Handbook for Investors. Business location in Switzerland.

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2. Economic structure. One of the most liberal and competitive economies in the world, Switzerland has always maintained close economic ties with other countries. A secure legal system and long-term stable fundamentals for investors, relatively little regulation and the proximity to research institutions make it the location of choice in Europe for businesses offering high quality products and services. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the Swiss economic landscape. More than 99 % of companies have fewer than 250 full-time employees. Staff are highly motivated, possess a keen sense of responsibility and are very loyal to their company. These typical Swiss characteristics are responsible for the quality and service ethos in both the industry and the service sector. Switzerland is also one of the world’s leading innovators. 2.1 Gross domestic product and industry structure. Switzerland’s per capita gross domestic product is the fifth-largest in the world, or eighth-largest when adjusted for purchasing power. At USD 64,642 the per capita gross domestic product was considerably higher than the EU average in 2008. Switzerland outranks the UK by 49 %, and Germany and France by 45 % and 40 %, respectively. The service sector generates some 70 % of the gross domestic product. Comprising 28 % of GDP, the industry sector is also an important mainstay of the economy, with the key sectors being chemicals, capital goods and banking. The Swiss economy is strongly geared towards exports – as a percentage of GDP, its foreign trade is among the highest in the world. The EU plays a key role here, accounting for 62 % of exports and 79.5 % of imports. Fig. 8: 2008 (nominal) per capita gross domestic product in USD 1 Luxembourg 110,766 2 Norway 93,829 3 Qatar 65,832 4 Switzerland 64,642 5 Denmark 62,306 6 Ireland 61,494 7 Netherlands 52,871 11 Belgium 47,249 12 US 46,189 13 France 46,070 16 Germany 44,444 17 UK 43,352 18 Italy 38,812 19 Japan 38,424 20 Singapore 37,597 23 Hong Kong SAR 30,890 37 Russia 11,791 44 Brazil 8,211 54 People’s Republic of China 3,260 57 India 1,049 Source: 2009 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 18 Handbook for Investors 2010
Fig. 9: Industry structure, percentage of employees Industry Employees (3rd quarter 2008) in 1,000s in % Total (excluding agriculture and forestry) 3,947.0 100 % Sector II total 1,059.7 26.90 % Construction industry 306.5 7.77 % Engineering (including computer 108.0 2.74 % production) Metals industry 106.9 2.71 % Medical devices, precision 98.3 2.49 % instruments, watches Chemical industry and plastics 95.9 2.43 % Food, tobacco and beverages 63.0 1.60 % Other fabrication industries and 52.8 1.34 % trade Wood and paper industry 51.6 1.31 % Printing and publishing 46.2 1.17 % Electricity generation 40.6 1.03 % Energy and water supply 25.6 0.65 % Automotive manufacturing 21.1 0.53 % Textiles, clothing and shoes 18.5 0.47 % Sector III total 2,888.1 73.20 % Trade; repair of motor vehicles/ 610.8 15.48 % used goods Healthcare and social services 473.9 12.01 % Consulting services 380.8 9.65 % Transport and data transmission 255.8 6.48 % Education 246.7 6.25 % Gastronomy 234.8 5.95 % Lending and insurance industry 214.2 5.43 % Public administration, military, 171.3 4.34 % social security Other services 168.3 4.26 % IT services 72.8 1.84 % Real estate and rentals 40.0 1.01 % R&D 17.7 0.45 % Source: Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Employee Statistics (Beschäftigungsstatistik, BESTA) Fig. 10: 2009 competitiveness ranking Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 1 Switzerland 5.60 2 USA 5.59 3 Singapore 5.55 4 Sweden 5.51 5 Denmark 5.46 7 Germany 5.37 8 Japan 5.37 10 Netherlands 5.32 11 Hong Kong SAR 5.22 13 UK 5.19 16 France 5.13 18 Belgium 5.09 21 Luxembourg 4.96 25 Ireland 4.84 29 China 4.74 48 Italy 4.31 49 India 4.30 56 Brazil 4.23 63 Russia 4.15 Source: World Economic Forum, The Global Competitiveness Report 2009 – 2010 Fig. 11: 2006 Global Innovation Index 1 Finland 0.76 2 Sweden 0.74 3 Switzerland 0.71 4 Japan 0.70 5 Singapore 0.69 7 US 0.67 8 Germany 0.63 9 Denmark 0.59 10 Netherlands 0.58 12 UK 0.57 14 France 0.56 17 Belgium 0.52 20 Ireland 0.48 21 Luxembourg 0.47 23 Hong Kong SAR 0.39 24 Russia 0.39 26 Italy 0.36 35 China 0.27 41 Brazil 0.22 46 India 0.17 Source: www.proinno-europe.eu, Global Summary Innovation Index (GSII) Handbook for Investors 2010 19
Page 1 and 2: Handbook for Investors. Business lo
Page 3 and 4: Welcome. Dear Reader, By choosing t
Page 5 and 6: Table of contents. Advantages offer
Page 7 and 8: 10.3.4 Cross-border commuters .....
