 Ernst & Young - spots The Hague on top of foreign investor's agendaThe Hague attracts a growing number of international businesses – in 2007, 34 new foreign companies established operations in the region. That trend is set to continue this year. The Hague offers a quality of life that no other city in the Netherlands offers: it blends its quaint sea-side milieu with a sophisticated international atmosphere, and fuses its distinguished history with modern amenities and a hip cultural scene. But there is much more that draws investors to this unique Dutch city.The Hague is an attractive location for setting up a business. It is a highly international business-orientated city, with a strong concentration of companies in the oil and gas, IT and telecom, and non-profit sectors. Therefore, The Hague has always been an attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). However, the global arena for FDI projects witnesses an increasing number of competitors. Ernst & Young Real Estate Advisory Services (REAS) has surveyed how foreign investors perceive The Netherlands and, in particular The Hague, as a business location. In this study, 55% of the 205 top executives interviewed, mentioned Western Europe as the most attractive region for FDI. Although China, Central and Eastern Europe, North America and India are hot on Western Europe’s trail, top executives of companies that established a business in the Netherlands indicated that they expect the attractiveness of Europe to increase in the coming three years. The study of Ernst & Young shows that even though India and China have often been cited as the new drivers of the world economy, this is not true for FDI in the Netherlands: the USA remains the most important country for FDI in The Netherlands (48% of all FDI). This is also true for The Hague; 46% of all FDI originates from the USA. Examples of American companies that have established their business in The Hague are SAIC, Cirrus Energy, Converse, Viatel, and Invertix.  Next to the USA, the United Kingdom (24% of all FDI) and China (7% of all FDI) are important origin countries for The Hague. Examples of companies from these countries that have established a branch in The Hague include British Petroleum, Sitetel (both from the UK), ZTE, Huawei, AEON, and De Hang (all from China). These companies have chosen The Hague as their location to do business, because of the international business environment, presence of many international organizations, business clusters and the excellent accessibility. All these factors account for The Hague being an attractive location for foreign companies to open up their offi ce. The Dutch national airport Schiphol, which is the 4th largest airport in Europe in terms of passengers, is only 30 minutes from The Hague and has direct fl ights to over 260 destinations worldwide. Companies that have recently located their business in The Hague have confi rmed that the city’s proximity to Schiphol is a big advantage. Ernst & Young’s International Location Advisory Services supports companies in their search for a location and experiences that companies often try to reduce costs by consolidating facilities in Europe. With the help of the latest ICT developments, companies are able to concentrate activities at locations that best suit their business needs. This development gave rise to increasing foreign direct investments in call centres, and shared service centres. The Hague performed well in attracting many of these concentrated business service centres. The Netherlands has traditionally also been strong in attracting headquarters and is still considered one of the most attractive locations for headquarters in Europe (next to the UK and Switzerland). The Hague hosts relatively many headquarters of multinational companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell, KPN, AEGON, and Tebodin and has also been successful in attracting foreign headquarters. Over 17% of all FDI projects in The Hague can be attributed to headquarters facilities. The presence of these headquarters’ and the large international institutions furthermore attract a substantial number of expatriate and talented workers. This international community in The Hague makes it easy to hire employees with international experience, as has been confi rmed by foreign companies that have established business in The Hague. The multicultural population of The Hague is another reason why families of foreign employees plan to locate in The Hague. Overall, The Hague is well positioned to compete with other European cities. The Hague offers talent, infrastructure, and innovative knowledge institutions. Being a creative city with a large number of companies in highly dynamic markets, The Hague is an attractive place to do business. Dr. Jan C.M.M. Siemons Partner Ernst & Young, Managing Director Real Estate Advisory Services, and International Location Advisory Services.  Dr. Jan C.M.M. Siemons Partner Ernst & Young, Managing Director Real Estate Advisory Services, and International Location Advisory Services. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.ey.com |
