The Regional Secretary for Science, Technology and Infrastructures came out in support of regional companies on Friday, saying the Regional Government has ensured legal tools that protect the Azorean economy from the "tricks" of national companies.

Whenever a public call for tenders is launched, the companies that indicate prices 15 percent below the base price "will no longer be favoured, since they cannot go far below the stipulated price in order to win the tender; this is already subject to legal regulations."

This was one of the legal tools underlined by José Contente that aims to "prevent market distortions."

The government official also said that some national companies "should not have come here because behaviour is inappropriate" and, in these cases, "we will do everything with the legal tools we have at our disposal to tell these national companies if they do not behave properly, they should stay where they are, with their problems; we want to solve, firstly, the problems of our companies."

Every day, we seek to improve this attitude with legal tools in order to avoid market distortions, the government official said, adding that "we will be increasingly aware of those who will try trick us, a situation we do not accept."

Companies in the national space "may compete, but we will be looking to prevent all situations that might have a negative impact on our regional economy and harm our companies," underlined José Contente.

The Regional Secretary for Infrastructures, who spoke after a meeting with the chairman of AICOPA - Azores Building Industry and Public Works Association in which they identified the main problems the building industry is currently facing, restated the Regional Government's "motto": do what one can afford and pay on time," which, in addition to the investment plan and public works portfolio, has attracted companies from Mainland Portugal to the Azores in the context of regional public call for tenders."

José Contente and Albano Furtado underlined the difficulties the banking sector has imposed on the building industry by "uncompromisingly" limiting the access to credit. Both have criticised and blamed the banking sector because, on the one hand, private investment - which represented 47 percent in 2006 - has vanished due to the constraints in credit access and, on the other hand, companies cannot secure bank guarantees to carry out the works.

"The Government has done everything within its reach so that the banking sector does not go from rigour to intransigence, but this has happened sometimes. We condemn this attitude because it is bad for the regional economy and because it simply stopped funding private sector projects," said José Contente.

Public investment remains, but cannot fill the gap left by private investments, José Contente mentioned, urging companies to "adapt themselves to a time of reduced investments with partnerships and mergers because the market laws may dictate the demise of some."