Tag Archives: Business

Building a tank at the Swiss defence contractor RUAG (Keystone) Swiss companies last year exported government-approved war materiel to 64 countries with a total value of CHF510 million ($510 million), 14% more than the previous year. Germany was the largest customer, taking deliveries worth CHF118 million, followed by Denmark, the US, Romania and Italy, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said on...

The 125-year-old Swiss private bank is ready for some crypto action. (© Keystone / Ennio Leanza) One of Switzerland’s largest banks, Julius Baer, has entered the cryptoassets world by announcing a partnership with budding crypto bank start-up SEBA. While other Swiss banks, such as Vontobel, Falcon and Swissquote, are already active in the space, Julius Baer’s entrance has attracted particular attention. The obvious...

Tourists in front of the Lion statue in Lucerne (Keystone) The number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels increased by 3.8% last year to 38.8 million. Domestic tourism also registered a rise with 17.7 million stays by Swiss guests – up 2.7% on the previous year – Switzerland Tourismexternal link said at its annual press conference on Tuesday. It also welcomed the 3.7% increase in European guests but added that in...

France’s national financial crimes unit estimates around €10 billion went unreported to French tax authorities from 2004 to 2012. (Keystone) A French court on Wednesday found Swiss bank UBS guilty of illicit solicitation and laundering of the proceeds of tax fraud, imposing a hefty fine of €3.7 billion (CHF4.2 billion). The bank was convicted of illegally helping wealthy French clients evade tax authorities in France....

Switzerland – and Bern – will provide a “highly favorable environment for breakthrough innovations”. (© Keystone / Peter Schneider) Car systems manufacturer Wabco Automotive has opted to move its global headquarters from Brussels to the Swiss capital, Bern. The company has plans to set up a competence centre in autonomous driving in collaboration with Swiss universities. “Switzerland is world-renowned for providing a...

A BLS train in Kandersteg station in the Bernese Oberland region. (© Keystone / The BLS train company, which operates several routes in the regions around Bern, is to cut some 170 positions over the coming four years, for reasons of efficiency and automation. In a move criticized on Thursday by rail unions, BLS announced the cuts as part of planned efficiency gains that aim to save between CHF50-60 million ($49.8-59.2...

Brazilian prosecutors alleged Vitol, Glencore and Trafigura and others collectively paid at least $31 million in bribes over a six-year period to Petrobras officials. (Keystone) Pressure is growing on global commodity trading firms with strong ties to Switzerland for their alleged involvement in the “Car Wash” corruption scandal in Brazil. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating two Vitol executives in...

Shady business: state-owned PostBus pocketed millions in federal and cantonal subsidies (Keystone) Switzerland’s reputation as a place to do business took a serious hit last year following various scandals, from corporate bank fraud to illegal subsidies. The Swiss Economy Reputation Index 2018external link, published on Tuesday by Basel-based consultancy Commslab and the fög research institute at the University of...

Despite its vast reserves of oil, Venezuela has to import fuel. (Keystone) Switzerland’s attorney general has opened an investigation into a corruption case involving Venezuela, according to a weekend report published by Schweiz am Wochenende. The Latin American nation is in the grips of a major political, economic and social crisis. According to the prosecutor’s statement to the weekly, proceedings were initiated at...

Switzerland’s trains are renowned for their punctuality, but do they deserve this reputation? (Christian Beutler / Keystone) Trains operated by the state-owned Swiss national railway operator are less punctual than company statistics make believe. A private websiteexternal link, launched in 2017 and compiled from data provided by the transport ministry, found that on average one in six intercity trains – or just under...