News Bulletin

Volume I.4 (2011)

an electronic News Bulletin published by the Swiss Malaysian Business Association, SMBA, for its members

EVENTS:
Economic Outlook 2011 AirAsia Academy Visit 12th Annual General Meeting

New Chairman, Arno Thny (left) New Vice Chairman, Thomas Guldimann (right)

NEW MEMBER ARTICLE FROM THE EMBASSY

Economic Outlook 2011

Once again and like for the past four years, the SMBA was honored to welcome Credit Suisse to sponsor the Economic Outlook 2011, also it was an honor that the presentation for the third time was presented by their Chief Economist for Asia, Mr. Joseph Tan.

The event took place at the Melia Hotel on January 26th and was attended by 40 peoples! The Chairman, Mr. Heinz Bauert gave a small introduction. He also introduced the new Ambassador to Malaysia H.E. Dr. Rolf Lenz, who just arrived about two weeks ago in Kuala Lumpur. The Chairman also thanked Credit Suisse and in particular Mr. Denis Poo for their continuous support towards the SMBA. Mr. Joseph Tan thanked the Chairman and opened his presentation with some pointers; three distinct economic realities; 1. USA putting the economy on steroids 2. Europe: Austerity medicine 3. Emerging Markets: The global growth engine He went on to explain the current economic situation in the US and their subsequent consequences for us here in Asia. (Slide 7) Also the macro policy of the US government will have significant consequences for the economies in Asia. He went on to explain that actually with the current economic crisis with some of the European countries, Asia is actually minimally exposed, if one looks at Exports from Asia to Euro zone and the other European countries. (Slide 10)

Mr. Heinz Bauert

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Mr. Joseph Tan

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Economic Outlook 2011

On another slide he pointed out that Asian governments have very strong fiscal positions in comparison to US and Europe. (Slide 11) This makes the economies here far more resilient. Also more and more the inter Asian trade is getting far more significant then lets say a couple of years back. (Slide 15) Within Asia the domestic demand is a key pillar to drive Asian growth. (Slide 14) The domestic demands in certain countries have grown dramatically, especially for example in China. One mayor risk in Asia is with the current Currency wars an inflation risk. (Slide 23 & 24) Malaysia for instance he explained is far less exposed then for instance Indonesia but one should not forget that certain key commodities here (Malaysia) are government controlled.

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Mr. Tan went on to explain the sharp increase in sales of residential buildings as well as their prices in China bears a risk and could create a bubble. The Chinese Government is very much aware of that and will try to calm down the markets, since a bubble would have significant consequences for the rest of Asia.

Economic Outlook 2011

On Slide 28, he went on to explain the significant increase in Currency reserves hold by all major Asian Governments. Obviously the currency war between the US & Chinese Governments could also affect our economies here. Hence more creative measures have to be implemented to mange capital flows. (Slide 30)

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On the other side Asian currencies will actually gain due to rates, flows and CNY. But also due to inter Asian trade. Slide 32. Credit Suisse predicts that key markets will price the US/CNY at 6.45 in the next 12 months. Hence all Asian currency will get stronger in the short term. Slide 34

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Article written by Thomas Guldimann

At the end Mr. Tan explained the outlook for Malaysia in the view of CS, where they see a strong economy, a good and strong economical leadership, their main problem will be how to tackle the huge Government subsidies on price controlled commodities. In the long run CS is of the opinion that the Government has to take a firm policy to totally abolish all the subsidies. Another risk for Malaysia is the currency; which is linked indirectly to the US dollar. But overall the Malaysian economy doing well compared to other economies, the only risk for an investor would be the political uncertainty, as when the Prime Minister will announce General elections. At the end Mr. Tan replied some questions from the crowd mainly related to the European crisis and the outlook on China. The Chairman closed the event by announcing the next event and thanking the speaker and Credit Suisse once again for sponsoring the event. A memento was presented to the speaker, who had to rush to the airport immediately after his presentation. The participants were served canaps and finger food with free flow of beer and soft drinks sponsored by Credit Suisse.

