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NEWS & PUBLICATIONSBusiness Memo October 2011Belgium 4th Country for Foreign Investment According to a recent report by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), foreign direct investment in Belgium rose by more than 50% from 2009 to almost $62 billion in 2010. Foreign direct investment worldwide increased by 5%, so Belgium definitely outpaced the global trend. Belgium is ranked as the fourth most attractive country for foreign direct investment, after the United States ($228 billion), China ($106 billion) and Hong Kong ($69 billion). Belgium was also 10th in the world ranking for outgoing direct investment ($38 billion). Read the UNCTAD report here. Ambassador Matthysen visited the U.S. headquarters of Ion Beam Applications (IBA) in Dulles, Virginia on September 21. He was hosted by Renaud Dehareng, President of IBA Molecular, and by Norman LaFrance, M.D., IBA Molecular Chief Medical Officer. The Embassy delegation also visited an IBA regional production facility in Sterling, Virginia, where they were guided by Manager Nasrin Pourkiani. The company develops technologies in the fight against cancer (diagnosis and therapy), and other major diseases. IBA is a spin-off of the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) in Belgium. Founded in 1986, the firm is present in more than 40 sites in North America, Europe and Asia, with its headquarters and R&D center in Belgium. IBA has been listed on the pan-European stock exchange Euronext since 1998. Company sales exceed €380 million. IBA currently has about 600 employees in 15 states across the U.S., representing about 1/3 of its global workforce. Most of IBA’s U.S. employees work in the Pharmaceutical division, which focuses on the manufacture and distribution of targeted molecular tracers (radioisotopes) for use in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning in hospitals. Because this diagnostic approach detects physiological changes at a cellular level, it can provide early evaluation of whether a tumor is benign or malignant, and enable the use of more targeted therapies. It also allows for timely evaluation to determine if a specific therapy is working, e.g. if malignant cells are being destroyed by the treatment. While IBA’s Pharmaceutical division focuses on the detection and characterization of diseases, IBA’s Equipment division focuses on the treatment side via proton therapy, which allows the precise treatment of a tumor with fewer side effects through the use of proton beams produced by a cyclotron. Mr. Dehareng explained that the key to IBA’s activities is a focus on ‘personalized medicine.’ The company, together with its biotech and medical community partners, is involved in the development of new, targeted molecular tracers, designed to provide accurate, specific diagnostic information for physicians. These tracers will be working in concert with therapeutic drugs and procedures to deliver effective treatment directly to diseased cells, while sparing healthy tissue. The goal is to have each patient receive the correct diagnosis and the effective treatment, given at the appropriate time. The impact on improving patient outcomes and containing healthcare costs is expected to be significant. This effort is reflected in IBA’s corporate mission: “To Enhance, Protect and Save Lives.” Belcham Entrepreneurship Awards Gala The Belgian-American Chamber Of Commerce Celebrates Belgian Entrepreneurship in the United States with the “Lifetime Achievement Award”, the “Belgian-American Company of the Year Award” and the “Most Promising Belgian-American Company of the Year Award at its annual Gala Evening on November 5th 2011 at the Harvard Club, NYC. BelCham Will honor Mr Georges Ugeux, Chairman and CEO of Galileo Global Advisors, with a “Lifetime Achievement Award”. For more information about the event, please visit www.belcham.org The Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, issued the biannual report on the Belgian economy during a press conference on 12 July last. He congratulated Belgium for the results achieved by the government over the past two years. According to the report's conclusions, Belgium weathered the storm of the financial crisis: ‘the economy is recovering well’. An Economic Study is published for each OECD member state approximately every two years. It surveys the country's main economic challenges, provides an in-depth analysis and makes recommendations on economic policy for each of the challenges identified. According to the OECD, Belgium has shown resilience to the crisis with a relatively modest increase in unemployment. The country's economy is recovering at a faster pace than the rest of the Euro zone and its budget deficit is reducing rapidly. The OECD encourages Belgium to continue restructuring its public finances, to focus on green growth alternatives and to widen access to the employment market. Read the OECD report here. According to the latest data released by the Wallonia Export and Investment Agency (AWEX), Wallonia sold €11.1 billion of merchandise abroad, i.e. the best result ever recorded on a quarterly basis and an increase of 17.6% over the same period last year. The previous record was reached from April to June 2008 (10.6 billion), before the economic crisis. The increase in exports was most pronounced outside the EU: +62.2% in Latin America, +35.7% in China, +68.9% in South Africa, +66.7% in India, and even +130% in Turkey. Exports beyond the EU borders now account for 25% of sales abroad. For the first quarter of 2011: 1,467 jobs were created (including 400 at Caterpillar!) thanks to 42 foreign projects in Wallonia, notes AWEX chief Philippe Suinen. Port of Antwerp Increases Volume During the first six months of this year, the port of Antwerp handled 96 million tonnes of freight, a . 10.4% increase over the same period last year. Container volume in Antwerp was up by 3.4%. Indeed, in 2010, Antwerp experienced the strongest growth of all the seaports in the Hamburg - Le Havre range. Conventional/break-bulk freight was up 16.9%, and in the Ro-Ro sector the port of Antwerp experienced an expansion of 15.8%, to 2.1 million tonnes. The number of cars loaded or unloaded during the past six months handled rose by 19.1%, with 526,841 cars being loaded or unloaded during the past six months. The volume of bulk freight rose by 21.5% in the first half of 2011, to 34.3 million tonnes. The increase was mainly due to strong growth in liquid bulk (oil derivatives, crude oil and chemicals). The excellent figures reflect Antwerp's position as the largest integrated petrochemical cluster in Europe. The sector continues to develop rapidly, with companies investing in infrastructure and in sustainable energy solutions. 2011 also saw significant expansion of the storage facilities for oil derivatives. Belgium 15th Most Competitive Economy The latest 2011-2012 Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum ranks Belgium in an excellent 15th place. The ranking is based on an extensive survey of more than 14,000 business leaders in 142 countries, combined with various objective data measuring the competitive strength of each country. Belgium not only moved up four spots compared with 2010, it also recorded the highest score ever in the report’s history. Belgium has, for the first time, surpassed France and is closing in on Germany and the Netherlands. Switzerland remains at the top, followed by Singapore, Sweden and Finland. The WEF ranks Belgium high for its excellent healthcare, and for the quality of its research, of its primary education and of its port and telecom infrastructure, as well as for its financial market development. With regard to the quality of management schools, detailed results show that Belgium is now the absolute no.1 country in the world. In the area of macro economic stability, taxation, government debt, labor regulations and government efficiency, on the other hand, the WEF thinks Belgium still has work to. Read the WEF report here.
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