NEWS FROM LOCATION: SWITZERLAND+
Volume 8, No. 1, Fall 2004
Foreign direct investment flows and numbers of foreign
direct investment projects in Europe are back on the increase after three years
of decline. This recovery, initially documented by the UNCTAD Report on Global
Investment is now also confirmed by Ernst & Young in its traditional
European Investment Monitor. Based upon data covering the first half-year
of 2004, the recovery seems to be occurring in Western and Eastern Europe, with
the United States continuing to be the largest investor in the Region.
The most striking trend is the strong growth by Eastern European countries with
Slovakia recording more projects than the Netherlands, Hungary securing more
projects than Germany and the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia each
individually landing more projects than Spain. For additional details,
please see www.eyeim.com
<http://www.eyeim.com .
Michigan-based Kelly Financial Resources, a business unit of
global staffing leader Kelly Services, has opened a new office in Geneva.
Ohio-based international design agency Libby Perszyk Kathman
(LPK) has boosted the staff count in its Geneva office, and established a
presence in Frankfurt, Germany, to better serve its growing client base in
Europe.
American hotel chain Hyatt has opened the Park Hyatt Zurich,
the first Hyatt hotel in Switzerland. The five star contemporary hotel
with 142 spacious guest rooms is located in the heart of the city's commercial
and financial district.
The Carlyle Group, a leading US private equity investment
group, has bought AZ Electronic Materials, a subsidiary of Switzerland based
Clariant. AZ Electronic Materials had last year's sales of SFr 441
million and employs 800 persons.
US investment conglomerate Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts &
Co. reportedly bought three advertising and publishing companies from Credit
Suisse First Boston for $2.2 billion. The companies are Jostens, Von Hoffman,
and Arcade Marketing.
Starbucks Coffee has opened its first restaurant in French
speaking Switzerland. The shop, opened in Geneva earlier this year, joins
seven other Starbucks establishments in the country. Starbucks, present in
Switzerland since March 2001, also operates its global coffee procurement
business from Lausanne since 2002.
Los Angeles based CB Richard Ellis, a leading real estate
management company, has entered into a partnership with Geneva-based real
estate consulting company PI Performance Immobiliere. The partnership will
operate under the joint name CB Richard Ellis PI Performance.
Computer Sciences Corporation, one of the leading computer
services providers and based in the US, has concluded a multi year contract to
manage all IT services for the Zurich Financial Services Group. As a
consequence, upwards of 1000 ZFS employees are expected to join CSC
worldwide.
The newly formed permanent Secretariat of the Rotterdam
Convention on Chemical Products has been jointly awarded to Geneva and
Rome. The Convention regulates the export and import of 41 dangerous
pesticides and chemical products. The award confirms Geneva's leading
position as a center of expertise in the area of international environmental policy.
Austrian energy drink Red Bull will be produced in Widnau/St
Gallen starting next year. The Austrian Rauch Group will run the new facility
and also use it as a bottling plant for own products. It is planned that 80
people will work in the plant to produce more than 65 million drinks per year.
St Gallen was chosen as it provided an ideal location near a main north-south
and east-west highway. The companies are also reported to have favored the
location because of the positive relationship they have been able to develop
with the local authorities.
French food and facilities management conglomerate Sodexho
(NYS: SDX) has established its presence in Switzerland. The French group
will manage food services for the Clinque de la Matairie in Canton Vaud as well
as providing restaurant services for Cisco Systems in Cantons Vaud and
Zurich. About 30 employees are expected to handle the three sites.
Germany's Wefa Group is investing almost $10 million to
build a production site and administration facility in Thayngen, about 25 miles
south of Zurich. The facility will have a production line for coated extrusion
tools for the aluminum industry. Construction is slated to begin in April 2005.
The company cites Switzerland's lower labor costs relative to Germany as one of
its reasons for the decision.
Turkish consortium TAV, which specializes in airports
building and operation, has announced it is to construct its European head
office in Neuchatel. TAV's chief executive Sani Sener said the opening of the
European office would immediately create about 12 jobs for highly qualified
staff in the region.
