ITALY'S economy should take its lead from booming Spain in order to avoid stagnation. So concluded the delegates attending the International Bar Association's (IBA) first bilateral meeting which convened leading business lawyers from Italy and Spain.
The event, held in Casina Valadier in Rome last June by the IBA's European Forum, was supported by TopLegal International and organized by leading independents from Italy (Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners, Macchi di Cellere Gangemi, Nunziante Magrone and Ughi & Nunziante) and Spain (Gómez-Acebo & Pombo, Garrigues and Cuatrecasas). Present were some of the most senior names from the Italian and Spanish legai community including co-chairs Gianmatteo Nunziante and Almudena Arpon de Mendivil (Gómez-Acebo & Pombo) and Francesco Gianni (Gianni Origoni), Marcello Gioscia (Ughi & Nunziante) and Claudo Visco (Macchi di Cellere Gangemi). Alongside the legal experts were client representatives from institutions such as the Bank of Italy, Banco Santander, Neo Energia, Veolia and RCS Media Group.
Ughi's Marcello Gioscia said the first Italy-Spain bilateral meeting proved to be a unique and successful event. "Organised by eight leading law firms from Spain and Italy, the event showed the spirit of 'collegiality' which connects lawyers who are accustomed to advising on cross-border matters."
The meeting was split into three parts. The first covered recent trends and future developments in M&A between the two countries. A second round of discussions centred on banking, finance and privatization. Finally, a panel discussed the implication of Italian investments in the Spanish energy sector.
There were a number of distinct themes running through the event, notably the difference between the two countries in each of the three sectors explored.
"The various panels at the session in Rome made it clear that a different approach and strategy has to be applied to investment in Italy and that appropriate legai advice is a must even at the preliminary phase when defining strategy," said Garrigues' Claudio Doria.
"Based on my long experience as partner responsible for our firm's Italian Desk, Spanish clients tend to apply their locai background and negotiations techniques when investing in Italy thinking that they are in a similar situation, which is not exactly the case."
Panellists pointed to the different development stages of the two economies. Spanish companies and banks such as Ferrovial, Cintra, Iberdrola, Santander and BBVA, have been on a rapid expansion programme in the last five years. As a result of having secured business assets across Europe, the UK and the US, Spain's leading corporations have adopted a more 'international' approach.
In comparison with Spain, Italian business has been less proactive and less relaxed from a regulatory point of view. While Spain is not as embracing as markets such as the UK or Germany - the Endesa takeover battle which continues to rumble is often cited as an example - it is stili more open than Italy. The panel highlighted the privatization of Iberia Air, in which British Airways owns a nine per cent stake, a deal which contrasts sharply with the episodes surrounding Air France's bid for Italian flag carrier, Alitalia.
"The Italian and Spanish economies are evidently in different cycles. While Spain stili appears to be in a boom period, Italy is facing the onset of stagnation," commented event co-chair Mr Nunziante.
"Burdensome Italian bureaucracy is perceived as a major obstacle when starting a new business, while Spanish administration has a reportedly more efficient and friendly approach," he added.
The Italy-Spain meeting is set to be the first of many for the IBA's European Forum. The body is looking at a more intimate way of bolstering links between important jurisdictions, with a return event in Madrid scheduled for later this year. A GermanyPoland meeting is also planned.
"We at the European Forum hope that this kind of initiative may help in consolidating the relationships between countries and economies like Italy and Spain which, either historically or geographically, have a lot in common," concludes Mr Nunziante.
"Strengthening relations within regions and sub-regions may turn out to be a solution to the challenges and problems created by globalization."
