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SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

SPRING 2008

 

 

Top of the News

 

 

Switzerland has one of the most attractive tax systems within Europe

 

According to a survey of European tax systems, compiled by KPMG International, in which major business organizations across Europe assessed the attractiveness of their domestic tax systems, Switzerland ranks third behind Cyprus and Ireland respectively. The survey is based on particular aspects of the tax system, including consistency, stability over time, volume of legislation, the tax rate, and relationships with tax authorities. The survey is compiled from more than 400 interviews with tax professionals in multinational companies across Europe. Regarding the tax rate and the stability in resisting frequent changes to tax laws, Switzerland performed outstandingly: 100 percent (as opposed to 49 percent on average across Europe) of the participants called Switzerland attractive regarding the tax rate and stability. As far as relationships with tax authorities, 90 percent (as opposed to 60 percent on average across Europe) of the respondents lauded Switzerland.

 

 

Wins and Updates

 

Internet company Yahoo! is moving its European headquarters from London to Geneva and relocate a portion of its UK staff of 700 over an 18-month period.

 

 

Three Wins for Basel

 

Maryland-based Sucampo Pharmaceuticals announced that its wholly-owned European subsidiary, Sucampo Pharma Europe Ltd based in Oxford, UK, has opened a branch office in Basel. The company also continues to maintain an IP Center in Canton Zug. Basel is also the location for the new EMEA headquarters of California-based DNA2.0 Inc, a gene synthesis and protein engineering company, and for Synosia Therapeutics, which has relocated its headquarters from California. Synosia develops products for unmet needs in psychiatry and neurology.

 

 

Minnesota-based Ecolab Inc., a provider of cleaning, food safety and health protection products, is establishing its EMEA headquarters in the Zurich suburb of Wallisellen. The operation is comprised of current European management staff as well as new talent totaling over 100 employees by the end of 2008.

 

 

Massachusetts-headquartered Auspice Corp, a provider of real-time operations automation and network service assurance solutions, has opened two new regional sales offices in Mexico City, Mexico, and Villars-sur-Glane, Switzerland.

 

Reverse Investments

 

 

Swissmetal, with over 750 employees and last year turn-over of about SFr 350 million agreed to acquire RM Precision Swiss Inc., based in Las Vegas, Nevada. RM Precision is a highly-specialized manufacturer of technical precision parts composed of copper alloys used in the plug connector business in the aviation industry. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

 

 

The Molecular Diagnostics (RMD) division of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche opened a new research facility at the company’s existing campus in Pleasanton, California. The Pleasanton campus now houses nearly 500 employees, including 120 members of RMD’s research teams previously located in Alameda.

 

Swiss-based Novartis has acquired a twenty five per cent stake in Alcon, a Fort Worth based company specializing in ophthalmics, which ranks among the fastest-growing sectors in pharmaceuticals. The initial 25 per cent acquisition from current owner Nestle is estimated to cost about $11 billion. Novartis retains the right to buy the remaining shares at a later date.

 

According to the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, Petroplus Holding AG, based in Zug, is forming a joint venture with US based private equity groups Blackstone and First Reserve, to purchase crude oil refineries in the US. The joint venture will operate under the name PBF.

 

 

From The Foreign Desk

 

 

Egypt’s hotel and tourism company Orascom Hotels & Development SAE is relocating its headquarters to Altdorf, canton Uri, as Orascom Development Holding AG and will list on the Swiss Stock Exchange SWX. The move is to give the family owned company better access to capital markets to fund expansion. The company earlier received the go-ahead to build a resort complex in Andermatt in the same canton.

 

 

It has been reported that Texas Pacific Group (TPG) has agreed to sell Swiss shoe group Bally International to the Labelux Group, formed by the German Reimann family. The transaction is said to be valued in the $600 million range.

 

 

Terumo Corporation of Tokyo, Japan has opened a branch office in Wettingen. Terumo is a global manufacturer of medical devices with 2007 annual revenues exceeding $2.5 billion. The president of European operations noted that “Switzerland is home to many of the world’s largest healthcare companies and the opening of the Swiss branch presents a tremendous growth opportunity for the company.”

 

 

Other News

 

 

Switzerland, Austria and Germany have the most attractive environments for developing the travel and tourism industry, according to the second annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008, released by the World Economic Forum. Rankings are based on the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) covering 130 countries around the world. The top-ranked countries demonstrate the importance of supportive business and regulatory frameworks, coupled with world-class transport and tourism infrastructure and a focus on nurturing human and natural resources.

