More than 340 thousand companies have been created in Portugal since 2007

Around 347 thousand companies were created in Portugal between 2007 and 2016, 64%  of which are still operating, according to a study released today. Tourism-related sectors are gaining ground, in lieu of construction.

According to the study by Informa D&B, titled "10 changes in the dynamics of the Portuguese corporate fabric in the last decade ", during the years in question, "there were changes in the sectoral structure of births in the corporate sector ", as services (31,5%) and retail (13,6%) kept their status as the sectors with the most newly founded companies.

The study mentions that the accommodations and restaurants sector (12%) and real estate activities (9,4%), both tourism-related sectors, "took a leap" and are now ranked third and fourth, respectively, as they traded places with construction (8%) and wholesalers (7,3%), which fell to fifth and sixth, respectively.

However, the sectors which created the most companies during the last ten years, according to the analysis by Informa D&B, were agriculture, livestock, fishing and hunting (9,5%), telecommunications (6,9%) and accommodations and restaurants (4,9%), unlike construction and gas, electricity and water, which are the two sectors with the sharpest annual decrease in new companies (-5,2% e -4,6%, respectively).

Regarding the number of insolvencies, and  "following a peak" of almost six thousand new cases in 2012, insolvency processes have decreased since 2013, "a decrease which accelerated again in 2016", 23% less processes, the study states, while highlighting that, "despite the fall, the number of insolvencies still has not returned to 2007 levels", with little over two thousand companies.

In 2007, the Oporto district was leading in the number of new insolvency processes. The Lisbon district took over that position from 2012 onward.

During the period in question, about 163 thousand companies closed, almost 16 thousand every year. 2013 was the peak year, with 19.093 cases.

2010 and 2014 where the years with the least closings, and in 2016 "the number of closings was below the decade’s average " (16 thousand per year).