NEWS FROM:
Location Promotion
Switzerland
633 Third
Avenue
New York,
NY 10017-6706
212
599-5700 Ext. 1063
2007 Foreign Direct Investment
Scorecard
SwitzerlandÕs 48 New FDI Projects
from North America Highest in Seven Years;
Expansions, M&A and Strategic
Alliance Projects Total 43
NEW YORK,
February 19 – New foreign direct investment projects into Switzerland
from North America during 2007 totaled 48, the highest since 2000, reports
Mario Brossi of the Swiss inward investment agency Location Promotion
Switzerland. The year also
saw 11 expansions of existing projects and 32 investments involving M&A
transactions and strategic alliances, Mr. Brossi said.
ÒNew
projects are key indicators of an attractive FDI environment,Ó Mr. Brossi
commented, Òand since 2001 these total 194. Over the same period expansions, which serve as an indicator
of satisfaction with Switzerland, total 81. Mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances provide
another route of entry to the Swiss and broader European market. Since 2001 these amount to 189
projects.Ó
Investments
range from a sales and marketing presence to European, EMEA and global
headquarters, Mr. Brossi said.
ÒThey also reflect SwitzerlandÕs appeal across a broad spectrum of
businesses and activities. Agricultural commodities, biotechnology, R&D,
high technology, IT, medical technology, micromechanical devices, shared
services and intellectual property creation and management including
interactive entertainment software are a few examples of these.
ÒInvestors are remarkably consistent as to why they choose
Switzerland, Mr. Brossi said, Òand reasons reflect the countryÕs ranking in key
investment decision criteria. One of the most recent is 1st among
149 countries in the 2008 Environmental Performance Index released at the World
Economic Forum in Davos. In terms
of competitiveness, it ranks 2nd in the 2007-2008 Global Competitiveness Report published
by the World Economic Forum, and 2nd in Europe in the 2008 Index of
Economic Freedom published by The Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal.Ó
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.
ÒLifestyle
is another important criterion, especially when personnel are being relocated,Ó
Mr. Brossi said. ÒFor the sixth
straight year, Zurich and Geneva scored highest with 108.1 and 108 points
respectively on the Mercer Human Resources 2007 Quality of Living Survey. Berne, the countryÕs capital, ranked 9th
with 106.5 points.
ÒSwitzerlandÕs
well-educated multilingual, multicultural population, of which nearly 20% is
non-Swiss, makes it easier for investors to do business across the broader
European market,Ó Mr. Brossi noted.
ÒThis is another reason why, all told, some 7,000 foreign companies have
operations in the country,Ó he said.
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Contact: John Williamson +908 730-9622