REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE 4 KEY COUNTRIES

Transcription

1 REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE 4 KEY COUNTRIES 23 September, 2011

2 1. REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE With a population of 135 million people, Central and Eastern Europe is among the world s most rapidly advancing economic regions. The region is currently growing at a faster pace than Western European markets and therefore offers a bright future for foreign investors who are interested in regional opportunities and their unique benefits. International companies have begun to invest heavily in these countries as a means to boost the local economy, as well as to lay the foundation for future growth. Foreign investors are drawn to the region for its well-educated and relatively inexpensive labour force and their driving need to meet shareholder demands. Well connected to Western Europe and beyond via good airline and rail connections and sound telecommunications infrastructure makes the region an attractive manufacturing location and the multilingual labour force offers attractive benefits for operations hubs. Government and Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) are also choosing this region for their local headquarters locations. Regional headquarters locations have been analysed using a variety of sources for Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Poland. Regional decision-makers appear to sit in the majority of these locations. Slovak Republic is a chosen location by a number of international companies, ranging from accounting firms, to IT and automotive companies including Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Dell, Lenovo, Amazon, Volkswagen and Kia. Regional decision-makers however, do not appear to sit in Slovak Republic, rather this country is chosen as for administrative and operational purposes. In September 2011, the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency announced a regional campaign, 'How to sell Hungary to your Headquarters'. Similarly to the Slovak Republic, Hungary is trying to attract service centres which mainly provide regional administrative, financial, HR, marketing, IT and back office services. These centres will not be "transactional" in nature, therefore the main decision makers will not sit in these locations. The global centres will, however, tend to involve these centres into the decision making process. The following list provides an insight into the international companies choosing the region for their regional headquarters. Due to the changing nature of the CEE business environment and the current global economic situation, this list reflects the current situation in each of the four countries as of September

3 Headquarter locations in Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Poland Slovak Republic - Bratislava Headquarters Industry Global HQ Adidas (Financial Centre) Consumer Goods USA Brightpoint Telecommunications USA Citrix Systems Software & IT USA Habitat for Humanity International NGO USA Hewlett-Packard Software & IT USA InterContinental Hotels Group Hotels & Leisure UK Johnson Controls (Financial HQ) Facilities Services USA MSD (Merck Sharpe & Dohme) Pharmaceuticals USA SAP Software & IT Germany T&T Consulting Software & IT France The German Marshall Fund of the United Goverment USA States UN Women / UNDP (Regional Projects Centre) Goverment USA Poland - Warsaw Headquarters Industry Global HQ 3Com Software & Computer Services USA Amway Consumer Goods USA Avon Cosmetics Cosmetics USA AXA Central & Eastern Europe Financial Services France Bayer Life Sciences Germany Boeing Aerospace & Defence USA Bridgepoint Private Equity UK BT (British Telecom) Telecommunications UK Colliers International Real Estate USA Discovery Networks (Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa) Media USA DuPont Chemical USA Ericsson Telecommunications Sweden Heinrich Boell Foundation NGO Germany Hitachi Europe Electrical Manufacturing Japan IEF - International Energy Foundation NGO No single HQ. Series of 15 regional HQ locations IMF - International Monetary Fund Financial Services USA JASPERS - Joint Assistance to Support Projects in European Regions Goverment Luxembourg Johnson & Johnson Consumer Goods USA Levi Strauss Clothing USA Linklaters Law Firm UK Microsoft Software and IT USA Philips Electronics Electric Netherlands Unilever Central & Eastern Europe Consumer Goods USA Wincanton Trans European Logistics UK Zebra Technologies Software & Computer Services USA (c) 2011 Wolf Theiss Rechtsanwälte GmbH 2

4 Hungary - Budapest Headquarters Industry Global HQ Ageon Financial Services Netherlands Alcoa Industrial Metals & Mining USA British Telecom Telecommunications UK Chevrolet Automotive USA Citigroup Financial Services USA Diageo Beverages UK Flextronics General Industrials Singapore Ford Automotive USA General Electric General Industrials USA General Motors Automotive USA Getronics Nederland Software & Computer Services Netherlands Huawei General Industrials China Hudson Legal Professional Services USA ING Group Financial Services Netherlands Knorr-Bremse General Industrials Germany Nissan Central & Eastern Europe Automotive Japan Norbert Dentressangle Transport Logistics UK Panasonic Corporation Leisure Goods Japan Saab Automotive Sweden SEI LLC Call Centre Services USA SIA Central Europe Financial Services Italy Syngenta Agribusiness Switzerland Visteon Manufacturing USA Volvo Automotive Sweden Czech Republic Headquarters Industry Global HQ Accenture Professional Services USA ARCELORMITTAL OSTRAVA A.S. Industrial Metals & Mining Luxembourg Bausch + Lomb Pharmaceuticals USA CMS Cameron McKenna v.o.s. Law Firm UK CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation) Software & IT USA Cushman & Wakefield Real Estate USA Deloitte & Touche Czech Republic Professional Services USA Delta Energy Systems Energy USA DHL Industrial Transportation Germany Energizer General Industrials USA Esselte Stationery & Office Supplies UK GN Netcom Telecommunications Denmark GroupM (WPP) Marketing & Advertising UK Honeywell General Industrials USA IBM CEE HQ Software & Computer Services USA Infosys Software & Computer Services India Logica CMG Software & Computer Services UK Ness Technologies Software & IT USA Rockwell Automation General Industrials USA RWE Oil & Gas Producers Germany SDI TDI ERDI (International Training) Travel & Leisuer USA TPCA automotive Automotive Japan Vodafone Telecommunications UK 3

