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World Economic Forum names Switzerland “Most Competitive” among 125 Economies in Global Competitiveness Report for 2006-2007

NEW YORK, October 3 -- The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report for 2006-2007 ranks Switzerland Number 1, up from Number 4 in the previous report, said Mario Brossi of the Swiss Foreign Investment Agency Location: Switzerland. The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of the WEF Executive Opinion Survey.

“This is a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, together with its network of partner institutes of leading research institutes and business organizations in the countries covered by the Report,” Mr. Brossi said. “This year, more than 11,000 business leaders were polled in a record 125 economies worldwide.” www.weforum.org

Countries in the top 10 after Switzerland are Finland, Sweden Denmark, Singapore, the U.S., Japan, Germany, Netherlands and the U.K.

Augusto Lopez-Carlos, Chief Economist; Director, Global Competitiveness Network, said "The top rankings of Switzerland and the Nordic countries show that good institutions and competent macroeconomic management, coupled with world-class educational attainment and a focus on technology and innovation, are a successful strategy for boosting competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy."

Mr. Brossi commented “This good news further underlines Switzerland’s attractiveness as an FDI destination and is among the reasons why the country has been so successful in attracting investment from North America. Indeed, U.S. companies are the largest foreign investors in Switzerland at a current total of $100 billion. Put another way, Switzerland is the 4^th largest recipient of U.S. FDI, and accounts for 40% of all foreign investment. On a global scale more than 7000 foreign companies have operations of various sizes in Switzerland.”

It is a two-way street, Mr. Brossi noted. “Switzerland is also the 7^th largest investor in the United States, with a current total of $124 billion.

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