Netherlands-based DSM Nutritional Products, a unit of DSM
NV, will shortly open a new 120 million euros plant in Sisseln for the production
of vitamin E. The plant has annual production capacity of 25,000 tons, equal to
half the worldwide demand for vitamin E.
TATA Interactive Systems (TIS), a subsidiary of the
India-based Tata Group, has expanded its operations by opening an office in
Zurich, Switzerland, to serve central Europe. The expansion follows the recent
winning of contracts to develop custom-built e-learning programs for companies
based in mainland Europe, including Hewlett-Packard, Nestle and UNICEF.
The Swiss branch of German sportswear maker Puma AG, Puma
Schweiz AG, has started construction of its new SFr16 million company
headquarters in Oensingen, Solothurn. Puma Schweiz, currently based
in Lengnau, Bern, expects to move to the new company headquarters by the end of
2005. The number of Puma employees in Switzerland will also be doubled to
around 100.
The Euro Top 500 league, compiled annually by the
Zurich-based HandelsZeitung newspaper, ranks Switzerland fifth behind Britain,
Germany, France and the Netherlands - down from fourth place in 2002. In terms
of 2003 revenue, 35 of Europe's top 500 firms were Swiss - but that figure is
down from 51 in 2002 and 60 the year before.
The Wall Street Journal's scorecard of the world's 100
largest public companies based on market value includes Novartis, Nestle, Roche
Holding and UBS in the top 40. Four Swiss firms are among the world's 100
largest public financial companies.
Switzerland ranks 5th in Europe and 8th Globally in the
2004-05 Global Competitiveness Index issued by the World Economic Forum.
Also in the top 10 is Switzerland's ranking in the
anti-corruption index published annually by Transparency International.
This year's ranking has Switzerland in 7th place, with Finland again leading
the table. The US is rated 17th.
Zurich Financial Services announced that its Management
Solutions Group business unit has opened a regional office in Dallas, Texas.
Singapore's SembCorp Industries unit SembCorp Logistics said
it has agreed to sell its 20-pct stake in Switzerland-based Kuehne & Nagel
International for Sfr 974 million.
Publicity and Promotion
Releases distributed since the last newsletter:
September 7 - Agile Software opens EMEA Shared Services
Center
October 5 - UN Council on Trade and Development Investment
Flows for Switzerland
October 12 - PCSA establishes European headquarters in Bern
November 3 - Media advisories on the LA and Monterrey
seminars
In response to an invitation from Karen Thuermer, we
provided a write-up on Swiss successes in attracting FDI for the November
"European Cities" report in Expansion Management.
Switzerland's attractiveness as an FDI destination,
challenges and opportunities were provided to Haig Simonian, who now covers the
country for the Financial Times. A Switzerland profile is scheduled for
the November 23 edition which will hopefully include results from an interview
with the head of the Location:Switzerland program, Ambassador Eric Scheidegger.
The media tour hosted 17 journalists, and was held the week
of October 17. Initial reaction was enthusiastic, and some publications have
already posted articles based on visits. See SwissInk, which will report
on further coverage in future issues of the newsletter.
November 9: Monterrey, Mexico Seminar on business
opportunities for Mexican companies in Europe.
November 18: Los Angeles Tax Seminar on Managing
Entertainment Profits Generated in Europe
December 2: Showcase Switzerland, Miami; Seminar on business
opportunities in Europe
Investor Award Update: Tell Award and Tellsplatte Prize to
be Presented Spring 2005
Awards recognizing significant investment projects and
individuals or organizations involved in the FDI process will first be
presented during ceremonies in the first Quarter of 2005. Tell Awards, named
for Swiss legendary hero William Tell, will be presented to a foreign investor
that has made the most significant investment or expansion in Switzerland.
Similarly, The Tellsplatte Prize, named for a location in the legend,
recognizes firms or individuals whose work leads to landing significant
investments in Switzerland. Examples include site location consultancies,
tax and accounting organizations. All award winners will become members of the
Tell Society.
Note that web links were active at publication time but may
be removed.
