CATANIA (ITALPRESS) – Strengthening companies, enhancing human capital and making Sicily more attractive for national and international investments. These are the directors emerged from the Forum of Territories of UniCredit, which took place at Palazzo degli Elefanti, in Catania, gathering representatives of the economic, institutional and academic world for a comparison on the prospects of development of the island.
The opening of the work was the president of UniCredit, Pier Carlo Padoan, who recalled the opportunities offered by technological innovation and the valorization of local resources, in a complex international context. “The global situation we are experiencing, unfortunately, is not positive and is a source of problems, but also of opportunities,” he said, pointing out in technological innovation and in the ability to network territories and institutions two decisive levers for growth. According to Padoan, territorial and institutional fragmentation is likely to hinder the spread of innovation. For this reason, he stressed, it is necessary to create opportunities for comparison and tools capable of putting to system the local potential. A path in which Sicily can focus especially on the human capital. “What capital can be particularly important for Sicily? The human one, of which the island is particularly endowed”, explained UniCredit president in video connection with Palazzo degli Elefanti, recalling the contribution of young people who choose to stay, invest their energies in the territory or return to start new activities.
Training, institutions, technological innovation and infrastructure must therefore contribute to a common strategy, capable of transforming available resources into lasting economic growth. A picture that presents encouraging signs, but also elements of fragility. Luca Bianchi, president of Svimez, explained the figures for the Sicilian economy. “Sicily participated in the post-Covid recovery with even better results than the average of the Mezzogiorno, with an important figure that was the recovery of industrial growth after so many years of deindustrialization” he said. But worrying is the possibility that the positive cycle loses momentum. “This growth, driven mainly by public finance and the PNRR, is likely to weaken and, above all, the effect of increasing inflation, with low wages, is likely to reduce the purchasing power of households.” The risk, he warned President Svimez from Catania, is that of a region “a little more solid from an economic point of view, but more fragile from a social point of view”.
Among the nodes to be addressed are the fragmentation of the productive fabric, the lack of large enterprises, the infrastructure shortages and the difficulty of distributing the tourist flows throughout the year. Criticism that support the opportunities related to public and European resources and the interest of international investors in sectors such as energy, logistics and innovation.
In Sicily, about 370 thousand companies are active. To support its development, the Regional Manager of the Region of Sicily of UniCredit, Salvatore Malandrino, indicated the need to promote the dimensional and sustainable growth of companies, strengthen traditional chains and develop strategic ones, starting from mechatronics, information and communication technologies, energy and infrastructure. A path that can also benefit from investments started through the PNRR and the unique special economic zone.
Among the sectors with greater growth margins there is tourism, which represents about 4% of the regional economy and involves an extended chain, from hospitality to transport, from catering to cultural and recreational services. The sector has over 32 thousand active enterprises and generates a value of production of approximately 6 billion euros. The Forum has also deepened the contribution of film productions to the promotion of the destination Sicily, with an intervention by Marco Grifoni, managing director of the production house Palomar. Cinemas and television series can in fact help to strengthen the international recognisability of the island and to feed the tourist flows.
“The investments focused on raising the quality and variety of the tourist offer are fundamental, but also on enhancing the uniqueness of our heritage,” said Malandrino, highlighting the need for further system commitment to transform Sicily’s visibility into concrete economic results.
The aim of the Forum was to identify levers to strengthen the Sicilian brand in the medium and long term, through four areas of intervention: enterprise, international projection, incoming and young people. A comparison that, as reiterated by Remo Taricani, Deputy Head of Italy by UniCredit, aims to support the potential of the territory. “Sicily has entrepreneurial energies, talents and competitive assets that can make it increasingly attractive and protagonist in the national and international scene. As UniCredit we want to continue to do our part, providing resources, skills and a presence rooted in the territory to support lasting and inclusive development,” said Salvatore Malandrino.
To confirm the role of the bank in the regional economy is the data on funding. In 2025 UniCredit granted new loans in Sicily for approximately 1.6 billion euros, up 20% compared to 2024, with over half of the resources allocated to enterprises. In the first half of 2026 the new issues reached 1.1 billion, of which 624 million in favour of companies, with an increase of 24% compared to the same period of the previous year. The bank accounts for almost 900 thousand customers, including over 70 thousand companies, and a market share of 21.8%.
In the course of the day Nico Torrisi, led by the Advisory Board Sicilia of UniCredit, also intervened. The round table “Reflections on attraction: Business, Export, Institutions, Tourism, Training and Human Capital in comparison”, moderated by the journalist of Class CNBC Janina Landau, brought together Giosy Romano, Head of Department for the South and Coordinator of the unique ZES, Donato Piscuoglio, Head of Real Estate of Arrow Global Italia, Lucio Colombo, president of Digital Innovation Hub Sicilia, Enrico Foti, rector of the University of Catania, José Rafugata, managing director of Donna.
At the heart of the comparison, the possibility to transform the resources and skills already present in Sicily into a more competitive economic system, able to attract investments, support employment and consolidate the role of the island as a productive pole in the Mediterranean.
– photo xo5/Italpress –
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