February 2012 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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Bizz News Air France-KLM to slash costs Air France-KLM is to reduce investment by €1bn and generate €1bn through freezing wages and recruitment, the French-Dutch airline said. The aim of the restructuring is to cut net debt by €2bn by the end of 2014. The group sacked its chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon in October, bringing back Jean-Cyril Spinetta who pushed through the merger in 2004. ‘We have to adjust our capacity for the next few years, whether it’s cargo or passengers,’ Spinetta was quoted as saying by the Financial Times. ‘The offer of transport has outpaced demand in recent years, and that’s weighing on all airlines.’ Wages at KLM will be ‘moderated’ not frozen, indicating the Dutch arm is performing better than the French. Minister wants to see more temporary job contracts Social affairs minister Henk Kamp is working on plans which would allow employers to make greater use of temporary employment contracts. At the moment, workers who have had three temporary contracts must, by law, be given a permanent one. But Kamp is keen to give employers the option of a fourth longer-term temporary contract. In a briefing to MPs, Kamp says the use of longer temporary contracts fits in the trend of flexible working - where people no longer have the same job for life. In addition, he says it will encourage employers to invest more in training their staff. According to documents sent to parliament, Kamp is looking at introducing temporary contracts of between seven and 10 years. Unions say the plan undermines the position of workers. House prices fell by 4% in 2011 House prices fell by an average of 4% last year, according to the Dutch estate agents organisation NVM. In total, 118,000 properties changed hands, a drop of 7% on 2010. The drop in sales in the fourth quarter was 13%, compared with the same period in 2010, the NVM said. The organisation expects prices to drop by a further 5% this year. Tax cut The government’s decision to cut the tax paid on property transactions from 6% to 2% of the value has not boosted the housing market as hoped, property experts said. Estate agents had hoped the tax cut would boost the number of properties changing hands by 10% but that is far from being reached. The cut has shaved thousands of euros off the cost of buying a house but has failed to convince people to take the plunge. Banks have also brought in tougher rules on mortgages, reducing the amount of money people can borrow. In addition, only half the loan home owners borrow may be in the form of an interest-only repayment mortgage. Estate agents Meanwhile, the NVM says that the housing market crisis has not led to fewer people taking up the profession. Recently, 14 new estate agents were sworn in, in line with developments in recent months, chairman Ger Hukker said. Nevertheless, many established companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. Many carry out 20 or fewer transactions a year which generates an income of between €1,500 and €2,000 a month, Hukker told the press. In 2006, estate agents sold some 210,000 homes but last year the total almost halved to 121,000. The NVM has some 3,500 members, rival organisation VBO 1,011 and the smaller VastgoedPRO 797. Philips issues disappointing trading update and profit warning Dutch electronics giant Philips issued a trading update warning of disappointing growth in the fourth quarter of 2011. Group sales for the quarter are expected to show mid single-digit comparable growth over the fourth quarter of 2010. Operating profit will reach €500m, compared with €913m in the 2010 fourth quarter, the company said. ‘Our expected fourth quarter financial results have been affected by the weakness in Europe, which has impacted our healthcare business, as well as pricing in our consumer lighting business,’ said CEO Frans van Houten in a statement. The company will publish definitive 2011 results by end January. ING to take longer to repay state aid, no dividends until then ING has made paying back the remaining €3bn it owes the state a priority and this will happen by the end of 2013, the banking and insurance group said. ‘However given the ongoing crisis in the eurozone and increasing regulatory capital requirements, we need to take a cautious approach and pay special attention to liquidity, funding and capital,’ CEO Jan Hommen said in a statement to update investors and analysts on the bank’s strategy. Last year, ING said it planned to repay the remaining money in aid it received from the government by May 2012. But in November Hommen hinted the final settlement could be postponed because of market uncertainty and new capital requirements. In addition, no dividends will be paid until the state has been paid off, ING said. The bank also said it had reduced its exposure to southern European debt to around €2bn, bringing the total reduction in 2011 to around €4bn. 14
