Always a favourite destination of tourists, today the region of Sardinia also presents itself as a valid alternative for the establishment of new business initiatives in industry and services, as well as, naturally, an ideal site for further expansion of tourist infrastructures.
A region governed under a "special statute", meaning that it possess significant powers of legislative and administrative independence, Sardinia occupies a position which, in roughly ten years time, could prove to be of major strategic importance; by then, a large free-trade zone is to be established between the countries of the European Union and those of the southern Mediterranean.

Of significant importance within this scenario is the further expansion of the Port of Cagliari, a project clearly designed to enlarge, to a considerable extent, the role of the port in the start-up of the free-trade area.
An additional element is the fact that Sardinia, not yet having risen above (all be it by a small amount) 75% of the average European GNP, has been reconfirmed as falling under the Objective 1 area of the European Union, where it is destined to remain for the period of 2000-2006.
This will allow the region to continue benefiting from sizable European Community resources allocated both for the improvement of infrastructure networks and for the direct support of business investments. But this is not the only good news regarding Sardinia. In fact, the Moody's Investor Service has awarded the region its A1 rating, acknowledging that the regional policy followed up to the present has led to the planning of a massive investment program suitable for stimulating business growth and, in particular, for favouring the establishment of activities on the part of foreign companies.
This amounts to explicit recognition of the ability and efficiency of the island's administrators when it comes to promoting development.

A key factor in the appeal of this region for businessmen is the noteworthy efficiency of the local public administration, which, presenting levels of efficiency that are decidedly higher than those of the majority of Italy's other regions, can count on the unanimous approval of public opinion.
Of particular importance within this context is the role of the regional banking system, which, in addition to the main national and international banks, includes numerous local banks, as well as a regional financial institute (the SFIRS) controlled directly by the regional government and specifically assigned to support the start-up of new business initiatives, generally in collaboration with local banks.
Moving on to examine the characteristics of the enterprises active on the island today, we note that 11% of these belong to the agricultural sector, 27% to the industrial sector, and the remaining 62% to the service industries, which, therefore, represent the driving force behind the Sardinian economy.

The importance of the latter becomes all the more evident in light of the figures for the value-added produced in the region: 71% is generated by the service industries, 23% by industry, and the remaining 5.4% by farming. In an attempt to supplement the service industries - which are tied primarily to tourist services - with greater development in the sectors of industrial transformation and trade, the regional and state authorities recently reached agreement on the establishment of a number of "duty-free zones", the first of which, currently in the start-up stage, is located in the area of the industrial port of Cagliari.

Future plans call for additional areas of this type to be established in other ports on the island and in their related industrial areas. Transport connections with Italy and with the rest of Europe are excellent: there are no fewer than 8 ports for the transport of cargo (five of which also handle passenger traffic), together with four airports. Moving on to the subject of incentives for the start-up of new businesses, the first point of note is the significant role played by regional legislation.
As a region governed under special statute, Sardinia possesses independent legislative powers in numerous sectors of activity, one of which is the support of new business initiatives. A distinguishing feature of the funding contemplated under the regional legislation of Sardinia, apart from the noteworthy rapidity with which the promised incentives are supplied, is the fact that they may be combined with other incentives from different sources, on the condition that they not exceed the maximum ceilings on subsidies stipulated under the legislation of the European Union.

As regards the sectors benefiting from regional subsidies, these range from incentives designed to reduce the cost of labour (Regional Law 36/1998) - under which the Region covers the cost of the pension and social security payments charged to the employer, to a degree which, quite often, can reach 100%, and for a period of up to five years - to incentives meant to support the conversion of abandoned mining areas to new purposes (Regional Law 33/1998) through capital-account subsidies of up to 40% of the eligible investment, with the possibility of minority holdings or bond loans on the part of the SFIRS.
And these are but two examples (the most recent) of the large numbers of subsidies contemplated under local legislation, which can take the form of either direct investment support or indirect support, meaning incentives for the hiring of personnel, for the establishment of development areas or for the construction of the necessary

e-mail: studiosantoro@santoro.it