"We are on the right track, but we want more". Confidence in investment for a "Portugal worth it"

The Portuguese Prime Minister Luís Montenegro claimed that "Today, Portugal is a major investment destination", adding that "the Government is heavily committed to improving business conditions, a place where firms thrive, wages rise, and social well-being continues to improve".

During his speech at the Portugal Capital Markets Day 2025, Luís Montenegro noted that "Portugal is very successful in attracting foreign investment", which is a "sign that we are on the right track, but we want more, much more".

"We are heavily committed to transforming Portugal into one of the most vibrant and dynamic hubs for emerging technologies", he said, claiming that the Government is implementing "a structural and strategic transformation process".

Economic performance

The Prime Minister said that "despite the uncertain international context, the Portuguese economy has shown solid signs of growth and stability", indicating data such as growth in GDP (2026 is the fifth year in a row where the country grows above the Euro Area and the European Union), full employment, and the budget surplus in 2025 and 2026.

He also noted the reduction in the public debt compared to GDP, "oftentimes indicated in Europe ", and recalled that "Portugal had a very severe financial crisis around 15 years ago that led us to 134% indebtedness in 2020", but which will be lower than 88% of GDP in 2026.

Transformations

To this economic and financial performance, we add "transformations that sustain a virtuous and long-lasting growth cycle", making the most of the country’s geographical features ("a massive economic asset") and human capital. These transformations will "retain our talent and attract foreign talent" to make the economy more competitive.

Luís Montenegro also noted the "significant investments in essential sectors", highlighting renewable energies (70% of production), where the "cost of our energy is the third cheapest in the EU".

A cohesive and safe society

Portugal is also "a cohesive society" committed to "placing this growth at the service of a fair wealth distribution", particularly to "help those who are more vulnerable" to exit poverty.

It is also a safe country, "which is an element in citizens’ quality of life", an irreplaceable element in the respect for everyone’s rights and freedom, and a factor in competitiveness. 

The Prime Minister stressed that the Government has made this policy a priority to keep certain crime phenomena from being underestimated today and harder to counter later. "We do not underestimate the signs of concern" to "ensure that we continue to be one of the safest countries in the world", he said.

It is worth working

The Government is also on the track to cut taxes on labour and companies as a mainstay of our economic policy. "Fiscal policy is not a financial policy instrument". " Tax revenue is important for the State’s financial revenue", but "the definition of taxes is an economic policy and social justice instrument", he claimed.

"When we lower taxes on labour, we are indicating it is worth working harder and producing more, because the more someone produces, the more income they will have from their effort". And companies, "will have greater capacity to pay better wages and invest in new production measures", he said.

And "we tell people we are lowering taxes for longe rand they can count on this predictability", he added, indicating the "unique programme on a European level" to benefit youths up to the age of 35 at the start of their active life by having lower income taxes during the first 10 years: 100% in the first year, 75% in the second, third and fourth, 50% in the fifth, sixth and seventh years, and 25% in the eighth, ninth, and tenth years.

Luís Montenegro also noted the important transformations under way in housing, RRF investments, research and innovation and link to companies, reformulating the public sector, critical for competitiveness, and infrastructure (airport, High-speed rail, electricity interconnections).