Swiss Economy Has Turned The Corner, UBS Survey Suggests

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

08 July 2002

A new survey condusted by Swiss banking group, UBS has revealed that the jurisdiction's industry players believe the worst is over for Switzerland's economy.

According to a Swissinfo report, the poll of 300 companies from various industry sectors conducted in June showed that most Swiss firms intend to increase production over the coming months, having scaled back their business activities in the first half of this year.

The survey revealed that the pharmaceutical, watchmaking, and paper sectors moved back into positive growth in the second quarter of 2002. Although the news was not so good for the textile, timber, and capital goods industries, which remained depressed, the low point appears to have been reached, according to UBS.

Based on the positive results of the survey, economists have predicted that the third quarter of this year will provide a continued upturn for almost all sectors of Swiss industry, with paper and watchmaking the exception.

However, due to uncertainty as to the strength and duration of the improvement in sentiment, the vast majority of the firms questioned said that they were not planning to hire extra staff over the coming months. Indeed, one in nine of those polled revealed that they are considering a reduction in staffing levels between now and September.

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