Invest in Brussels and Brussels Export join forces

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1 Contact day Fashion and Accessories Warschau, November 22, 2011 Princely Mission China Beijing - Chongqing - Guanghzou Oktober 20-29, 2011 Contact Day Water Purification Barcelona, Oktober, 2011 B2B Food and Consumption Goods Veghel, September 2011 Plurisectoral Action Israel Tel-Aviv December 11-15, 2011 Mission Design and Furniture Hong Kong November/December, 2011 Mission South Korea Invest in Brussels and Brussels Export join forces Memorandum of Understanding between BIE and Jet Airways McKinsey predicts Brussels area growth Brussels back the business community Fiscal incentive attracts International Film Industry to Brussels Belgium remains among the best productive countries in the word Brussels: number five of the world s influential cities Belgium is one of the best countries to attract foreign investors Belgium is tops in attracting foreign talent Belgian companies more flexible Brussels scores high on English proficiency index Belgium rates high on union innovation scoreboard IBM PLI study on foreign investment Belgium more competitive Korean air cargo to triple its flights to Brussels New Arrivals September 26-28, 2011 Invest in Brussels and Brussels Export join forces Monday May 30, Benoît Cérexhe, Minister for Economics and Foreign Trade of the Brussels-Capital Region, officially introduced the name and logo of the Region s new combined inward investment and export organization. Brussels Invest and Export brings together Invest in Brussels, the unit responsible for attracting foreign investment; and Brussels Export, the foreign trade arm of the region s business.

2 NEW ADRESS Invest in Brussels Av. Louise, 500 B-1050 Brussels T : F : info@investinbrussels.com Memorandum of Understanding between BIE and Jet Airways On Tuesday, June 21, Benoît Cerexhe, representing Brussels Invest & Export (BIE), and Stefan Hollands, General Manager of Jet Airways Benelux, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in bringing Indian investors to Brussels. An Indian Investor Welcome Package will be prepared to smooth initial contacts between Indian entrepreneurs and BIE experts. Jet Airways offers daily non-stop flights from New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to Brussels. Moreover, BIE has appointed Kathlijn Fruithof as Trade Commissioner for our new position in Chennai. Chennai region is well known for its automobile, technology, hardware manufacturing and healthcare industries sectors. McKinsey predicts Brussels area growth Belgium central metro area, with Brussels as the focal point, is one of the locations featured in the Global cities of the future study just published by The McKinsey Global Institute (MGI). The study projects a modest population increase in the area but a significant growth in the GDP generated, from $277 billion ( 194 billion) to $367 billion ( 257 billion) in Brussels back the business community Clear evidence of Brussels commitment to the success of its entrepreneurs, SMEs and startups comes from the record of the Brussels Guarantee Fund. In last year s challenging economic climate the facility, which provides cover for 80% of the value of bank loans, supported commercial credit lines of over 55 million. The facility, which was accessed by over 400 businesses and ensured the future of nearly 1,000 jobs in 2010, has now been extended to end Fiscal incentive attracts International Film Industry to Brussels The Belgian Tax Shelter (2003) is a government-approved fiscal incentive to encourage the production of audiovisual works. Thanks to this incentive, various international movies and other audiovisual works are now being produced in Belgium. A good example of the effectiveness of this measure was recently presented on the brusselnieuws website: the Expatriate, a Belgian-Canadian movie with famous Hollywood actors participating, is to be produced in Brussels. This development will generate multiple advantages for the Belgian economy and for the country s reputation as a filmmaker. Up to 100 Belgian nationals will be in the film crew, and famous Brussels monuments will be part of the scene. Belgium remains among the best productive countries in the world According to The Conference Board, Belgium comes fifth in the American institute s ranking of the most productive countries in the world. The study, which rates countries in terms of productivity per working hour; also shows that the number of hours worked in 2010 grew faster in Belgium than in either the USA or the Netherlands. Brussels: number five of the world s influential cities According to the Knight Frank Global Cities Survey, Brussels moved up one place from its 2010 ranking. Considered the fifth most important city worldwide, Brussels owes its standing largely to its political clout.

