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SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top of the News

 

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  .

 

 

Wins and Updates

 

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.

 

 

   

From The Foreign Desk

 

 

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.

 

   

Other News

 

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

 

 

 

News from Location Promotion Switzerland