Scotland is strengthening trade links with Swiss to lure foreign investors

16/06/2020

SWITZERLAND is, undoubtedly, one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investors. This is mainly because of its extensive and reliable infrastructure, well organised capital markets, political and economic stability and fair legal policies. Despite being an attractive source of foreign investment, the country witnesses highly unstable FDI flows because of its political stability and wide-scale exposure to foreign trade dynamics.

In 2018, the plastics and chemicals industries in Switzerland attracted huge investments because of take-overs by different foreign investors. Luxembourg and Netherlands are till date, the largest foreign investors in Swiss companies, accounting for approximately 55% of FDI stock.

The Ins and the Outs of Company Formation in Switzerland

Company formation is a breeze in Switzerland! This goes special for businesses that have the Swiss nominee director services of Rister at their disposal. As far as the Swiss cantons are concerned, they provide several tax incentives for attracting companies towards establishing businesses in Switzerland and investing in the jurisdiction of the country.

Even the Swiss government offers assistance to new company formation activities in the country by being open to the universal digital currency trend. Nevertheless, there are some basic laws in place for regulating international trade investments in Switzerland. The rules are Lex Friedrich/Koller, Cartel Law, Swiss Code of Obligations and Securities Law. Rister is one company in Switzerland that you can depend on when it comes to doing away with the various laws and regulations of company formation on the Swiss land.

The company offers company formation, administration and management services in Geneva, Switzerland. The professionals working for the agency are highly skilled at advising clients proactively on the different strategic phases of setting up companies in Switzerland along with the administrative management of the same.

The proactive services and suggestions that come from Rister can help businesses in making the right decision regarding company formation while adhering to the Swiss laws and regulations. The company and its professionals always remain by the side of companies, defending their interests all the time. They firmly stand dedicated to the values of client-oriented company formation while charging an affordable fee for their services.

The services offered by Rister include accounting, general administration, tax declarations, payroll administration, export/import, insurance management, human resource management, administrative management, digital solutions, tax representatives for VAT, data inheritance, correspondence forwarding solutions and digitalised managerial solutions. Rister possesses vast experience in the field of company formation, administration, domiciliation and representation in Switzerland.

Scotland’s Foreign Investment Potentials

Scotland has this amazing ability to attract FDI, and this is the reason why the opportunities and assets of this country continue to shimmer brightly across the world. The region is one of the UK’s most attractive destinations for FDI or foreign direct investments with London holding the topmost position in this category. All thanks to Scotland’s excellent resilience and innovation in times of financial challenges. The country leads the world in different sectors like renewable energy, Food & Drink, financial and fintech solutions.

The well-connected and organised supply chains and diverse industry clusters in Scotland allow companies to benefit from the influential and established industry networks immediately. Now, the country is aiming towards increasing bilateral trade with Switzerland to lure further foreign investors.

The country is fast moving towards building trade relations with Switzerland and expanding new markets there. Now more than ever, Scotland is looking outward with plans of strengthening historical connections; attracting investors new and old and exploring the unexplored trade destinations and markets of Switzerland.

Scotland’s Trade Connections with Switzerland

As per new data, the numbers of FDI assignments or foreign direct investment projects in Scotland have been the same as the previous years. Even at present, six out of seven foreign investments in this UK country are new projects. As per the UK Attractiveness Report of EY in 2019, Switzerland was the first nation for inward investments with a total of four assignments. The United States followed Switzerland with three projects.

When enquired about the future attractiveness of the UK and the different ways in which it can be enhanced, foreign investors came up with varied rankings. The skill level of the UK working population was ranked on top at 32% with reduced levels of corporation taxation coming in second at 23%.

The third position was taken by support for the foreign investors at 22% and investment incentives on the fourth position at 20%. The investment incentives category also included Research & Development potentials. This was followed by reducing the regulatory burden on businesses in the fifth position at 16%.

The leading foreign direct investment sectors in Scotland include business and digital solutions. According to Sue Dawe, EY’s Head of Financial Services in Scotland, these sectors will have an important role to play in the financial services sector. He explained “Business and digitals services have seen the highest numbers of FDI assignments across Scotland.

This will bring in significant overlaps in the Financial Services sector due to the constant growth of finance and fintech supply-chain requirements. We will be witnessing this sector that is moving at a breakneck pace and its interdependence in regards to understanding the way Financial Services contribute to successes and trends in foreign direct investment throughout the other regions.”

Sue added, “The figures come as positive news for the country, specifically in times when uncertainties form the backdrop of businesses in the UK. The figures show that companies have confidence in the offerings of Scotland. So, one thing is for sure, and that is Scotland is probably one of the most attractive destinations for foreign investments.

On our end, we must support our top-quality FS ecosystem cultivated with major efforts put in over the years. We must also make it a point to use the huge talent pool of agile and skilled labour in Scotland. This can further help in increasing the count of the FDI assignments coming into Scotland shortly.”

It is worth noting that the recent trading missions to the financial centre of Switzerland in Zurich have been successful in generating around €45 million from deals with the Swiss and Scottish firms developing financial connections.

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