Tag Archive: Latest news

China favours Switzerland as a tourist destination

2023-01-27

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2023-01-27

Chinese travel agencies will soon offer tourists 20 destinations around the world. Switzerland, which does not require a Covid test, is one of only two European countries on the list.

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Swiss medicine sales to Russia hit 30-year high

2023-01-25

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2023-01-25

Swiss exports of pharmaceuticals to Russia, which are not subject to sanctions, reached a 30-year record last year, buoyed by high prices. Roche, Novartis and the other Swiss pharma companies brought in CHF2.1 billion ($2.3 billion) from the export of pharmaceuticals to Russia in 2022.

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China-Switzerland flights struggle to resume after three years

2023-01-23

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2023-01-23

Geneva airport was expected to see the return of direct flights from China next week, but the scheduled Air China flights of January 26 and February 2 have been cancelled due to lack of passengers, reports Swiss public broadcaster RTS.

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Three Swiss firms ranked among top 100 family businesses

2023-01-20

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2023-01-20

Swiss pharmaceuticals group Roche, logistics company Kühne+Nagel and luxury goods group Richemont are among the world’s top 100 family businesses, according to a study by EY Switzerland.

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WEF: Oxfam urges windfall tax on food companies

2023-01-17

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2023-01-17

Food companies making big profits as inflation has surged should face windfall taxes to help cut global inequality, anti-poverty group Oxfam said on Monday as the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) gets underway in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos.

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Rents rise by almost 3% in Switzerland

2023-01-12

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2023-01-12

Rents in Switzerland rose by an average of 2.8% last year, the largest annual increase in 14 years. Switzerland is unique in Europe with the majority of residents living in rented accommodation.

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‘Playful’ Swiss cheese marks record sales

2023-01-11

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2023-01-11

Switzerland’s Tête de Moine (Monk’s Head) cheese broke all-time sales and production records last year, due particularly to its “conviviality”, according to the sector’s president.

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Swiss central bank posts record CHF132 billion loss for 2022

2023-01-09

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2023-01-09

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has posted an annual loss of CHF132 billion ($143 billion) for 2022, the biggest in its 115-year history. “The loss on foreign currency positions amounted to around CHF131 billion and the loss on Swiss franc positions was around CHF1 billion. A valuation gain of CHF400 million was recorded on gold holdings,” the SNB said in a statement on Monday.

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Swiss examine Covid test obligation for travellers from China

2023-01-06

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2023-01-06

While countries around the world impose curbs on travellers from China as Covid-19 cases there surge, the Swiss authorities are still weighing up possible measures. On Wednesday health experts from the 27 EU member states couldn’t agree on compulsory testing for travellers from China, but they strongly recommended it.The EU health experts also recommended, among other things, that medical or FFP2 masks be worn on aircraft from China.The...

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Electric cars continue to gain ground in Switzerland

2023-01-02

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2023-01-02

Around one in four new cars purchased last year in Switzerland were either 100% electric or plug-in hybrid models. The country’s best-selling model was an electric car: the Tesla Model Y, the Swiss eMobility association reported on Monday.

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Switzerland could hit the 9 million population mark

2023-01-01

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2023-01-01

The Swiss population is set to surpass the 9 million mark in 2023, according to calculations by the SonntagsZeitung.

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Companies invest more money in R&D in Switzerland

2022-12-20

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2022-12-20

Firms invested CHF16.8 billion ($18 billion) in research and development (R&D) activities in Switzerland last year, a 4% increase compared to 2019.

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Growth forecasts for Switzerland lowered further

2022-12-20

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2022-12-20

Growth forecasts for Switzerland have been revised downwards for the current year and 2023 by the KOF Swiss Economic Institute, amid fears of a global recession and the war in Ukraine. The economists also changed their predictions for inflation.

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Holcim divests cement business in Russia

2022-12-15

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2022-12-15

Swiss cement giant Holcim said on Wednesday it would leave Russia, adding that the business there would then operate independently under a different brand.

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New Swiss rail timetable expands offer to tourist regions

2022-12-13

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2022-12-13

Swiss Federal Railways has launched a new timetable, which offers more regional services and direct links between eastern and western Switzerland, and additional connections to popular tourist regions.

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Parliament agrees on division of minimum tax revenues

2022-12-09

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2022-12-09

Switzerland’s 26 cantons will receive 75% of the additional revenue from the minimum taxation of large companies, the government 25%. On Tuesday the House of Representatives agreed with the Senate on the proposal to tax all companies with a turnover of more than €750 million (CHF740 million) at 15%, in line with a reform decided by the OECD and the G20.

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Third of pensioners can continue to save in old age

2022-12-09

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2022-12-09

Many retirees in Switzerland can continue to put money aside, with a majority also willing to bequeath the money they have saved. Specifically, 34% of the people surveyed in Switzerland aged 65 and over are building up assets instead of reducing them, according to a Swiss Life survey published on Wednesday.

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Credit Suisse business is stable, claims chairman

2022-12-08

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2022-12-08

Credit Suisse is “definitely stable”, Chairman Axel Lehmann has told Swiss public television, SRF, adding that the embattled bank had seen a stabilisation in the outflows of client funds.

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Online replaces TV as most influential form of media

2022-12-07

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2022-12-07

Online media replaced television as the most influential media genre in Switzerland for the first time in 2021, according to a study. Large brands such as 20 Minuten and Swiss public radio and television, SRF, lost influence in favour of smaller titles.

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Credit Suisse looks to speed up cuts as revenue outlook worsens

2022-12-02

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2022-12-02

Swiss bank Credit Suisse is looking for ways to accelerate cost cuts announced just weeks ago as client outflows and a slowdown in activity weigh on its revenue outlook, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. The cost savings are likely to involve more job cuts than previously announced for the first wave of reductions, including in its mainstay wealth business, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the...

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