Page 9 and 10: 9. Excellent educational institutio
Page 11 and 12: 1.2 Climate. Switzerland’s climat
Page 13 and 14: Despite the close proximity of diff
Page 15 and 16: 1.7.2 Direct investments and Swiss
Page 17: 1.8 Switzerland in figures. Fig. 7:
Page 21 and 22: 2.2.2 Direct investments In additio
Page 23 and 24: The medical technology industry is
Page 25 and 26: Dachorganisation Informatik- und Te
Page 27 and 28: 3. Economic framework. Free competi
Page 29 and 30: Customs information www.zoll.admin.
Page 31 and 32: Swiss Federal Institute of Intellec
Page 33 and 34: In the main, Swiss product liabilit
Page 35 and 36: 3.5.2 Environment Swiss environment
Page 37 and 38: 4.2 Political and economic cooperat
Page 39 and 40: 4.3 The euro. Even though the offic
Page 41 and 42: The following criteria are crucial
Page 43 and 44: Liability Minimum capital Consultin
Page 45 and 46: Sole proprietorship and general par
Page 47 and 48: 5.4.2 Entry in the commercial regis
Page 49 and 50: Fig. 19: Do I need a visa? I would
Page 51 and 52: 6.1.3 Application procedure 1. Pers
Page 53 and 54: 6.3.3 Special case: students The pr
Page 55 and 56: EU/EFTA nationals EU-17 (original E
Page 57 and 58: Social insurance for foreign nation
Page 59 and 60: 7.1.2 Temporary accommodation and f
Page 61 and 62: Fig. 27: Construction sites: market
Page 63 and 64: Fig. 29: Market prices for owner-oc
Page 65 and 66: Fig. 30: Permit requirement by grou
Page 67 and 68: 8. Labor market and labor laws. Swi
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Fig. 34: Gross annual earned income
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Fig. 37: Labor market deregulation
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If the weekly maximum working hours
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for a specific period from unemploy
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8.6.1 Old age and survivors’ insu
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Calculation of family allowances by
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9. Financial center and capital mar
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Cantonal banks Deposit Protection o
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a minimum requirement is that purch
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Business angels in Switzerland www.
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9.6 Inflation. Switzerland has alwa
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Non-resident companies are subject
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10.2 Tax charge rate in internation
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10.3.3 Expatriates Qualifying expat
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10.4.2 Treaty rates Most treaties p
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10.5.7 Exports In addition to expor
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10.8 Transfer pricing rules. Accord
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outes. The connection between Germa
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Fig. 51: Direct intercontinental ai
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CHF 1.60 per thousand liters in Swi
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Fig. 54: Healthcare infrastructure,
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Fig. 55: Switzerland’s educationa
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PISA study Federal Office for Profe
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Fig. 59: Tuition fees in CHF per ye
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Fig. 61: School fees for internatio
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Institution Location Homepage SLF W
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Fig. 66: Personal safety, 2008 New
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Yellow Pages yellow.local.ch Langua
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Anyone who rents a property is urge
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Fig. 69: Real disposable income in
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14. Promoting Switzerland. Location
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Fig. 72: Examples of cantonal incen
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R&D project grants are available in
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20 TechnoArk, Sierre www.technoark.
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Switzerland. Trade & Investment Pro
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15.2 Table of figures. Fig. 1: Swit
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Countries of Europe. Handbook for I
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Language regions. Handbook for Inve
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Handbook for Investors. Business location in Switzerland.

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