The German insurance Group Euler-Hermes, which in turn is part of the Allianz Group, recently established a subsidiary in Vienna, Prisma Kreditversicherung. The company plans to build up its international debt collection business from the Austrian capital. The target group of Prisma is primarily exporters operating in Eastern Europe. The Euler-Hermes Group has already set up offices in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania to serve its customers.
According to a recent study entitled “Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2010“, carried out by PwC together with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Vienna has moved up 12 notches in the rankings, from 17th to 5th place. 640 decision makers in the real estate industry were interviewed. Only Munich, Hamburg, Paris and London were rated more highly than Vienna. The study evaluated the yields on existing real estate, new acquisitions and project development. Accordingly, Vienna is among the top ten office markets in Europe. The leading cities of Munich and Hamburg score high in the study due to their broadly-diversified economies and the balance between supply and demand.
Austria grants up to five percent of its GDP for subsidies and incentives, the highest in the EU, according to Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Commission. The biggest funding body is the federal government, which spent about EUR 9 billion for business promotion in 2008. The Austrian federal provinces account for an additional EUR 3.3 billion in assistance, followed by municipalities with EUR 2.8 billion and the social insurance system with EUR 266 million. Thus the sum total of Austrian funding for the business community is EUR 15.3 billion.
The German automobile components supplier Benteler has announced plans to transfer its holding headquarters to Salzburg by May 2010. Based in Paderborn, the company is one of the major players for car bodywork, steel tubes and engines. At present, Benteler plans to transfer its holding headquarters to Salzburg, and coordinate its operational business from its new site starting in May. The reasons for selecting Salzburg are its good infrastructure and the almost complete lack of competition. Furthermore, Salzburg is one of the few remaining unchartered territories for Benteler in the region. This strategic decision will open up new perspectives for the further development of the steel giant, particularly on the German market.
The energy and environmental technology cluster of the federal province of Styria, ECO WORLD STYRIA, was ranked number one in the world by the international Cleantech Group (USA). Styria boasts the highest density of clean-tech companies in respect to the number, revenue and their contribution to gross domestic product and annual growth. The companies at ECO WORLD STYRIA lead the top ten list, ahead of New England, Finland, Canada and Denmark. “150 firms generate environmental technology revenues of EUR 2.7 billion, corresponding to about 8% of regional GDP. The average GDP growth has been 22% higher in recent years than global market growth. Additional global market shares were also won”, says Shawn Leser, the author of the Cleantech study, explaining his decision. Moreover, he emphasized the pioneering achievements and innovative strength of the companies in Styria.
The latest KOF Index of Globalization of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ranks Austria second. The index measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalization. The three top countries are Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Germany’s GLS bank is in the midst of its preparations to enter the Austrian market. GLS, which specializes in ecological and social issues, plans to operate as a universal bank in Austria. Its investment focus is on sustainable investments. The bank’s priorities are the financing of private schools or kindergartens, ecological construction financing as well as loans for projects in the field of renewable energy.
The first World Bank fund specializing in bad loans made in the Eastern European region has been established in Vienna. A U.S. company will reorganize the finances of affected banks with the assistance of international backers. Over the next three months, the “CEE Special Situation Fund” will commence operations in Vienna. The fund offers to purchase the toxic assets of banks or help them in their restructuring efforts.
Since 2006, Austria has been the EU leader in respect to the “Online availability of public services”. It reached a score of 100 percent in the latest analysis carried out by the consulting company Cap Gemini, which examined and evaluated 10,000 Websites of public authorities. Austria’s efforts to improve its efficiency focus on providing one-stop solutions. A one-stop-stop for companies has existed since the beginning of 2010.
The Canadian automobile component supplier Magna will also focus its efforts on electric cars in the future, and plans to set up a separate division for electric mobility. The development center for this division will be located in Graz. Together with Austrian business partners, Magna will invest more than EUR 50 million in the development of electric cars. The first electric powered vehicles are expected to leave the assembly lines starting at the end of 2011. As of the year 2014, Magna plans to launch its own vehicles.
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