swiss company incorporation

Switzerland is offering a very attractive business environment, including for foreign investors. The Swiss laws allow anyone, including foreigners to start a business in Switzerland, to form a company or to have a financial interest in one.

What you should know before you start your own business in Switzerland

However, there are certain conditions that are required. Only persons that hold a valid C permit, the spouse of a C permit holder or the spouse of a Swiss citizen have the legal right to start their own businesses in the country.

In terms of well – developed industries in Switzerland, tourism is certainly one of them. Switzerland is home of numerous lakes, mountain villages, cities with medieval quarters and many popular tourist landmarks. It should come as no surprise that many entrepreneurs are interested in opening a hotel or creating a successful hotel chain in Switzerland.

The choice of location for a business has become extremely important in today’s competitive economy. Switzerland offers many unique advantages for entrepreneurs willing to invest in the country, on economical, political and social level. Here are the most important reasons why you should consider investing in Switzerland, a small, yet highly developed country.

The Commercial Registry (“Handelsregister” in German or “Registre du Commerce” in French) provides most of the public information a foreign entity would have to know when doing business with a Swiss company. In act, it’s recommended to verify any Swiss business partner if they are registered with the Commercial Registry. The information provided by the registry are public and easy available for any interested party.

The legal form for a Swiss corporation is the “Aktiengesellschaft” (AG), which is governed by the Swiss Code of Obligations. This type of company is best suited for multinational corporations looking to expand their activity on the Swiss market.

The liability of the shareholders of an AG is limited to the unpaid amount of shares they hold within the company. However, it is enough to have only one shareholder, while there are no limitations regarding the maximum number of shareholders, thus making the AG a very flexible business structure.

The pharmaceutical industry has a key role in the Swiss exports industry. In 2014, pharmaceuticals exports amounted to more than 70 billion CHF, which means that about one third of money earned abroad by Switzerland comes from pharmaceutical products.

The pharmaceutical sector has contributed to the growth of the Swiss economy over the last two decades, with an annual average market growth of 9.1% .

Banks are part of Swiss culture since 16^th century, therefore there is no surprise that the Swiss banking system is one of the biggest strengths of the country. The Swiss banking system is different than other European banking systems because it is based on the universal banking concept. This concept refers to offering all the banking services both commercial and investment. This is so that the risk to be spread over a greater number of business and customers.