5 2. WOLF THEISS A LEADING LAW FIRM IN CEE AND SEE A Firm Built on Passion Knowledge and Talent Smart people working on challenging projects for inspiring clients in fascinating places. That s how we d sum up Wolf Theiss. The Lawyer named Wolf Theiss the 2010 "Law Firm of the Year for Central Europe" and 2009 "Law Firm of the Year for Eastern Europe and the Balkans" respectively, calling us an "innovative law firm that is fast becoming one to watch in Eastern Europe." The European Legal 500 has described us as arguably the best Austrian firm in Central and Eastern Europe. Chambers & Partners agreed, naming us Eastern European Law Firm of the Year in It s a reputation we ve earned over 50 years. Since starting out in Vienna, we have grown into one of the largest firms in Central and Eastern Europe and South-eastern Europe (CEE/SEE). We now employ 300 lawyers, working across numerous practice areas in 12 countries. During that time, we have worked on many cases that have broken new ground. Local Knowledge We concentrate our energies on a unique part of the world: the complex, fast-developing markets of the CEE and SEE regions. It s an area that requires specialist knowledge and contacts and we have plenty of both. Many law firms talk about having a presence in multiple countries. But that often means they simply have links to other firms in the region. We prefer to have a real presence on the ground. We have offices in Albania, Austria, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine. We advise clients in their business transactions in these countries and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe including Kosovo. Each of our offices is staffed with a lively mix of local and international talent. Between us we speak Albanian, Bosnian Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Ukrainian. Our lawyers have worked extensively in other countries in the region and have established a network of contacts with local law firms and other service providers in Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, and Turkey. Our local knowledge leads to closer client relationships and a better working knowledge of regional jurisdictions. 4

6 One Stop Shop We are able to provide legal services as a one-stop shop. This simplifies the process, and ensures our clients don t spend their valuable time coordinating different legal advisers in a multitude of jurisdictions. Wide Ranging Experience While our activities fall into all the conventional categories, they re anything but conventional. The dynamic political environments in which we work mean that every case is a new challenge. We re often in the position of setting precedents and rewriting the rulebook. And we view each case as a fresh chance to prove our credentials. We offer our clients a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the following areas: Banking & Finance Competition & Antitrust Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions Employment Law Intellectual Property & Information Technology Litigation & Alternative Dispute Resolution Projects Real Estate Regulatory & Procurement Tax Our Vision Driven without compromise, Wolf Theiss is where passion, knowledge and talent integrate to deliver outcome-focused legal advice that makes a measurable difference in a competitive world. Our values are: Independence Loyalty Courage Harmony Insight Performance 5

7 Award Winning Our awards speak for themselves: "Law Firm of the Year 2010: Central Europe" "Law Firm of the Year 2009: Eastern Europe & The Balkans" "Austrian Client Service Law Firm of the Year 2011" "Austrian Law Firm of the Year 2008 & 2009" "Eastern European Law Firm of the Year 2006" "Austrian Law Firm of the Year 2003, 2006, 2007 & 2011" "Czech Republic Law Firm of the Year 2007 & 2010" "Hungarian Law Firm of the Year 2009" "Austrian Law Firm of the Year 2009 & 2010" "Austrian Tax Law Firm of the Year 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010 & 2011" "Worldwide Entertainment & Media Law Team of the Year 2009" Special Award for "Excellence in trademark practice/litigation in private practice" in 2008 Special Award for "Excellence in IP Litigation" in 2007 SEE Real Estate Award "Law Firm of the Year" for 2007, 2008 & 2010 "ILO (International Law Office) Client Choice Awards 2010 Country Winner for Austria Romanian "Litigation Law Firm of the Year 2010" "Romanian Capital Markets transaction of the year" for 2010 "Lawyer of the Romanian Entrepreneur" Award for 2010 "First Place Winner Practice Development 2011" One client put it simply: 'Wolf Theiss is the best law firm in Austria.' The client added: 'They are flexible, they understand our business and they have a regional network that corresponds to ours so we only have to deal with one firm which is convenient.' ( ) Clients and competitors alike are impressed with the firm's ability to consistently deliver at a regional level. (International Financial Law Review 2008, Austria) Clients appreciated a 'high level of contact with partners' and the firm's presence in CEE once again proves to be a major draw, with market sources habitually agreeing that this is 'the firm you would want to work with going abroad, they're bigger and more experienced than others'." (Chambers Global 2007, Austria) 6

8 3. CONTACT Christian Hoenig WOLF THEISS Schubertring 6 A 1010 Vienna Tel Fax christian.hoenig@wolftheiss.com 7