Economic Outlook 2011

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A visit to the AirAsia Academy

On the 19 February 2011, approximately 25 members visited the AirAsia Academy situated in Sepang, Selangor. AirAsia is the low cost carrier giant that has grown in the past 9 years to become the 4th largest airline in Asia in 2010 by carrying 29 million passengers per year. With a short history of 9 years since Dec 2001, AirAsia has grown from 2 planes to 103 aircraft across 4 countries. The AirAsia Academy produces all of pilots, engineers, ground staff and flight attendants for the operations. All of the graduates are certified by the respective ASEAN Civil Aviation Authorities including Malaysia's DCA.

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Mr. Zaman Ahmad, Regional Head for Customer Experience for AirAsia

The SMBA members were briefed on AirAsia by our own committee member, Mr. Zaman Ahmad who is also the Regional Head for Customer Experience for AirAsia. A tour was conducted by the Academy staff and the highlight was the aircraft simulator tour where SMBA members experienced first hand the simulator procedure that completed a take off, cruising and landing in 10 minutes for the Airbus A320.

AirAsia Academy Visit

Mr. Liew Kang Hwa, whos our tour guide for the day
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Article written by Zaman Ahmad

After the exciting simulator experience, the SMBA members were treated to lunch with AirAsia's variety of meals that are also available onboard. The visit ended at approximately 3pm.

AirAsia Academy Visit

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12th Annual General Meeting

Another AGM, the 12th, has been concluded, on March the 30th, with typical Swiss efficiency.

Speedily the approving of the minutes of meeting of the 2010 AGM, the annual report of the committee and the audited accounts were done. All results were unanimously as our two vote counters Andr Isaak and Manfred Faehndrich established with practiced ease.
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The turn out of 42 members of the SMBA was very satisfactory, highlighted by the presence of our three honorary members Tan Sri Dato Zulliger, Dr. Peter A Wyss and H.E. the ambassador of Switzerland.
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Johann Bohi after serving on the committee of the SMBA for more than 6 years did not seek reelection and Muthanna Abdullah who also did not seek reelection due to business commitments. Both have resigned from the committee. We would like to sincerely thank Johann and Muthanna for all the hours, experience and passion he has brought to the organization in the past years. We also would like to express our thanks and gratitude to Heinz Bauert, Chairman of the SMBA, for his tireless work, organizational skills and leadership he has displayed over the years. One of the founding members of the SMBA eleven years ago, he has navigated this organization through all waters especially in last three years as Chairman.

He lead the SMBA to new successes and today Heinz can proudly hand over a healthy and financially sound organization to his successor. Arno Thny the newly elected Chairman introduced himself and then continued to thank Heinz for his work and highlighted the achievements. Arno concluded with a token of appreciation that was handed over to the resigning committee members. Unanimously elected to the SMBA committee were: Thomas Guldimann, Vice Chairman Sandro Tomasino, Secretary Marc Seiler, Treasurer Aileen Chan, Committee Member Dato (Dr.) Michael Wong, Committee Member Zaman Ahmad, Committee Member Juergen Mayer, Committee Member

12th Annual General Meeting

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Article written by Sandro Tomasino

Another highlight of the evening was the talk by HE ambassador Dr. Rolf Lenz. Starting by introducing himself he gave the members of the SMBA a short and insightfull overview about the points of focus of the embassy in the coming years and the importance of the SMBA to the SECO. Having studied political science in Switzerland Ambassador Dr. Rolf Lenz finished his degree in Bejing and also learned the language during his initial stay in China. Being exposed to a different culture and also having to come to terms with it, awakened the interests of the young graduate and consequently he joined the diplomatic corps. Mainly stationed in Bejing and Shanghai, interrupted by stays in Canada, Switzerland and Bosnia Herzegowina HE Dr. Rolf Lenz was again appointed to an Asian country and on January the first became the new Ambassador of Switzerland to Malaysia.

After going to the usual steps and being introduces and approved by the King as well as paying courtesy visits to other ambassadors HE lost no time to line out the focus and targets of the embassy under his leadership. Mainly the development and further enhancement of the relations between the swiss and Malaysian government, especially where related to economy, business, tourism and R&D There is also a concentration on the development of a FTA (Free trade agreement) between Malaysia and Switzerland. With this outline HE once again stressed the importance of the SMBA for the embassy and assuring it his full support. He concluded by thanking Heinz Bauert once again for his efforts as the chairman and handed to Heinz a token of appreciation as well as a letter from the embassy. This concluded the official part of the evening and the members moved on to the culinary delights of the Melia Hotel.

