Handbook for Investors. Business location in Switzerland.

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ported, and the industry contributes 39.6 % to total Swiss exports. Large metal and machinery sector companies with well-known names such as Saurer, Rieter, Schindler and ABB are present in almost every canton. Particularly in the cantons of Zurich/Aargau and Ticino/Valais, in the Rhine Valley and in Central Switzerland, growth is amongst the strongest in the world. Most companies focus on innovation and quality and maintaining and expanding their global market position in order to compete with cheaper locations. Today this branch of industry is able to compete on the international stage thanks to well-advanced restructuring and the use of new technologies. similar technologies for their products, in particular the medical technology industry; in recent years its presence in this region has been expanding sharply. A cluster that is strongly geared to micro-mechanics and optics has also been formed in Eastern Switzerland and the Berne area. Today, the Swiss electrical engineering, precision mechanics and watch industry provide employment for almost 140,000 staff at 5,000 workshops, roughly equal to 3 % of the people employed in Switzerland. Swiss machinery, electrical engineering and metals industry www.swissmem.ch Languages: German, English, French, Italian Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH www.fhs.ch Languages: English, French 2.3.5 Watch industry The Swiss watch industry is primarily located in the Jura region stretching from Geneva to Schaffhausen (called the «watchmaker belt»), with individual sites in Mittelland, Ticino and Valais. The Swiss watch industry makes products whose high degree of technification makes possible a strongly demarcated division of labor. As a result, the sector generally comprises small and medium-sized businesses, averaging 60 employees per company. Around 630 companies employ nearly 49,000 people (as of 2007). 94 % of all employees and businesses are located in the seven cantons of the Jura region, resulting in a watch industry cluster. By focusing on the luxury segment, Swiss watchmakers have been able to expand their outstanding global market position by over 50 % in recent years. The geographical concentration of the watch industry has given rise to a «precision cluster,» which extends along the Jura from the Basel area to northern Vaud and down to Geneva, while the cities of Geneva, Biel and La Chaux-de-Fonds themselves are three watchmaking centers. Companies such as the Swatch Group, Rolex SA, Richemont SA and the LVMH Group are headquartered here. The availability of highly qualified staff with professional knowhow has resulted in the relocation to this area of more and more companies outside the watchmaking industry which require 2.3.6 Information technology Since the 1960s Switzerland has ranked second worldwide in IT use (after the US). As a percentage of the population, it has more computers in use than all other European countries. The Swiss economy relies heavily on computers. Swiss products are based on IT components of all sorts, ranging from those used for banking services to chemical and machinery products. According to the International Data Corporation, more than CHF 9 billion per year is spent on IT in Switzerland. In the Zurich-Lake Constance area, well-known companies from the IT sector, such as the IBM research lab or the Microsoft Development Center for Collaboration Technologies, have settled around the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, its research facilities and the University of Zurich. Google opened its first European development center in Zurich in 2004 precisely because of its proximity to these universities. Other IT centers have emerged in Berne and Lucerne. More than 110,000 people are employed in the IT sector. Swiss IT companies such as Oerlikon and Kudelski are leaders in their markets. Some of the largest employers in the sector are foreign companies, such as Siemens, EDS Corporation, Dell, HP, Reuters and Orange. One important criterion encouraging foreign IT firms to settle in Switzerland is the extremely well educated, technically experienced and often multilingual workforce. 24 Handbook for Investors 2010
Dachorganisation Informatik- und Telekomsektor (umbrella organization for information and communication technology) www.ictswitzerland.ch Languages: German, French Energie-Cluster www.energie-cluster.ch Languages: German, French 2.3.7 Environmental technology The term environmental technology includes all technologies, processes and products (goods and services) that reduce environmental pollution, conserve natural resources and maintain living conditions. According to a report by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), money spent on the environment by the public and private sectors in Switzerland totals some CHF 6 billion or approx. 1.7 % of GDP. Around one-third of these costs goes on waste management. About one-quarter is spent on preventing water pollution and another quarter on preventing air pollution. The remainder goes to other environmental causes. According to the results obtained from an analysis conducted by the FSO, approximately 50,000 people were employed in the environmental sector in Switzerland in 1998, equivalent to 1.3 % of the total workforce. Revenue for the environmental sector amounted to CHF 9.5 billion. Compared to the figures for 1990, the number of employees in the environmental industry had tripled and revenue doubled by 1998. Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) www.bafu.admin.ch Languages: German, English, French, Italian Swiss Association for Environmental Technology www.svut.ch Languages: German, English, French Technology and know-how transfer for eco solutions www.eco-net.ch Language: German 2.3.8 Commodities trading Switzerland is one of the world’s most important commodities trading platforms. Around one-third of global trade in wheat, oilseed and rice, as well as a substantial amount of crude oil business, is transacted via Geneva, while Zug is a hub for trade in mining products. At first glance, such a prominent position may seem surprising because Switzerland is a land-locked country with very few natural resources. But because of its central location, it has been a crossroads for various trade routes since the early days of international trade in coffee and cotton. Later the Swiss financial center became a hub for international trade due to its traditionally advantageous location. In addition to comparatively low taxes, trading companies value its central location, good infrastructure and connections with foreign countries. According to a study by the Geneva Trading and Shipping Association, the industry’s annual profit in Geneva alone amounts to CHF 2.1 billion. Also important for the Swiss economy are the numerous commodities-related services based here, such as insurance companies, law firms, consulting companies, fiduciary companies and freight and security businesses. Major Swiss banks and cantonal banks, as well as various foreign banks, have specialized in financing commodities trading in the regional hubs. They finance the purchase of raw materials, guarantee the seamless processing of transactions and offer protection against operational and credit risks. Handbook for Investors 2010 25
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 and 18: 1.8 Switzerland in figures. Fig. 7:
Page 19 and 20: Fig. 9: Industry structure, percent
Page 21 and 22: 2.2.2 Direct investments In additio
Page 23: The medical technology industry is
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
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Page 67 and 68: 8. Labor market and labor laws. Swi
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Page 71 and 72: Fig. 37: Labor market deregulation
Page 73 and 74: 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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