There were 3,348 more new companies incorporated until August this year than in the same period last year, the year in which the record of incorporation of new companies in the country was broken, Informa D&B said.

The barometer also said that Setúbal, Braga, Aveiro and Faro had seen a "great entrepreneurial dynamism" in terms of setting up new companies, although all districts performed better in comparison with the previous year.

As a whole, these four districts saw the birth of 8,637 new companies this year, representing a third of the total growth, even though Lisbon and Porto "maintain leadership" in the number of new companies, according to the barometer.

By sectors, transport and construction were the main factors responsible for the growth in the creation of new companies at the end of August, representing almost 80% of that growth.

In the case of transport, more than twice as many companies (+115%) were opened as in the same period, an increase fully supported by the sub-sector of 'occasional passenger transport in light vehicles', especially in the districts of Lisbon, Porto and Faro.

In construction, 3,808 companies were opened (+29.7%), a growth across all sub-sectors and districts, although with some prominence in Porto, Lisbon and Setúbal, according to the barometer.