Relocation to Switzerland Living in Canton Ticino Swiss The Canton The relocation University p.stability 4 p.Ticino 14 p.process 18 p.education 26 An unicum in political, The Mediterranean Moving to USI and SUPSI: monetary and economic in Switzerland: lakes, Switzerland the university stability. mountains, cities. in six steps. centers. Switzerland as a model, the Canton Ticino as a destination! “Why Switzerland” is the title of a book issued in to the peripheral areas, never abandoned but sup- 1976 in which the author, Jonathan Steinberg, pro- ported when in need. fessor at Cambridge, asked himself if Switzerland Health safety, with a hospital planning sup- still had sense to exist in a world that was starting ported by the public-private cooperation that not the first phase of globalization. After about 50 ye- even the COVID19 has questioned. The prepara- ars, we can state with great proud that Switzerland tion of our hospitals in facing such an unknown has won the challenge of modernization and de- situation has been an example and most impor- serves the title of “virtuous country” that it is often tantly it has reassured all Swiss citizens. An excel- assigned. A country that has been able to interpret lent health care that has been carried as an exam- at best its neutrality, a generous nation, open to the ple at international level and that is the result of rest of the world and to changes. careful health policies. A political stability deriving from a concept of When needed, a timely, prompt and massive direct democracy and respect of the minorities re- financial support has been provided to economy sulting in efficient government and closeness to ci- in order to safeguard SMEs and employment. Sin- tizens and entrepreneurs, that are recognized the ce the beginning of the pandemic, a few weeks merit of having contributed to the welfare of the have been sufficient to financially support the entire nation. SMEs and to let all Swiss workers receive their A pragmatic approach in the management of its salary at month-end. The security of an effective own public finances, able to constrain the ecces- state to which one can ask and receive a loan in Publisher ses of leverage. At the same time, able to plan great just one day, by filling a one-page only form (ter- Multi RE SA public works with foresight, having the Alptran- ms and conditions included): a fact that has ama- Viale Castagnola 21 sit (the longest railway tunnel in the world) as the zed the entire world! CH-6900 Lugano most representative example. A lean state, unbu- This is why Switzerland is now a strategic reaucratic, sensitive to the consequences of every country, with a reputation of excellence in all its [email protected] decision, governed by safety, certainty of laws, ri- facets, a “Swiss” brand that satisfies all the needs www.gruppomulti.ch ghts and taxation. Rules that might change but that of a modern society, that plans its own future with In cooperation with are often subject to popular votes where sovereign a great vision, able to cultivate day after day a pri- citizens make decisions and the state has often to mary asset increasingly sought after: quality of Alessandro Nebuloni adapt. life in safety. Edoardo Slerca Significant are also the investments in edu- Our vision of Switzerland as a model and Ti- Ivano Dandrea cation and innovation at all levels, from primary cino as a destination starts from here, within an Manuel Gamper school to dual education (school work) of apprenti- environment able to attract families as well as en- Roberto Pezzoli ces and universities among the best in the world in trepreneurs through its hospitality and charming various international rankings (e.g. Polytechnics of territory. A safe Ticino in a world with many un- Print Zurich and Losanne and HSG Sankt Gallen). certainties. Printed in Ticino by A country close to the features of its territory, the essence of a federal state, always with an eye Fontana Print SA © Gruppo Multi, 2020 Ivano Dandrea CEO, Gruppo Multi Inc. The contents of this document are not intended as an expression of a binding opinion and/or advice of Gruppo Multi and/or its companies and/or employees. This document is for information purposes only and its application to each specific case should be carefully analysed by an expert in the field. Readers who wish to use this information should consult a professional in order to ensure compliance with the regulations in force. Gruppo Multi and/or its companies and/or employees exclude any liability for any direct or indirect damage related to the proper or improper use of this document. Editorial 3 The high quality of life and an excellent healthcare system are among the main reasons for settling in Switzerland. In the current climate of uncertainty fea- turing the global