First Results from the Logistics Media Tour
The Canadian electronic newsletter About.com reported on
stops at Swiss Post, Swisslog, SBB Cargo, Logispring, AlpTransit, 4PL Central
Station and the Port of Basel www.logistics.about.com
<http://www.logistics.about.com
An overview of the tour is to be published shortly in the
American Journal of Transportation. www.ajot.com
<http://www.ajot.com
The U.K. publication Logistics News extensively reported on
the tour in its article "A Country that takes its Logistics
Seriously," written by Charles Cawley
<http://www.1.pn/SwitzerlandLogistics.htm
Paul Sandle of International Freighting Weekly has written
two lead stories following the briefings from Fran van Schaik in Geneva and
Dirk Reich at Kuehne + Nagel. The November 29 issue will contain a feature
covering the air, road/rail, logistics and express sectors, using material from
the visits to SWISS, Zurich Airport, Geneva Airport, KN Logistics Institute,
K+N, SwissLog, Swiss Post, SBB Cargo, 4PL Central Station, the alp tunnels, and
perhaps Gucci and Hugo Boss as case studies. The feature is expected to include
an overview of Switzerland based information provided by the cantons.
Next year will see a feature on fashion logistics that will
use the Gucci and Hugo Boss information.
Other Ink
Basel replaces Geneva as "the Swiss City of the
Future" for Central Europe, while the 11-canton Greater Zurich Area was
named the Swiss Region of the Future for Central Europe, reports FDI Magazine
in its August/September issue. The issue focused on the "Cities and
Regions of the Future 2004/05 Award." www.fdimagazine.com
<http://www.fdimagazine.com
"Finding a New Cool Geneva" was the title of a
catchy piece in the Sunday New York Times on September 19, 2004.
"Swiss Sensation" was an equally positive multi
page write-up on Lausanne in the September issue of Travel & Leisure.
Noting that Mozart liked to play at the town hall, Lord Byron wrote poems on
the lake, the article observed that this beautiful city is being rediscovered
by a new generation of cosmopolitans.
More results from the Nanotechnology Tour:
The September 2 issue of Machine Design carried a 3-1/2-page
cover story "Innovative Nanotools Help Master MEMs." Tour guest Steve
Mraz invited the article authored by faculty at the Institute of
Microtechnology at the University of Neuchatel.
<http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/viewSelectedArticle.asp?strArticleId=57172&strSite=MDSite&catId=0
FDI Magazine for September/October carried a global feature
on nanotechnology by nanotech tour journalist Karen Thuermer, who provided copy
on the IBM Research Laboratory, CSEM, Nanodimension in Zurich and NANO-Center
Basel at the University of Basel. This is the second article in FDI
covering the tour.
The Tucson Arizona Daily Star of October 19 carried an
article about the University of Arizona building international alliances in
Europe. UA officials are in discussion with counterparts in Zurich for
potential development of an alliance. The city "provides an
opportunity for the university to have a platform in Central Europe."
<http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/business/44036.php
The September 4 issue of New Scientist contained an
excellent article on Switzerland by Jenny Hogan, titled "On a Winning
Streak" with a leadoff on the America's Cup win. See it at
www.newscientistjobs.com/insider/article.action?article.id=insider114&focusId=europe
<http://www.newscientistjobs.com/insider/article.action?article.id=insider114&focusId=europe
More results from the Swiss Innovation Tour:
The June 28 issue of Design News carried an article on
IDIAP's (Institut Dalle Molle D'intelligence Artificielle Perceptive), work to
make meetings more productive.
<http://www.designnews.com/article/CA426227.html?text=switzerland
American Venture carried in the July issue a 2-page article
on the tour, including a sidebar on Shockfish and Spotme.
Nano News around the World published our release on PCSA
setting up shop in Berne
<http://www.thenanotechnologygroup.org/id82.htm
PharmaGenomics' September issue carried a 3-page article,
with mention on the cover, by Jodi Harris titled "Banking on Swiss
Biotechnology." It is posted at
<http://www.pharmagenomicsonline.com/pharmagenomics/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=119066
For its pioneering role in advancing optical and industrial
MEMS subsystems, components and fabrication technology, the 2004 Frost &
Sullivan Award for Excellence in Technology is presented to Colibrys SA. The
award lauds the Switzerland-based company's proficiency in combining innovative
technology with an intelligent marketing strategy.
Washington, November 9, 2004