestigious IABM BaM Award in Manage Category. Tedial is a leading independent media technology software development specialist based in Malaga TechPark.
Upcoming Events
| Feb. 6-8 |
H&T - Hospitality, Gastronomy, Services and Oenology expo |
| Feb. 15-17 |
Transfiere - European Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation |
| March 4-5 |
FreakCon - VII International Manga, Comic, TV Series and Video Game Convention |
| April 20-22 |
10th International IVIRMA Congress- Reproductive Medicine & Beyond |
| May 20 |
Malaga´s White Night cultural festival |
| May 28 |
Spanish Municipal elections |
| June 13-15 |
Digital Enterprise Show (DES) |
| June 17 |
11th eCongress Málaga, ecommerce, social media and digital marketing congress |
| June 19-20 |
CM Malaga - Culture & Museums International Tech Forum |
| July 21-23 |
Gamepolis festival dedicated to the videogame industry |
| Sept. 20-21 |
GreenCities - Urban Intelligence and Sustainability Forum |
| Sept. 20-21 |
S-Moving - Smart and Sustainable Mobility Forum |
| Nov. 9-11 |
SIMED - Mediterranean Real Estate Fair |
| Nov. 13-17 |
9th edittion of 4KHDR Summit |
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