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SWISS BUSINESS NEWS

 

 

SPRING 2003

 

 

 

Top of the News

 

Moody's, the internationally recognized financial ratings house, once again has awarded Switzerland a triple "A" rating in its yearly report. This highest possible rating (Aaa) is based on the nation's strong position as a creditor in the international capital markets, its highly developed economic structure, political stability, conservative fiscal policy, high per capita income and the increasing consolidation of its national debt. Switzerland has managed to maintain this top rating since it was first awarded in 1982.

 

 

Wins and Updates

 

Life-science company Biotique Systems, based in Emeryville, CA, has established its European headquarters in Basel.

 

Corum Group, a premier provider of merger and acquisition services to software and IT companies worldwide, established its international headquarters in Zurich.

 

Universal Guardian Corporation opened its European sales, marketing and operating office in Zurich. The company offers security technologies, products and services to military, government, and commercial markets worldwide.

 

Fine jeweler and luxury watchmaker David Yurman has established a technical development, production and distribution facility for fine watches in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchatel.

 

Fox Paine & Company, the San Francisco based private equity firm, has created a new cosmetics business under the name of Cradle Holdings. This privately held company based in New York has already acquired Erno Laszlo and Penhaligon. The leadership team consists of former Estee Lauder and Donna Karan veterans. Its international arm, Cradle International, GmbH has opened an office in Schaffhausen to coordinate its international activities and to manage its international cosmetics brands.

 

Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly, one of the top 50 international corporate law firms in the US, has opened an office in Geneva. In making the announcement, Managing Partner Ken Ebanks commented on the city's position as "a world-class technology center, its highly educated workforce, abundant financial resources and international business community." The Oppenheimer, Wolff arrival virtually coincides with the Greenberg Traurig arrival in Zurich and may happily indicate that more American multinational law firms are recognizing the importance of the Swiss market.

 

 

Other News

 

Gucci Group Watches, the Neuchatel-based business unit of Gucci Group NV, has relocated its worldwide headquarters to the former Silicon Graphics facility in Cortaillod. According to the announcement, the move provides GGW with sufficient space to allow for the future expansion of its operations.

 

Also on the watch and luxury goods front, the Richemont Group announced that it is relocating its headquarters from German speaking Switzerland to Geneva. The Richemont Group owns famous brands such as Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, and Baume & Mercier, among others.

 

Bombardier, Inc., a diversified manufacturing and services company and Canada's largest foreign investor in Switzerland, has further enlarged its investment footprint. The company has moved its Treasury Center from Brussels and Berlin to Zurich, which already houses the worldwide headquarters for the business groups Locomotives and Freight, Propulsion and Controls as well as the country headquarters for Switzerland. The Treasury Center will employ about 40 additional persons.

 

Similarly upgrading its Swiss presence is Amgen, Inc., one of the world's leading biotechnology companies best known for its products Epogen and Enbrel. The California based company, present in Switzerland for 13 years, has enlarged and enhanced its country headquarters to a European headquarters in Lucerne.

 

McDonald's announcement that it will add 5 additional franchises to its existing 139 in Switzerland and boost its total employment to 7,100 cements its role as the Number 1 U.S. employer in the Confederation.

 

A Swiss biologist based in Africa has been honored with one of the United States' most prestigious environmental awards. Dr Hans Rudolph Herren shares the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, which comes with a $200,000 check, for his work on pest control.

 

Dubai-based Emirates, one of the main airlines operating out of the Middle-East, has announced that it has opened a new office in Geneva and expanded its team there to offer better service and assistance to UAE residents traveling to and from the main city in the region.

 

Swiss-based Addecco, the world's biggest recruitment firm, is planning to set up subsidiaries in Estonia and the other Baltic countries. Adecco will come to Estonia via Finland as the two countries have a similar business culture. It will enter Latvia and Lithuania through the group's Polish and Czech subsidiaries.

 

Esmertec AG, a Zurich-based maker of mobile Java software, has acquired the virtual machine software business of Fremont, CA, based and NASDAQ traded Insignia. The company's software, which benefited from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology research, enables games, e-mail or other types of applications to run on any kind of cellular phone.

 

Novartis has signed an agreement with Idenix, a privately held biotech company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to acquire a majority stake in Idenix in addition to rights to key pipeline drugs. Under the terms of the deal with Idenix and participating shareholders, Novartis receives 51% of Idenix's capital stock on a fully diluted basis for a total of $255 million in cash. In addition, Novartis will make two further payments to the original sellers of $178.5 million each, in cash and/or American Depository Shares, conditional upon filings for marketing approval of Idenix's hepatitis C drug candidates being accepted in the US and in the EU.

 

And in the US, Basel based Roche Diagnostics has announced its readiness to invest $135 million to expand and improve its North American headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana. The decision to expand in Indiana safeguards 2,150 existing jobs and is expected to create 600 new ones by 2012.

 

 

Publicity and Promotion

 

Releases and announcements distributed since the last newsletter.

 

February 18 - Roadshow II releases customized for Boston and California venues distributed

to local media and wire services by PR Newswire. See report under SwissInk.

March 10 - Press invite to the international bioinformatics panel discussion at SHARE during

the Bio-IT World Conference

March 11 - Zurich, Geneva and Berne Retain Top Rankings for Quality of Life and

Personal Safety (Mercer study 2003)

March 17 - An announcement of the Global Medical Forum meeting in Switzerland March 24-26 was sent to our biotech and pharmaceutical publication list.

March 18 - Corum Group Establishes International Headquarters in Switzerland

March 24 - A press advisory on the March 26 Swiss Design Conference was distributed to New

York-area media outlets. (swisspeaks Festival)

April 8 - A press advisory on the Swiss-American Business Relations Workshop was distributed

to New York-area media outlets (swisspeaks Festival)

 

In the queue: Serono establishes "Horizon Serono" research campus in Geneva, J&J's operations in Switzerland, Dow expands in Horgen, Open Text consolidates in St. Gallen; Biotique Systems in Basel, Universal Guardian Corporation in Zurich, David Yurman SA in Neuchatel.

 

 

 

News from Location Promotion Switzerland