 

The March 14 issue of Financial Times reported on Yahoo’s plan to “quit London office for Geneva,” adding that recent wins for Switzerland included Google’s engineering headquarters in Zurich and Electronic Arts moving its European headquarters from outside London to Geneva.

 

 

The March issue of Business & Commercial Aviation reported on five regional Swiss airports agreeing to cooperate in a push to attract more business traffic. Location Promotion Switzerland’s role is mentioned. The airports serve Berne, Luzerne, Lugano, Sion and St. Gallen, with Grenchen and Sameden expected to join in.

 

 

Switzerland ranks third after Denmark and Sweden in the 2007-08 Global Information Technology Report produced by the World Economic Forum in cooperation with INSEAD, the leading international business school. Published for the seventh consecutive year with record coverage of 127 economies worldwide, the Report has become the world’s most comprehensive and authoritative international assessment of the impact of ICT on the development process and the competitiveness of nations.

 

 

Switzerland ranks 5th in Europe in the 2008 E-readiness Index. The annual survey examines the information and communication technology (ICT) of 70 economies, using a model developed by the Economist Intelligence Unit in cooperation with the IBM Institute for Business.

 

 

Publicity and Promotion

 

 

Releases distributed since our last newsletter

 

Feb. 19 – Switzerland’s 48 New FDI Projects from North America Highest in Seven Years

 

March 4 – DNA2.0 Establishes EMEA Headquarters in Switzerland

 

March 18 - Kelly Services Establishes EMEA Headquarters in Switzerland

 

April 1 - Synosia Therapeutics Opens Corporate Headquarters in Switzerland

 

 

NEWS from Location Promotion Switzerland, Volume 11, No. 3 Spring 2008

 

 

Kelly Services Establishes EMEA Headquarters in Switzerland

 

NEW YORK, March 18 – Kelly Services, Inc., a world leader in human resources solutions headquartered in Troy, Michigan, has located its European, Middle East and African (EMEA) headquarters in Switzerland, reports Mario Brossi of the Foreign Investment  Agency Location Promotion Switzerland.  Staffing at Kelly’s new headquarters in Neuchatel is expected to reach 20 during 2008 and will be comprised of transfers and local recruitments, Mr. Brossi said.

 

Todd Wheatland, Kelly’s Head of Marketing for EMEA, said the company selected Switzerland after evaluating locations throughout Europe.  “As a multilingual country, where German, French, Italian and English are widely spoken, Switzerland is an ideal base from which to service clients across our EMEA operations,” he said.  “Moreover, its central location coupled with an excellent transportation and communications infrastructure makes it fast and easy to access and talk with clients. Switzerland’s political stability and reputation as a neutral country serves us well when dealing with firms throughout our area of operations.  As icing on the cake,” he added, “there is the excellent Swiss lifestyle.”

 

Mr. Brossi noted that “With the opening of the Swiss labor market to 20 EU and EFTA nations, companies across Switzerland not only have access to skilled personnel graduating from our many universities, schools of applied science and institutes of technology but similarly well-trained professionals from our neighboring countries. This provides Kelly Services and other companies involved in human resources a European-wide market from which to recruit and place personnel,” he said.

 

 

 

 

DNA2.O Establishes EMEA Headquarters in Switzerland

 

NEW YORK, March 4 – DNA2.O Inc., a California-based gene synthesis and protein engineering company, has established its European, Middle East and African headquarters in Switzerland reports Mario Brossi of the Foreign Investment Agency, Location Promotion Switzerland. Based in Basel, DNA2.0’s new facility will handle the company’s sales and customer service activities throughout the EMEA region, Mr. Brossi said.

 

In commenting on the location Dr. Claes Gustafsson, Vice President Sales and Marketing, said “Switzerland was a top candidate as a site for our EMEA operations from the start. It quickly became clear that Basel's excellent location on the German and French borders and its role as a European biotech center made it a perfect fit for our activities. It puts us close to many of our European customers, and the adjoining Euro Airport along with excellent rail and highway connections provide access throughout Europe, the UK and beyond.”

 

Mr. Brossi noted that “Switzerland's well-established and world-renowned life sciences companies, combined with the strength of its universities and technical institutes, have helped to build an innovative and dynamic biotechnology industry. With some 137 biotech companies and 81 biotech suppliers,” he said, “the country boasts the world’s highest per capita biotech density, and in 2006 generated a turnover of some 6 billion Swiss Francs ($5.52 billion) generated by a highly skilled workforce of over 14,000 persons.”

 

Companies in the industry range from leading multinationals to innovative university start-ups, and the industry is well diversified, with firms conducting R&D activities in all areas of the life sciences.

 

 

News from Location Promotion Switzerland