12th Annual General Meeting

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Dear Members, We are pleased to inform that at the 12th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 30 March 2011 all motions addressed have been approved by the assembly. The new Board of Committee Members that has been elected and accepted their position are: Mr. Arno Thny, Melia Kuala Lumpur as Chairman Mr. Thomas Guldimann, Casa Vino Sdn Bhd as Vice Chairman Mr. Marc Seiler, Nestl (Malaysia) Berhad as Treasurer Mr. Sandro Tomasino, GUTOR Electronic Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd as Secretary Ms. Aileen Chan, LiveLife Sdn Bhd as Committee Member Dato (Dr.) Michael Wong, Job Hunt Sdn Bhd as Committee Member En. Kamarulzaman Ahmad (Individual Member) as Committee Member Mr. Juergen Mayer, Wuerth Industrial Services Malaysia Sdn Bhd as Committee Member The Auditors of the Association, Messrs T.H. Kuan & Co have been reappointed while the annual reports and audited accounts were approved without objections. The Annual Booklet 2010/2011 with information on the new board members, a kaleidoscope of the past years events and a preview of forthcoming activities was launched at the AGM. A complimentary copy will be posted to all members shortly. We sincerely thank all sponsors that contributed and made the printing of the Annual Booklet possible. It was an honor to have our Swiss Ambassador H.E. Dr Rolf Lenz, share his experience, background and vision with the Swiss Malaysian Business Association and thank H.E. for the insight. As it is customary and our Associations tradition, we are extending to former Chairmen of the Board a Honorary Lifetime Membership. It is our great pleasure to extend that privilege to Mr. Heinz Bauert and welcome him from now on as Honorary Member of the Swiss Malaysian Business Association. Please join us to extend once again, a sincere thank you to Mr. Heinz Bauert for his great leadership as Chairman and Committee Member since the inauguration of the SMBA. It gives us great confidence that we can call upon Heinz as our mentor while we may continue the success of the SMBA. We take this opportunity appreciate your continuous support of the SMBA and look forward to your participation and enthusiasm for our forthcoming events which have been listed in the attachment and will be circulated with more details closer to the respective events, please mark your diaries.
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Message from the Chairman

Arno Thny Chairman, SMBA April 1st, 2011

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Committee Members April 2011 March 2012

Top row (from left): Arno Thny, Chairman Thomas Guldimann, Vice Chairman Marc Seiler, Treasurer Sandro Tomasino, Secretary Second row (from left): Aileen Chan, Committee Member Dato (Dr.) Michael Wong, Committee Member Zaman Ahmad, Committee Member Juergen Mayer, Committee Member Third row (from left): Dr. Rolf Lenz, H.E. The Ambassador of Switzerland to Malaysia Dato Gurbakhash Singh, Legal Advisor to SMBA
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Arno Thny, Chairman General Manager, Melia Kuala Lumpur

Arno Thny was appointed the new General Manager of Melia Kuala Lumpur in April 2006. Ever since, the 50yearold hotelier has steered Melia Kuala Lumpur through his management styles that incorporates the corporate social responsibility movement of balancing the needs of all stakeholders to achieve sustainable growth and business development. With 34 years of hospitality background at hand, he has plenty to prove and carries with him a wealth of experience in the hotel industry. Apart from Malaysia and Singapore, Arno Thny has acquired significant international experience and has lived, worked and undertaken consultancy projects and assignments in a multitude of Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, in Australia and his very own home country Switzerland. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Hotel Management School at Belvoirpark, Zurich and has a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of South Australia, Adelaide. Mr. Arno Thny has been dubbed an intrapreneur, infusing an innovative and unconventional management style in the daily hotel operation.

His interests engulf active participation in the business community including the Swiss Malaysian Business Association for the last five years, is a founding member and General Secretary of La Camera, the SpanishMalaysian Chamber of Commerce, Deputy Chairman of the EUMCCI CSR Committee and a Committee Member of the Malaysian Hotel Association KL Chapter. As an affluent speaker he is using his skills in educating the next generation of entrepreneurs and hoteliers at the KDU College and through talks on the subject of CSR. His strong conviction and contribution towards CSR, brought Melia Kuala Lumpur to the forefront of the CSR movement in the hospitality industry of Kuala Lumpur.

