SWISS COMMODITIES HUB
Commodities: Switzerland provides a comprehensive (and
critically biased) view of these developments in an historical context, including the arrival of heavyweights Cargill and Philipp Brothers in mapping this development process. “Unnoticed by the public and politicians, Switzerland has become the world’s most important commodities hub. Swiss- based trading in oil, gas, coal, metals and agricultural products – particularly via deals made in Geneva and Zug – has grown by an incredible 1,500% since 1998,” according to BD investigations. The result: seven of the twelve corporations with the highest turnover in Switzerland trade in (and/or mine) commodities, with Switzerland becoming a global hub thanks to its mix of tax privileges, a strong financial sector, weak regulation and lax embargo policy, the report says. A more balanced view of this development was presented by
Alexander Karrer, Deputy State Secretary of the Swiss Ministry of Finance at the same FT Global Commodities Summit. His views present a more nuanced picture of why Swiss-based commodity business is booming. Commodities now play an integral role in the Swiss economy
– perhaps larger even than tourism – with the region around Geneva hosting several hundred companies with activities directly related to commodity trading and shipping. But the sector is also relevant for other regions like central Switzerland and the Zurich area. And for the Swiss financial centre as a whole, services related to commodity finance are an important complement to its traditional pillar focused on wealth management.
The principal strength of the
Swiss commodity hub is that it encompasses all the services needed in the commodity trading business. “This cluster includes not only trading houses, but also trade finance banks, inspection and verification companies, insurance companies, law firms, fiduciaries,
Swiss-based trading ... has grown by an incredible 1,500% since 1998
forwarding agents and ship-brokers, and consultants,” explains Karrer. As trading houses are reliant on services from trade finance banks or inspection and verification companies, the strong presence of international commodity trading companies can be explained by this ‘cluster effect’. A key Swiss strength remains the
availability of a highly developed and stable financial system – offering
Connected with the best performers in Commodity Trading
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