Latest news and stories about job creation in finance in Lisboa, Portugal for expats and residents.
The Portuguese government, UGT, and four business confederations are meeting to negotiate a decisive agreement on new labour law reforms.
Portugal is seeking to enhance its appeal to Middle Eastern investors, particularly from Qatar, by shifting its marketing strategy beyond just its favorable climate. In Doha, representatives from Startup Portugal are engaging with local entrepreneurs to promote investment opportunities in the country.
AICEP and Fórum Oceano are formalising a joint protocol this Tuesday, the 16th, aimed at boosting the internationalisation of the Portuguese blue economy, supporting the expansion of sector companies abroad, and attracting strategic investment to Portugal. The agreement is being signed during the Oeiras BlueTech Ocean Forum 2026, an event gathering entrepreneurs, investors, research centres, policymakers, and international experts to discuss innovation, investment, and sustainable development related to the ocean. According to AICEP, the partnership intends to strengthen the national capacity to attract capital, accelerate the internationalisation of innovative companies, and foster new high-value-added projects in maritime areas. Madalena Oliveira e Silva, president of AICEP, highlighted that the blue economy is one of the areas with the greatest growth potential for Portugal and that the protocol will strengthen the international promotion of Portuguese companies, as well as the country's standing as a global hub for ocean innovation. Planned initiatives include training programmes, outreach actions, and business networking activities, focusing on sectors such as aquaculture, marine biotechnology, and renewable energy. The protocol comes at a time when the blue economy is gaining weight in the country's economic strategy, both for its ability to generate qualified employment and technological innovation, and for the sustainable valorisation of marine resources. Bruno Esgalhado states that Portugal cannot miss the 'Blue Economy opportunity'.
Apex Brasil is in Lisbon with a delegation of cooperatives and small-to-medium enterprises to promote Brazilian food and beverage products. The agency's new president, Laudemir André Müller, highlights the importance of making international trade accessible to smaller producers, particularly in the context of the Mercosur-EU agreement. Müller aims to strengthen the Lisbon office as a hub for business relations between Brazil and Portugal, while focusing on strategic sectors such as food security, artificial intelligence, and energy.
Natixis has opened a new competence centre in Lisbon, further cementing the Groupe BPCE's operations within the Portuguese market.
Natixis is expanding its operations in Portugal by opening a new facility in Lisbon, with plans to reach a total workforce of 4,000 employees nationwide.
Natixis remains in Porto but is expanding its competence centre for the entire BPCE group, the owner of Novo Banco, to Lisbon. The management company expects to grow from just over 3,000 employees to 4,000 by 2029.
Sales in the national medicine market, which includes companies involved in the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations, reached 3.85 billion euros in 2025, a 10% increase compared to 2024, according to data from Informa D&B. The sector's trade balance in 2025 reached a surplus of nearly 1.6 billion euros, driven by strong export growth compared to imports, with foreign sales rising by 41.1% and imports by 9.5%. Germany overtook the United States to become the most important foreign market for Portuguese laboratories, with a share of approximately 51%, far ahead of others. Germany is also the main country of origin for imports, with a share of nearly 20%, followed by Spain and France. In 2024, the number of companies dedicated to the manufacture of pharmaceutical specialties in Portugal fell to 131, a downward trend that began in 2022. However, employment created by 38 of the main companies has maintained an upward trajectory since 2020, totalling around 7,600 jobs in 2024, 6.5% more than in 2023 and nearly 30% higher than that recorded in 2017. The Lisbon district concentrates most of the largest operators, bringing together 85% of the top 40, including manufacturers and importers without production in Portugal. Health exports exceed five billion in 2025.
The country is shifting its role from a simple subcontractor to a key provider of technological solutions within the aerospace and defence sectors.
Portugal enhances its technological standing through the establishment of a new Artificial Intelligence facility by PMI at the Tabaqueira site.
Soledad Portugal has expanded its operational capacity by opening a new distribution facility in the Lisbon area.
The Portuguese startup SpotGov, which uses artificial intelligence to streamline public procurement processes, plans to expand into Spain and the UK. CEO João Alves aims to scale the company into a 'unicorn' by becoming a leading European player in the sector, noting that the firm has already secured over 100 clients in Portugal and is currently profitable.
The company Soledad Portugal is expanding its logistics operations within the Lisbon region.
Street Smash Burgers, launched in March 2024 with its first restaurant in Campo de Ourique (Lisbon), has set a goal to operate 45 locations by the end of 2026 and reach an annual turnover of 25 million euros. The plan includes entering the Spanish market before the end of the year, while maintaining strict criteria for supplier selection, team training, and operational control, according to the company's management. The brand, fully owned by founders Carlos Antón Conde and Beatriz Santillana Martinez, is taking this step after growing in Portugal and expanding into Italy and Switzerland in just over two years. The company emphasizes that it self-funds every new opening, a strategy that, according to management, has allowed it to maintain autonomy in strategic decisions and speed of execution. The operation currently employs over 250 staff and is based on an internal training model and standardized processes designed to ensure quality and operational consistency across markets, the company stated. The founders claim to have built a structure in two years capable of replicating their offering in cities such as Lisbon, Porto, Milan, Rome, and Zurich, and plan to replicate this model in Spain as expansion progresses.
The Japanese Ricoh group, through its PFU subsidiary for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region, has an expansion plan in Portugal valued at over 3.3 million euros until 2031. The international company specializing in scanners, document digitization, and file organization software considers that Lisbon is becoming...
PFU announces a significant investment strategy aimed at establishing Lisbon as a key centre for innovation within Europe.
A German chemical company has established a new base of operations in Portugal.
The company plans to significantly increase its number of employees in the Portuguese market.
The president of the Luso-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and Industry describes the “Portugal Global Nation” event as a key business platform connecting Portugal and Brazil.
The French group BPCE is studying the strengthening of its presence in Portugal in the investment banking sector, as it prepares for the official opening of a competence centre in Lisbon.
A fact-check analysis confirming the accuracy of Prime Minister Montenegro's claim regarding Portugal's employment figures.
Macau facilitates the signing of 109 business agreements between Chinese firms and partners in Portugal and Spain.
Portugal's business landscape is dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which officials argue hinders productivity and global competitiveness. To address this 'SME trap,' the Banco Português de Fomento (BPF) plans to inject €30 billion into the economy through 2028, using public guarantees, European funds, and a new sovereign-style investment fund to help companies scale up and compete internationally.
The Banco Português de Fomento (BPF) is working on a “fund of funds” designed to operate as a permanent sovereign wealth fund to support the growth and internationalisation of Portuguese SMEs and start-ups. According to Tereza Fiúza, the bank's Chief Investment Officer, the initiative aims to professionalise capital management, leverage public and private investment, and help small Portuguese companies scale globally, moving beyond the country's current reliance on micro-enterprises.
Sam Hou Fai, the first Chief Executive of the Chinese semi-autonomous region to master the Portuguese language, departs on Friday for a trip that begins in Lisbon and also includes a stop in Madrid.
Less than two months after the Web Summit in Qatar, the first signs of investment from Doha are beginning to arrive in Lisbon. The private equity fund JTA – International Investment Holding, based in Qatar, took advantage of the corridors of the technology summit in the Middle East to hire a Portuguese national and establish itself domestically.