3 Belgium is one of the best countries to attract foreign investors According to the Conference of United Nations for Trade and Development, the year 2010 saw a 50% increase over 2009 in inward investments to Belgium, representing a total value of 38 billion. This was one of the best results for European countries which recorded a fall of 20% overall. Belgium is tops in attracting foreign talent According to a study published by the Laga law partnership, if you want to attract talent from abroad, Belgium is the place to be thanks to its widely recognised policy on the employment of foreigners. The Laga research assessed the conditions and administrative procedures for hiring foreign staff, using the case of a professional with an employment contract and earning an annual gross wage of at least 36,604. The Belgian authorities will deliver a work permit for this category of employee within two weeks. Belgium is the only country of the seven countries studied that is able to do this, the others being the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Italy. Belgian companies more flexible According to a worldwide survey conducted by Regus, the world s largest provider of outsourced workplaces, Belgian organisations are more flexible than employers in other countries. Indeed, about eight companies in 10 allow their employees flexibility on exactly when and where they work. Belgium is better than the international average, since only 12% of those Belgians who participated in the survey said they did not have any flexibility in the workplace. Eduard Schaepman, CEO of Regus Benelux, says that the technological improvements of the last years, such as cloud computing, Blackberrys, internet access points, have changed employees point of view insofar as the place they work does not matter anymore. Brussels scores high on English proficiency index A study just published by Education First, the world s leading English-language training company, rates Belgium for high proficiency in a study of countries English-language competences. Described as the world s first index to compare the English-language ability of adults in different countries, the findings of the study are based on free online tests completed by two million adults around the world, There are no surprises in the very high proficiency ratings of the top five countries: Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. All are relatively small in terms of population, and all have practised English as a second language for many years. The big surprises are in the second high proficiency group, where Belgium comes second. In effect, English is used generally throughout the Belgian business community, not only in the Brussels-Capital Region but also in other parts of the country. Belgium rates high on Union Innovation Scoreboard The 2010 Union Innovation Scoreboard of the EU Commission s DG Enterprise indicates that Belgium s innovation performance is well above the EU27 average. Scandinavian countries and Germany are the Innovation Leaders but Belgium is among the leaders in the second category, called the Innovation Followers. Consequently, Belgium is more innovative than highly rated economies like the Netherlands, France and Luxembourg.

4 IBM PLI study on foreign investment This morning, Belgian newspapers reported the results of a study by the IBM PLI location consultancy. This shows that, in 2010, Belgium attracted 166 foreign investment projects, compared with 177 in These 166 projects generated jobs in Belgium, more or less the same figure as in Brussels, comprising the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde area, was the second most successful region in Belgium, attracting 32 projects and creating 700 jobs. Antwerp (N.B. the entire province!) was the most attractive region with 46 foreign investment projects, mainly as a result of the high-value investments of big corporations like Johnson & Johnson and the Deutsche Post. The USA is still the most important investor in Belgium, participating in 36 projects and creating jobs. Germany (460 jobs) and China complete the Top Three of the most important foreign investors. Belgium more competitive Belgium has moved up two places, ahead of France and Spain, in the 2011 World Competitiveness rankings drawn up by the IMD Management School. Measuring 59 countries on the basis of 331 criteria, the IMD rankings analyze how a nation s environment creates and sustains the competitiveness of its businesses. Korean air cargo to triple its flights to Brussels Starting October, Korean Air Cargo (KAC) will increase its weekly flights to Brussels by six, from the current three. KAC is one of world s largest carriers in its field. This will result in the creation of 300 direct jobs at Brussels Airport, in addition to another 600 potential indirect jobs, says Brussels Airport spokesman, Jan Van der Cruysse.

5 New Arrivals Decathlon moves Benelux headquarter to Brussels Decathlon, the French sporting goods company, will be opening a new Benelux headquarters in Evere, Brussels, in The new project will generate about 450 new jobs, including a fixed percentage of Brussels residents, making a major contribution to employment in the region. Second Microsoft innovation center opened in Belgium IT giant Microsoft has opened a Microsoft Innovation Center (MIC) in Etterbeek, Brussels. This is now the second MIC in Belgium. The American group has already opened an Innovation Center in Mons (province of Hainaut). The new Innovation Center has three tasks: helping SMEs to further develop their technological capacity, to stimulate innovation and to give specific training to job seekers, employees and the self-employed. The aim is to create dozens of new start-ups every year and offer training to 150 people. The Brussels-Capital Region and Microsoft are going to invest 250,000 per year into the Innovation Center. These two partners are looking for a third investor. Microsoft has 110 Innovation Centers worldwide. European & corporate strategy sets headquarter up in Brussels European & Corporate Strategy, the leading Croatian company in the legal, financial and strategic consultancy field, has now set up its headquarters in Brussels. The company has operations in Zagreb, Sarajevo, Belgrade, Skopje, Podgorica, Kiev, Pristine and Tirana. The consultancy advises its clients on relations with the EU institutions and on the issues that impact on their businesses. Qatar airways arrives in Brussels, European capital 31st January 2011 saw the inaugural flight of the new Qatar Airways service between Doha and Brussels. Five flights a week will link Brussels passengers to nearly 100 destinations worldwide. Brussels is the third European destination now served by the carrier. Speaking at a conference to mark the event, the CEO of Qatar Airways, Akbar Al Baker, paid tribute to the support provided by the Brussels community. We received a warm welcome from the authorities, he said. Brussels Invest & Export was one of the first organisations to be approached by Qatar Airways when the airline started developing its flight plan. A new Brussels-based team of 20 employees will add to the Belgian nationals already working for Qatar Airways in Doha. KK K&L Gates adds Brussels Office with Hire of Competition, Corporate Partner The K&L Gates law partnership has opened its 37th office, this time in Brussels, the Belgian capital and home of many of the European institutions. Speaking of the company s work in the public affairs and representation fields, K&L s Chairman Peter J. Kalis said: capabilities in Brussels are essential to fulfil this role, as the European Union is at the forefront of leading governmental initiatives designed to regulate the private sector. K&L Gates has the ambition and the ability to become the leading regulatory firm in Brussels.

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