Bizz News Royal Bank of Scotland to sell Dutch units in global shake-up Royal Bank of Scotland is selling its Dutch securities and merger and acquisition activities as part of a shake-up of its global operations. In total, RBS said it is cutting its workforce by 3,500 jobs and putting various units up for sale. The FD says 1,600 people work for RBS in the Netherlands, with some 600 based in Amsterdam’s Zuidas business park. Some 70 work for the brokerage and M&A units. RBS in the Netherlands focuses on fixed income and currency trading and has a successful payment services arm. Sources said that the securities and M&A operations would continue to operate while a buyer is sought, but complete closure had not been ruled out. RBS’s presence in the Netherlands stems from its disastrous takeover of ABN Amro in 2008. The Scottish bank, which led the €73bn takeover bid, is largely in British government hands after running into financial difficulty. ABN Amro Nederland has been completely nationalised. Good year for Dutch film and cinemas The number of cinema tickets sold in 2011 rose by 220,000 to 30 million, a figure not reached since the late 1970s, the organisations of cinema owners, film distributors and producers jointly announced. Dutch films took a 22.4% share in the market, up 15.9% in 2010. For the first time since 1986 (Flodder), a Dutch film attracted by far the largest number of visitors. Gooische Vrouwen, based on a successful tv series and rather like Desperate Housewives, took 28% of all visitors with 1.9m tickets sold, putting it ahead of previous top film Avatar. However, cinema owners are not positive about the future. The Netherlands Film Fund will have €7m less in subsidies for Dutch productions in 2013. This will affect the number of Dutch films made and with fewer home-grown productions, cinema owners expect visitor numbers of drop again. Inflation low since introduction of the euro 10 years ago In the 10 years since the euro was introduced in 12 eurozone countries, inflation in the Netherlands has remained low and stable, according to new research by the national statistics office CBS. Prior to the introduction of the euro, inflation was often higher and fluctuated more strongly, the research shows. Since 2002, inflation has hovered between 0.5% and just over 2% - averaging at 1.9%. This is ‘practically the first time since World War II that inflation has been below 2% when averaged over 10 years,’ the CBS said. Between 1992 and 2001, inflation averaged 2.7%. Average inflation in the eurozone over the first 10 years of the euro was 2.08%, almost in line with European Central Bank targets. Best individual performers were Germany, Finland and the Netherlands. Dutch will take fewer holidays in 2012 For the first time since the 1980s, the Dutch will take fewer holidays and spend less money on them this year, according to the Netherlands Tourism Agency (NBT). The worsening economic situation will mean the Dutch take shorter holidays, less often, nearer home and at a lower cost. The NBT expects the number of foreign holidays to drop to 3% of the total and that 4% less money will be spent. In particular, long-distance holidays will be less popular. The expectation is that 75% of the Dutch population will take a holiday, the same as 2011, but that most of them will limit themselves to a summer holiday with no short breaks during the year. The research was carried out by Nipo among 15,000 people. Left-wing parties join forces to call for higher top rate of tax The Socialist Party, Labour (PvdA) and left-wing greens Groenlinks made a joint call for a higher top rate of tax. The tax increase would be part of an investment plan based on solidarity, intelligence and green values, the three party leaders said without giving any figures. The current top rate of tax is 52% on income over €56,491. A 1% increase would generate an extra €400m a year for the treasury. The people affected by the increase would get ‘a better Netherlands in return’, the party leaders stated. The SP is currently riding high in the opinion polls, while Labour has seen its support almost halve since the June 2010 general election. 15
Page 1: Association of Dutch Businesspeople
Page 4 and 5: Contents Vol. 22 / No. 1 / Feb 2012
Page 6 and 7: Events Michiel Stange, Pascal Koolm
Page 8 and 9: ADB News March - Annual General Mee
Page 10 and 11: Business Interview Richard van Schi
Page 12 and 13: Business : a successful Dutch inter
Page 14 and 15: DutchCham News New Business Manager
Page 18 and 19: Singapore The other Singapore: Pove
Page 20 and 21: Not to miss Roxette 6 Mar 2012 Join
Page 22 and 23: Embassy News • Visit Utrecht Univ
Page 24 and 25: ADB News Job seekers / Internship S
Page 26 and 27: ADB News Sustainable entrepreneursh

February 2012 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

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