THE JAPAN NEWS

 

How will Japan and Switzerland bolster their competitiveness via economic collaboration? The Swiss Embassy, the Swiss Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Lausanne-based IMD business school held an economic forum to discuss partnerships for global competitiveness, innovation and a healthier future on Thursday in Tokyo.

At the forum, Swiss Ambassador Jean-Francois Paroz identified industrial similarities between Japan and Switzerland, and stressed that both countries have long traditions in the watch industry and are strong exporters of chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

“The focus of our two countries is on technological progress and innovation, and [our] interest and strength lie often in similar economic sectors. The question of how to strengthen competitiveness is a particularly pressing one,” said Paroz.

According to an annual ranking of the world’s most competitive economies in 2017 compiled by IMD, Switzerland is second among the 63 economies, with only Hong Kong ahead of it. In IMD’s world talent ranking, in which it assessed the methods these countries adopted to attract and retain talent, the Alpine state took the top spot, followed by Denmark and Belgium. Meanwhile, Japan ranks 26th in competitiveness and 31st in talent, revealing Switzerland’s unique ability to attract highly skilled professionals.

Presenters also discussed the business environment in Switzerland through the example of Osaka-originated Sunstar Group, which transferred its global headquarters to the country. Sunstar Executive Officer Wieland Noetzold explained the main purpose of the move. “It [Switzerland] really is a building ground for innovation ... and it has great human resources. We want to tap new business potential and also the new management potential by ... having a hub that helps us drive true globalization,” he said.

“I can say this very openly, that Switzerland has very attractive tax conditions. [But] that’s not a major driver,” he emphasized.

Swiss State Secretary for Education, Research and Innovation Mauro dell’Ambrogio, who also attended the forum, stressed his nation’s attractiveness for Japanese companies in an interview with The Japan News on Thursday. “There are similarities ... we share common values to be seriously engaged in [one’s] profession, to be precise, to be reliable.

This sense, from my European point of view, [is] more near to the Japanese than other Europeans.”

“Switzerland is a platform, a hub you can use to relate with all Europe, given the fact that we have a large permeability of people, of cultures, of companies,” he added.