Sol Melià,
Riu and
Barceló are the most outstanding protagonists of the universalisation of the Balearic economy. They all share humble origins and a growth linked to the tourist economy carried out on Mallorca in the last decades of the century. The advance is without equal. Riu
announces that it will open on Monday, November 15, the hotel
Riu Palace México with an investment of approximately 7,000 million pesetas. At the same time, Sol Meliá
communicates that the profit for exploiting the chain increased by 28% at the closure of the third three month period, while the Barceló group continues with the construction of
two new hotels in Brazil, that will be opened at the end of 2000. In financial circles there is speculation about the launching on the stock market of Riu and Barceló, following the steps of Sol Meliá.