Committee Members

Thomas Guldimann, Vice Chairman Managing Director, Casa Vino Sdn Bhd
Educated in Switzerland, Thomas Guldimann has held various management positions in the hotel industry spanning across Switzerland, USA and Asia. He has worked 16 years in Asia and he is now owner of Caso Vino Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, specializing in boutique wineries mainly from Australia & Argentina. His clientele comprise mainly five & fourstar hotels, restaurants & bars and dutyfree shops in KLIA, Klang Valley and Langkawi. He has been supplying wines to MAS for their First & Business Class flights to Asia since 2002. Thomas was the Founding Member of the Young Liberal Party FDP (Limmattal1980). He has held the position of President of the Swiss Club Malaysia from Feb 2002 to Feb 2004.

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Sandro Tomasino, Secretary Managing Director, GUTOR Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd
Sandro Tomasino was appointed Managing Director of GUTOR Asia Pacific Sdn/Bhd in 2007. In this function he has developed GUTOR AP from a trading company into a full fledged manufacturing facility located in Shah Alam. GUTOR Electronic is the leading UPS (uninterruptible Power Supply) Engineering Company specialized in customized systems for the O&G and power generation market. This facility caters to the complete value chain of activities for GUTOR and its clients in Asia Pacific and abroad, including sales, design, research and development (R&D), manufacturing, testing and after sales. GUTOR Asia Pacific also serves as an engineering and service hub for GUTOR Switzerland. After receiving a Bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering, Sandro went abroad for the first time, spending four years in the USA as an R&D Engineer developing handheld measurements devices. Back in Switzerland he joined Sensirion AG a spinoff of the famous ETH Zurich (Swiss federal Institute of Technology) where he continued R&D activities. In 2004 Sandro was appointed Engineering Manager of GUTOR Switzerland and immediately internationalized the department with Malaysia, China and the USA as the main hubs of GUTORs Engineering division. Sandro Tomasino graduated in 1997 as a bachelor in electrical engineering from Luzern and finalized his studies to Executive Master Business Engineer FH in 2004

Marc Seiler, Treasurer Executive Director, Finance & Control, Nestl (Malaysia) Berhad
Marc Philippe Seiler, currently the Executive Director, Finance & Control of Nestl (Malaysia) Berhad was appointed as the NonIndependent, Executive Director of the Company on 1 December 2008. He holds a Masters of Science in Management from Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Paris, France and an Accounting & Finance Diploma [Diplome dEtudes Superieures Comptables et Financieres]. Marc Philippe Seiler started his career as an external auditor with Coopers and Lybrand, before joining the Nestl Group as Finance Planning Manager of Nestl Waters in Paris. Subsequently he was transferred to Nestl Waters, North America where he has held several positions such as Director Corporate Planning, Director Finance Supply Chain, Director Promotional Trade Spending, Chief Financial Officer Canada, Chief Financial Officer US Retail Division, with his last position as the Business Development and Merger & Acquisition Director.

Committee Members

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Aileen Chan, Committee Member Chief Executive Officer, Live Life Sdn Bhd, Malaysia; Live Life Pte Ltd, Singapore
As the CEO of LiveLife, a marketing and distribution company of health and beauty products, Aileen heads the Sales & Marketing team and the companys operational aspects in both Malaysia and Singapore. A Business graduate from the University of Technology, Sydney she has proven her skills and business acumen (she majored in Marketing) in the competitive world of health and beauty. Prior to establishing LiveLife together with her husband, she carved her success as Managing Director for Bionax Sdn Bhd and Bionax Pte Ltd with a very successful track record of launching and growing new and innovative products to reshape consumers concept of health & beauty. Now, with more than 18 years experience in the health and beauty industry, Aileen continues to deliver many more marketing success stories under her companys philosophy of delivering only the best of evidencebased, safe and natural health products. She is responsible for the rise and success of Estime, a bestselling and award winning Swiss skin supplement in Malaysia. Last year, she introduced two innovative supplements Rilax, a natural stress relief supplement and TruDtox, a herbal detox tea; both of which have gained immense popularity and credibility with consumers. Most recently, she launched MIREICA, the worlds first skin supplement containing a Swiss developed plant stem cell extract, for younger looking skin. LiveLife has also been bestowed the honour of Best Local Health Distributor; a recognition received from Watsons chainstores.

