Portugal news – Sonae Group is the largest private employer in Portugal and accounts for 3.7% of Portugal’s GDP.
Portuguese group Sonae is a multinational that has a diversified portfolio in the retail, financial services, technology, real estate, and telecommunications sectors. The CEO of Sonae, Cláudia Azevedo, was recently named the most influential woman in Portugal, according to the ranking published by Executiva.
Portuguese multinational Sonae contributes 8.9 billion euros to Portugal’s GDP, while its contribution across value chains reaches 17.8 billion euros, according to a study by Nova School of Business & Economics.
If Portugal grew at the same pace as Sonae, its GDP per capita at purchasing power parity would be greater than Spain’s in 2022, reveals the study.
Sonae is also the largest private employer in Portugal with around 47,000 jobs, in addition to the 212,000 jobs that the group's activity generates in the Portuguese economy. This equals to a total 259,000 jobs and represents 4.8% of Portugal’s total private employment and 4.2% of total employment in Portugal. Sonae therefore accounts for 1 out of every 23 jobs linked directly or indirectly to the group's activity. This represents around 3.7 billion euros in wages, a value that is higher than the wages paid by Portugal’s car manufacturing sector.
The Sonae Group is an important engine of Portugal's economic growth, while simultaneously providing both a stimulus and a cushion for the national economy in times of crisis.
The activity generated by Portuguese group Sonae in the Portuguese economy contributes around 1.6 billion euros in tax revenues annually, a value is double the value of the public deficit recorded in 2022 and is higher by the Government’s investments in Hospital Services during the years 2018 to 2021, according to the researchers.
The Sonae group invested more than 700 million euros in Portugal for several consecutive years, including in critical periods for the country, and in amounts much higher than other industrial sectors that are traditionally referred to as important drivers of the Portuguese economy.