It is a great pleasure to present our last edition of AVCO Legal's “Golden Visa and Property Investment Guides for Portugal and for Spain”. Years of work and experience of our Lisbon and Madrid offices have resulted in a simple, easy to follow, but comprehensive guides for foreign investors.

If you're thinking about investing in Portugal, our one minute fact-sheet gives you the essential information at a glance.

1.- ISM CODE: CHANGE

Last June 2013 the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee adopted several amendments to the International Safety Management Code (ISM). These changes, which are due to come into force next January 2015, concern, inter alia, the manning levels. According to them, the company should ensure that each ship is manned with qualified, certificated and medically fit seafarers.

1.-EGYPT: NEW SUEZ CANAL

Egypt is planning to build a new Suez Canal alongside the existing 145-year-old historic waterway in a multibillion dollar project to expand trade along the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia. This project will increase the capacity from 49 to 96 vessels and reduce from 11 to 3 hours the waiting time.