“The business strength of the Valencian Community still goes unnoticed to this day.” A statement of intent was the phrase from Salvador Navarro, president of the Business Confederation of the Valencian Community (CEV), which condensed the strengths and weaknesses of the Valencian economy in a single phrase. It was the beginning of his parliament last Thursday in Valencia, when the CEV auditorium hosted the forum ‘Money Meetings: Special Valencian Community’ organized by La Vanguardia with sponsorship from Caixabank and Telefónica.

A day that was attended by Carlos Godó, CEO of the Godó Group, and Pere Guardiola, of the Godó Group, and which was opened by the director of La Vanguardia, Jordi Juan, who explained the interest of this newspaper in being “the kneecap” for that relations between Catalonia and the Valencian Community improve, in the image and similarity of those already maintained by the business community of both geographically linked territories.

Headquarters of the main food distribution companies, the main merchandise port in Spain, a leading tourist destination both in Spain and abroad and the focus of million-dollar key investments for the coming years, the Valencian Community still feels that it does not have its role and thus It was explained by its leaders, its businessmen and businesswomen. “More than a regional actor, he is a driving force,” said Navarro, host of the event. The president of the employers’ association asked for passage: “Let the Valencian Community stop being the stone guest, Madrid is decisive, Catalonia is, why not Valencia?” he asked himself.

The president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Carlos Mazón, also delved into this desire and put on the table the reforms that his government has implemented to “facilitate economic activity, attract talent and promote job creation and social cohesion.” And he advanced, without detailing, that in the coming days his government will sign “very important investments” in strategic sectors that “will position us as leaders in biomedical-technological research, energy or infrastructure.” The mayor of València, María José Catalá, aligned with this strategy, spoke of “recovering leadership” for the capital and highlighted her commitment to public-private collaboration to make it a reality.

“An economy for the future” was the motto of the first table, which was opened by the Minister of Finance, Economy and Public Administration in the Generalitat Valenciana, Ruth Merino, focusing on underfinancing. “The weaknesses are few, but we lack financing: we have very little room to carry out other types of policies,” she explained. Eva Blasco, vice president of the CEV, added that “although this means that we cannot advance, there are also sectors where we are leaders, such as in the toy sector.”

Here the vice president of the Valencian Business Association, Agnès Noguera, pointed out that “the image of the happy Levante is actually the opposite” and regretted that “we are very small and we have very few large leading companies and these structures put us in complex situations. . And although we have great business champions, we must aspire to expand our size and create leaders in Spain.” Chema Casas, general director of Telefónica’s eastern territory, explained that “the weakness is digitalization, since it is proven that SMEs would increase their productivity between 15 and 25%.”

On the positive side of the balance, José Vicente Morata, president of the Chambers of Commerce of the Valencian Community, recalled that the starting point for growth is positive: “When we talk about exports, we know that they have fallen, but the number of exporters Even during the pandemic, it has continued to grow and that is important.” Everyone praised the potential of a Community that, as Morata specified, has strong arguments “to break this discourse of either Madrid or Barcelona. Why not Valencia? It can also be a head.”

The Minister of Innovation, Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Nuria Montes, took advantage of the ‘Tourism, sustainability and innovation’ table to report that the Valencian government will put 46 million into circulation this year to finance the great challenges of tourism. Montes defended that the Valencian Community is “very far from the feeling of saturation” and defended that “we must not let this catastrophic discourse eat us up.” Of course, she acknowledged that “when many homes can be converted into hotels, that is when the problem begins.” She advocated for reducing tension and stressed that tourism is a “driver factor for other sectors.” The councilor recalled that tourism accounts for 16% of the Valencian GDP.

Regarding tourist apartments, Juan Carlos Sanjuan, founder of Casual Hoteles, indicated that he does not believe that in Valencia “there is tourismphobia”, but that it is essential to “regulate tourist housing; We hoteliers are not against it, but we reject the destruction of small SMEs.” Sanjuan demanded measures and that the granting of licenses be made more flexible and expedited.

The delegate councilor for Tourism, Innovation and Investments of Valencia, Paula Llobet, responded to these words, stressing that the city, European Green Capital, “is in a very good moment.” The councilor pointed out that the city “wants to continue growing, but not at any price.” She clarified that “you cannot grow without managing” and opted for a process of “governance by the sector.”

Innovation was another of the debates at the table moderated by journalist Enrique Bolland. José Ignacio Ruiz, portfolio manager of GoHub Ventures, the largest venture capital fund in the Valencia region with 90 million euros under management, emphasized the need to apply digital transformation to achieve sustainable tourism. “Anyone who wants to innovate will have a place in the entrepreneurial fabric of the Valencian Community.”

Finally, Darío Olivares, Head of Corporate at Lanzadera, commented that “tourism should be seen as an opportunity” for the innovation sector. Olivares highlighted that the region has become an entrepreneurial hub, he took the opportunity to ask the administrations to respond to the accommodation needs of entrepreneurs. “It provides the breeding ground so that those who have talent can stay here,” he added.

The Government commissioner for the Mediterranean corridor, Josep Vicent Boira, opened the table on infrastructure, transport and logistics, responding with data to some of the statements about the delay in its development, providing some figures for actions “that were not in the year 2018.” Altogether, there are 1,140 kilometers of railway under construction “that will have a direct impact on the Valencian economy and society.”

For his part, the regional secretary of Infrastructure and Transport, Vicente Dómine, showed his concern because Joaquín Sorolla’s “provisional” station has been there for a decade, and announced the formation of a table for the comprehensive promotion of Valencian logistics in the that all public and private agents will participate.

Vicente Soler, planning director of Air Nostrum and advisor to Iryo, showed his support for the expansion plans of the Valencia and Alicante airports and the railway company’s willingness to “be part of the business” of High Speed ??in the corridor. Mediterranean, once it gets underway.

Finally, Manuel Miñes, manager of the Chamber of Contractors of the Valencian Community, showed his “frustration” at the delay and the limited percentages of execution of the planned works – 80% of ADIF works are “judicialized,” he stated. , due to the numerous modifications.