She is married to Mr. Lim Siang Wee for 23 years and enjoys spending her free time with her 2 children Nicholas, aged 17 and Melissa, aged 15. Aileen also enjoys honing her culinary skills, travelling to new places, shopping, reading and meeting up with friends, and is also actively involved in singing for charity (Glitterama Ladies Charity Group), as well as being actively involved in the Jinjang Utara Rumah Panjang Charity to provide education for poor children.

Committee Members

Zaman Ahmad, Committee Member Regional Head of Customer Experience, AirAsia Berhad
Zaman graduated from the Imperial College as a Petronas scholar with a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. He has worked with various divisions of Petronas since then, first as part of the Petronas Twin Towers setup team, then for two years in South Africa as part of Petronas Team Syntium Opel touring car racing team. After that, he spent 5 years based in Switzerland as part of the Sauber Petronas FI racing team. Since 2005, Zaman has been part of Petronass Corporate Planning Division, then with Petronas Research & Technology Division and his last posting was as part of the top management team of Petronas Ammonia Sdn Bhd, based in Kertih, Terengganu. Zaman has since joined AirAsia in September 2010 and now holds the portfolio of Regional Head of Customer Experience. With this portfolio, he leads more than half of AirAsia's workforce with a focus on customer service delivery and the technology to deliver the products and services of AirAsia.

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Dato (DR.) Michael Wong Committee Member Executive Director, Job Hunt Sdn Bhd
Dato (Dr.) Michael Wong Chin Hee is a very ambitious, dedicated and widevision Executive Director with over 20 years of professional experience in the corporate world. He has an extensive background in consumer and pharmaceutical products, as well as food manufacturing and trading. Michael took a leading role in establishing a HR consulting firm, Job Hunt Sdn Bhd, providing Executive Search & Selection, Permanent Placements, Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Payroll Administration, Career Day, Behavioural Assessment Techniques and Corporate Training. He also sits on the board as Executive Director for Oriental Eminence Resources Sdn Bhd a company focusing on mergers & acquisitions and Global Business Advisory Sdn Bhd a onestop service provider supporting on the formation and administration of companies, corporate advisory, business entities and their legal compliance. In addition, Michael continues to shoulder several other corporate responsibilities. He has received many awards for his outstanding work in human capital solutions is well recognized in this industry. His memberships with a number of International Trade Associations such as EUMCCI (EUMalaysia Chamber of Commerce & Industry), MABC (Malaysia Australia Business Council), SMBA (Swiss Malaysian Business Association), and many more reflect the diverse demographics of his business portfolio.

Michael is a graduate of University of Henley, UK and holds a Masters in Business Administration (Honours) from Oklahoma City University, USA.

Juergen Mayer, Committee Member Managing Director, Wuerth Industrial Services Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

Committee Members

Juergen Mayer was appointed Managing Director of Wuerth Industrial Services Malaysia in January 2010. The company had at that time been a new setup and the latest foundation of the Wuerth Industrial Network of companies. Ever since the emerging markets in the Asian region has been his main focus of interest. Having spent the majority of his studies in Southeast Asia, he graduated from the University Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, with a diploma in International Business and Communication in Asia. Having successfully implemented a project for supplier audits at BASF Indonesia, he did then start his career with Wuerth at the Wuerth Industrial Services headquarters in Germany where he was responsible for the business development in the Southeast Asian region. He enjoys being among the Asian people and is spending his free time with travelling and enjoying the beautiful places of Malaysia.

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Wuerth Industrial Services Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.

Principal Representative: Juergen Mayer

New Member

Wuerth Industrial Services Malaysia is part of the Wuerth Group. The Wuerth Group is world market leader in its core business, the trade in assembly and fastening material. It currently consists of over 400 companies in 84 countries and has more than 62,000 employees on its payroll. Over 30,000 of these are permanently employed sales representatives. In addition to our extensive standard product range, we are also strong in logistics and operational supply and service concepts as well as specially designed parts. With our CPS C Product Service we offer modular solutions that can easily be adapted to suit your individual needs. These CPS solutions can either contribute to reduce stock and replenishment times or can help to outsource the entire procurement process. Through customerspecific service concepts such as scanneroriented rack systems and justintime supply via Kanbansystem customers experience a crucial contribution to productivity growth. These systems are applicable for both highvolume assembly materials on the production line and sporadic resources requirements.

