Tag Archives: 3.) Swiss Info

In February, the Swiss government awarded mobile radio frequencies for 5G to three telecom operators: Salt, Sunrise and Swisscom. As more governments mull the risks of working with foreign vendors of 5G networks, eyes are on Switzerland as one of the technology’s early adopters. Will the Swiss take a heavier hand in restricting foreign providers like Huawei in the 5G supply chain or let the market decide? In a grim but not-so-far-fetched scenarioexternal link, a...

Central bank negative interest rates are costing Swiss commercial banks CHF2 billion a year. (© Keystone / Melanie Duchene) Credit Suisse has joined the likes of UBS and Post Finance in charging rich clients to park their wealth in its vaults. It will pass on the cost of the central bank’s negative interest rates to both private individuals and corporate accounts above certain thresholds. From November 15, corporate clients will be charged -0.85% interest on cash...

Gunvor was found to have taken no organisational measures to prevent corruption in its business activities (Keystone) The Geneva-based trading company Gunvor has been ordered to pay almost CHF94 million ($94.6 million), including a fine of CHF4 million over bribery in Africa. The commodities trader failed to prevent its employees and agents from bribing public officials between 2008 and 2011 in order to gain access to the petroleum markets in the Republic of Congo...

Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam and chairman Urs Rohner (Keystone) When Tidjane Thiam arrived at the helm of Credit Suisse in the summer of 2015, he was a hero. Plucked from the same role at UK insurer Prudential, where he had doubled the share price in six years, he had big plans to shrink the Swiss group’s investment bank, slash costs, raise fresh capital and expand in Asia. He was one of four high-flying financiers parachuted in to run four of Europe’s biggest...

Swiss Federal Railways is among the companies whose pre-1990s work practices are being questioned in relation to asbestos deaths. Labour unions are demanding a probe of companies’ pre-1990 working conditions in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino, in connection with recent asbestos-linked deaths. They are targeting particularly Swiss Federal Railways and the Swiss accident insurance fund SUVA. There is concern in Ticino over several recent deaths of former employees...

The liquidity problem affects the UN’s main hubs like the Geneva headquarters, which employs 5,000 permanent staff. (UN Photo / Jean-Marc Ferré) The United Nations is facing a serious cashflow crisis, as 63 states – including its largest contributor, the United States – have not paid their annual dues. In Geneva, officials at the UN’s European headquarters (UNOG) are considering ways to cut costs, while the host nation looks on anxiously. The statement by UN...

The new train, as seen in a photo taken at Zurich main station from 2018 (© Keystone / Ennio Leanza) All the Swiss Federal Railways’ new Bombardier double-decker trains will have to go in for repairs for certain parts to be replaced, it has emerged. The news of the latest technical problems was broken by Swiss public television SRFexternal link, citing internal documents. At present, 12 out of the 59 Bombardierexternal link trains are in operation on a line between...

Lac des Toules sits at 1,810 metres above sea level in canton Valais. (Keystone / Valentin Flauraud) A solar panel project which could power over 6,000 households has been launched in a mountain lake in southwestern Switzerland. The Romande Energie companyexternal link unveiled the first part of its floating solar project in Bourg-Saint-Pierre on Wednesday after six years of exploratory work. The installation consists of 2,240 square metres of solar panels sitting on...

The move had been expected (Keystone / Peter Klaunzer) Switzerland has acknowledged the fact that European Union will remove the country from its grey list for tax havens following a reform of the corporate tax system. “Switzerland meets and implements international tax standards. The European Union has acknowledged this…” said a statement,external link released by the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF), on Thursday. The country, which is a major EU...

Geneva officials are hoping that the Léman Express cross-border rail network, which is due to be inaugurated on December 15, will revolutionise local mobility and commuting (Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi) Commuters in the Geneva region are becoming increasingly disillusioned with private cars and are embracing “multimodal” forms of transport, a survey has found. An in-depth survey of commuter behaviour in the Greater Geneva region – covering canton Geneva, the Nyon...