scenario, the social as well World Competitiveness ranking 2020 as political and economic aspects of health, 0 10 20 30 40 50 stability and safety assume a primary impor- tance; from this point of view, Switzerland Singapore 1 has traditionally always represented a safe Denmark 2 Switzerland 3 haven which has been universally recogni- Germany 17 zed. Austria 16 United Kingdom 19 France 32 The favourable geographi- Italy 44 cal position, the high quali- ty of life, the safety granted (source: IMD World Competitiveness ranking 2020) by institutions, the economic strength and the propensity Overall globalisation ranking 2019 to innovation are only a few 0 5 10 15 20 25 Federal Palace, Bern aspects that position Switzer- Switzerland 1 land in a situation of excellen- Netherlands 2 ce at international level. Belgium 3 United Kingdom 5 In particular, during the last years Swi- Austria 6 tzerland has distinguished itself for the fol- Germany 7 lowing aspects: France 10 • innovation and technology, that tran- Italy 22 Swiss slate into high capacity of innovation, (source: 2019 KOF Globalisation Index) excellent education of workers and state-of-the-art research institutes in the field of sciences; such aspects see stability Switzerland at first place in the world Political stability ranking rankings of the last years; Since many decades • safety and confidence, for what con- 0 10 20 30 40 50 Switzerland is at the top of cerns personal protection and safe- Norway 1 world rankings concerning guard as well as for the guarantees Denmark 2 An ecosystem with provided by a liberal and competitive competitivity. This term refers Switzerland 3 economy, low costs of financing, mo- not only to the economic Germany 11 netary stability, strong purchasing low costs of financing, aspects, but also to what Austria 15 concerns the environment and power, moderate taxation, federal France 25 the general context, the human organization, economic and political political, monetary and United Kingdom 28 capital and the innovative stability; Italy ecosystem. • environment and social life, featu- 49 economic stability and high red by picturesque landscapes, luxury (source: IMD World Competitiveness Center 2019) international integration. real estate and an active cultural life. Swiss stability 5 The Swiss Franc continues to be strong and stable: it is not a temporary factor anymore but a structural element that rewards a virtuous state. The story of the Swiss Franc is a story of success that for centuries has been attributed by internatio- nal observers to the fact that Switzerland had not experienced wars but, on the contrary, took advan- tage from them by becoming a safe haven for global capitals. The whole thing with the indisputable ad- vantage of the banking secrecy, lasting from 1954 to 2013, when the then finance minister Hans Rudolf Mertz declared its end (at least in relation to foreign citizens) by starting the automatic exchange of infor- mation with foreign countries. The great change though occurred immediately after the financial crisis of 2008 when the fear for the resistance of the euro-zone and the global monetary policies had as an immediate consequence a strong strengthening of the Swiss Franc in comparison with other currencies (+20% reaching the parity with the Euro). Everyone remembers the date of September 9, 2011 when the Swiss National Bank arbitrarily fixed the EUR/CHF exchange rate at 1.2 stating “not to tole- rate a lower rate anymore”, and this mainly in order to protect exports (essential for swiss manufacturing) and tourism. The threshold resisted until January 15, 2015 when it was abolished with the announcement of negative interests (-0.75 %) on deposits at the SNB, starting the The Swiss Franc as general decrease of interest rates. All this was possible thanks to a Trend of the EUR/CHF exchange rate since 1999 Swiss National Bank that interve- 1,8 a safe-haven asset ned massively in defense of foreign 1,7 currencies (buying EUR and USD 1,6 on the foreign exchanges market) 1,5 1,4 in order to avoid their excessive de- 1,3 The Swiss Franc is considered a safe- preciation with regard to the Swiss 1,2 Franc. haven asset since many decades; a 1,1 Needless to say that this was not sufficient and 1 story of success, unique in the world. the Swiss Franc continued to increase its value con- 0,9 firming itself as a safe-haven asset. It is not a tem- porary factor anymore but a structural element that rewards a virtuous and stable state highly trusted by (source: SNB, elaboration by Gruppo Multi) international investors. We must not forget that the “factors of attraction” of a currency are always due to the public spending policy, the general economic fra- mework and the political-institutional stability: do- mains in which Switzerland is second to none.