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Encouraging short term economic trends further global economic risks

Economic Forecasts for Switzerland Spring 2011 By the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO

Article from the Embassy

Despite the strong Swiss franc, the Swiss economy has so far been able to continue its buoyant growth, supported by the global economys positive impulses. The expert group continues to believe that there will be an increasing lag on exports, primarily due to the strength of the franc, and that this will have a cooling effect on the economy as a whole. The federal governments expert group forecasts growth in GDP of 2.1% in 2011 with slightly lower growth in 2012 (1.9%). However, the global economic outlook is dampened by numerous risks (such as debt problems in many countries), which are likely to hinder a stable recovery, with the latest development being uncertainties in connection with the looming nuclear disaster in Japan

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World economy: During the winter of 2010/2011, the world economy was relatively buoyant. The US economy in particular, which had temporarily struggled to get into gear, noticeably picked up speed thus brightening short term growth prospects considerably. The Euro zones moderate economic recovery has stayed on track despite the continuing national debt crisis, although there are still significant differences between the individual countries. In many emerging markets, economic growth has remained dynamic.
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Encouraging short term economic trends further global economic risks

Despite the improved short term outlook for the world economy there are still a variety of factors that could put a strain on the ongoing recovery. Due to the precarious state of public finances in many countries not only in Europe, but also in the USA there is growing pressure for consolidation measures, which might temporarily curb the economy. A further problem lies in the fact that the real estate crisis, particularly in the USA, is not yet over. As such, private consumption in the USA is unlikely to serve as a motor for growth for some time, as households are still reducing their debts or are forced to save. In addition, the sharp rise in the price of oil (and other raw materials) will continue to burden the global economy, as higher prices reduce consumer purchasing power and increase production costs for businesses. GDP of Switzerland: In view of the solid state of the domestic economy, the slow down over the next few quarters should be relatively mild. The new forecast of the expert group is for GDP growth of 2.1% for 2011 (previously 1.5%), and 1.9% for 2012 (as before). External Trade: Despite the very strong value of the Swiss franc, solid growth in exports has been recorded so far. This has been bolstered by the recent tailwind from the international economy (especially from emerging markets, the USA and Germany). Exports have also been helped by the chemical and pharmaceutical industries (roughly 40% of total good exports), which are relatively immune to exchange rate fluctuations. According to recent surveys, many companies (mainly in the machine industry) are reporting a weakened position compared to foreign competitors due to the exchange rate, as well as reduced margins. At present, the strain of the exchange rate is still being masked by the recovering world economy, which is having a positive effect on order books. Growth in exports will probably slow down over the course of the year due to the strong Swiss franc. Unemployment: The situation on the labour has continued to improve, unemployment rate fell further to 3.4% at the end of February 2011. The early indicators for the labour market suggest a continued positive trend. Weakening economic growth may gradually lessen the fall in unemployment in the later part of 2011 and next year. For 2011 the expert group expects an annual average unemployment rate of 3.2% (previously 3.4%) and 3.3% for 2012 (previously 3.4%).

Article from the Embassy

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Encouraging short term economic trends further global economic risks

Outlook for Switzerland: The current situation of the Swiss economy in spring 2011 is still positive. In Q4 the economy continued to grow strongly across a wide range of sectors and at above average levels in comparison with other European countries. The most recent economic indicators since the beginning of the year (January February) have also been positive. Business and consumer confidence surveys show few signs of weakness. Global economic outlook: It remains extremely uncertain. Economic recovery continues to be driven by extremely expansive and in the long term unsustainable monetary and financial policies. A monetary policy correction cannot be put off indefinitely without jeopardising price stability. The future development in the Euro zone still presents a huge factor of uncertainty. On the one hand, it may rise significantly again if unrest in the Arab region were to spread (e.g. to Saudi Arabia). On the other hand, a sudden easing on the oil markets cannot be ruled out if Japans demand for oil were to fall significantly as a result of the earthquake. The recent events in Japan present an additional risk for the world economy but it is likely that the consequences of the earthquake alone will not have a major impact on the world economy or that of Switzerland. However, this assessment could alter significantly in the event of a nuclear catastrophe. If the latent international economic risks were to materialise, the Swiss franc could experience renewed appreciation pressure and the competitiveness of Swiss companies in the global market would be additionally strained. Source: http://www.seco.admin.ch Next press release: Tuesday, June 14th 2011

Article from the Embassy

Kuala Lumpur, May 2nd 2011 Frank Eggmann Counsellor / Deputy Head of Mission
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