SWISSRELO, YOUR PARTNER IN SWITZERLAND BASED IN SION, ZUG & ZÜRICH. REAL ESTATE, COMPANY FORMATION, SUM LUMP TAXATION, RELOCATION TO SWITZERLAND, REAL ESTATE, EXECUTIVE SERVICES. BUYING A PROPERTY IN SWITZERLAND. SELLING YOUR PROPERTY IN SWITZERLAND. REAL ESTATE & FINANCIAL SERVICES IN SWITZERLAND.

swissrelo.com

SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

WINTER 2007-2008

 

 

Top of the News

 

 

The 2008 Environmental Performance Index released at the World Economic Forum in Davos ranks Switzerland 1st among 149 countries on 25 indicators tracked across six established policy categories: Environmental Health, Air Pollution, Water Resources, Biodiversity and Habitat, Productive Natural Resources, and Climate Change. The index is produced by a team of environmental experts at Yale University and Columbia University. See “Other News” for other recent ranking studies.

 

Wins and Updates

 

Calypte Biomedical Corporation, a California-based manufacturer of medical diagnostic tests for the rapid detection of antibodies to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has established a branch office in Geneva to expand its relationships with international organizations, as well as market its diagnostic tests to Europe, Central Asia and French-speaking Africa.

 

 

Virginia-headquartered Managed Objects Inc, a business service management company, has expanded its central European presence with the addition of a new Zurich office to support growing demand in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

 

THQ Inc., a worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, has established THQ International GmbH in Zurich to oversee new product and platform opportunities for THQ's territories outside of North America. Zurich is also the location of the company’s recently created product evaluation team.

 

Right Management, an integrated consulting solutions provider covering the employment lifecycle, has expanded in Switzerland by opening an office in Geneva. Other locations are in Basel and Zurich. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Manpower Inc.

 

Michigan-based Kelly Services Inc, a human resources solutions provider, has established its EMEA headquarters in Neuchatel.

 

Brokering processing services provider Broadridge has opened an office in Geneva

 

Synosa Therapeutics, a California biotech company, has started operations in Basle. The company partners with companies including Novartis, Roche and Syngenta.

 

Venn Life Sciences of Montreal has opened a branch in Basel.

 

BioWa, a bio-based trade association has entered into a joint agreement with Lonza to develop a new technology platform to produce more potent antibodies to fight cancer.

 

Berkshire Hathaway, via its subsidiary Columbia Insurance Company, has purchased about three percent of Swiss reinsurance group, Swiss Re. The transaction has an estimated value of around SFr. 828 million.

 

 

Reverse Investments

 

Swiss cement giant Holcim will invest $400 million in a new plant in northern Mexico. Holcim said the new plant in the northern state of Sonora, which borders the United States, will have an annual capacity of 1.6 million tons of cement.

 

 

Swiss technology group, ABB sold its US subsidiary, Lummus Global to Holland based Chicago Bridge and Iron Company. The Bloomfield, New Jersey based operation was sold for a reported $950 million.

 

EMS, the Swiss fine chemicals and engineering group acquired the remaining part of automotive supplier EFTEC from its American joint venture partner, H.B. Fuller Company, based in St. Paul, Minnesota.

 

Synthes, a leader in the Swiss medical device industry, bought California based N Spine.

 

After months of offers and counter-offers, Swiss pharma giant Roche will buy Tucson, Arizona based Ventana for a reported $3.4 billion.

 

 

Georg Fischer Corporation, based in Schaffhausen, Switzerland will acquire Central Plastics Company of Shawnee, Oklahoma. The family owned firm is the market leader in utility piping systems in North America and the acquisition is expected to substantially increase the leading position achieved by GF Piping Systems worldwide.

 

 

From The Foreign Desk

 

 

Netherlands-based Assembleon, an advanced surface mount technology (SMT) equipment manufacturer, has established a direct sales and service presence in Switzerland and Austria.

 

 

HOCHTIEF, an international leader in construction services headquartered in Germany, has recently opened a subsidiary in Zurich to provide integrated facility management solutions throughout Switzerland.

 

Nokia of Finland has entered into an agreement with ST Microelectronics in Geneva to transfer a core part of Nokia’s integrated circuit operations to ST positioning it to design and manufacture 3G chipsets. About 185 engineers will transfer to Geneva.

 

 

Other News

 

 

The 2007 Global Competitiveness Report produced by the World Economic Forum ranks Switzerland second after the United States. It tallies 113 factors that contribute to an economy’s competitiveness. Data are compiled from official sources and from a survey of 11,000 international business executives to evaluate the performance of 131 countries.

 

Switzerland ranks 5th, 3rd in Europe in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s “Country Forecasts,” a five-year macroeconomic projection for 82 of the world's largest economies 2008-2012. Rankings are based on the quality of the overall business environment.

 

The Institute of Management Development’s (IMD) MBA program was ranked No. 1 in the Financial Times Ranking of the Rankings. This is a combination of global annual rankings from Business Week, The Economist, FT, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal

 

 

Switzerland ranks 7th, 5th in Europe, among 177 countries in the UN’s 2007-2008 Human Development Index measuring life expectancy, literacy, education and standard of living. Canada ranks 4th, the U.S. 12th.

 

 

The 2007 Corruption Perception Index published by Transparency International has Switzerland tied with the Netherlands at 4th place. Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for 1st; Singapore and Sweden for 2nd, while Iceland came in 3rd. The CPI ranks 180 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys.

 

 

Switzerland ranks 4th overall in the 2008 Index of Globalization published by KOF Swiss Economic Institute. The study is based on economic, political and social globalization activities and policies.

 

The 39th WorldSkills Competition, held in Shizuoka, Japan, ended with five gold, seven silver, five bronze medals and 18 certificates for the Swiss team. The Swiss won gold medals in mechatronics, cosmetics, tiler and plumber professions. Silver was awarded to carpentry, joinery, printing, pattern making, ladies dressmaking, cooking and construction metal works. Switzerland ranked third after Brazil and South Korea, defending its position as the best team in Europe. The outstanding results of the 40 Swiss team members underline the quality of the dual vocational education system and the competitiveness of the companies in Switzerland. 800 competitors from 47 countries attended the WorldSkills 2007 competing in 47 key skills and technologies. The competition takes place every other year

 

Basel-based Roche announced that it plans to expand its existing biotech drug research, development and production sites in Switzerland and Germany by investing an estimated SFr 430 million. The three sites are based in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland and Penzberg and Mannheim, Germany.

 

The Swiss press reported on the creation of the so called Swiss Institute for Vaccine Research in

 

Lausanne. The new Institute, launched in December, will encompass the principal aspects of vaccine research to fight the three main infectious diseased: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

 

 

The 38th World Economic Forum saw 2,460 participants, including 30 heads of state and government, 1,370 members of the business elite, 569 journalists and assorted others, convene in Davos at the end of January. An estimated 200,000 persons viewed part of the Davos happenings on television or on the Internetportal Youtube.

 

 

While in Davos, Swiss Federal Councilor and Minister of Trade signed a long-negotiated free trade agreement with Canada on behalf of EFTA. Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland are the remaining EFTA members who through the agreement expect to improve access to each other’s markets and to fuel their $8.7 billion trade relationship.

 

 

News from Location Promotion Switzerland