Global The Hague

The lure of The Hague

The 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 amenitiesand a hip cultural scene. But there is much more that draws investors to this unique Dutch city.

Connections - If being at the right place at the right time is a recipe for business success, then The Hague is where you need to be. A good example is in the IT and telecoms industry. The Hague is home to KPN Telecom’s national and global headquarters as well as the independent Post and Telecom Authority. T-mobile, the country’s second largest mobile operator after KPN, and a host of suppliers are based here. Last year, the IT sector pulled in the largest number of new international companies in any single sector. According to Henny van der Heiden, Head of Corporate Communication at T-Mobile, The Hague is an ‘ideal location’. “There is an important ICT network here which supports communication between companies. There is also an excellent investment culture in The Hague. The lines to the local government are short and effective, increasing the efficiency of decision-making.”In the Netherlands, the population of 16 million people use 20 million mobile phones. Ninety percent of all Dutch homes have high-speed Internet access and email, the highest in Europe. This demand for new technologies in the consumer and business-to-business markets has created strong clusters of IT and Internet companies in the Netherlands. The West-Holland cluster, which comprises The Hague, is made up of a broad spectrum of companies specialized in chip design, software development, IT services, IT security, Internet applications and gaming.

West-Holland has one of the best-educated labour forces in Europe. There are two top graduate universities and five undergraduate colleges in the region: more than 33% of the total population has a bachelor or masters degree. The populace is also multilingual: 78% of the population speaks English, 57% speaks German and 14% speaks French. As Mr. Van der Heiden explains, “T-Mobile’s offices are located just behind the Holland Spoor train station.” “The access to the train network has been a huge added benefit to attracting personnel from outside the city.” In the IT sector, approximately 31,000 students follow a relevant programme in the region. The Delft University of Technology is one of the world’s best technical education centres. Other technical institutions in the region include the Rijswijk Technical University of Professional Education, The Hague University of Professional Education and the Academy of IT/Telecom and Media in Zoetermeer.

Access to markets - The Hague region is well known for being a key market player in the life sciences, oil & gas, telecom & IT, horticulture and aerospace industries. Each of these domains is a market in itself; training and research facilities, businesses, government departments and service providers have easy access to each other. This networking stimulates the cross-fertilisation of ideas and innovation in each sector and across the domains. It also means that contractors and service providers can easily locate each other. For example, there are 65 life science companies that employ more than 6,500 people in The Hague region. “These companies aren’t here by accident,” says Mrs. Wapenaar. One reason they were attracted to the region is the fact that there are nine academic research centres including the Genomics Centre for Medical Systems Biology, Leiden University’s Medical Centre and the Competence Centre for Life Science.

Another regional attraction for life science companies is the Leiden Businesspark. The 45-hectare science park, fully equipped with incubators, laboratories and cleanroom facilities, is among the top five most successful science parks in Europe. It focuses on research and development and the production of drugs and medical devices. The Hague area is centrally located between the port of Rotterdam and Schiphol airport and has an excellent road and public transport network. This logistical network hasaided the Westland’s horticultural industry to become a leading producer and exporter of flowers, vegetables and potted plants. In fact, Westland is to horticulture what Silicon Valley is to computers: the more than 7,000 enterprises in the region make up an innovative greenhouse area that is renowned around the world.

Rolling out the welcome mat - Other factors that aid investors to be drawn to The Hague are the efforts undertaken by the staff of the WFIA. This organization actively seeks to interest international companies to settle in The Hague and the West-Holland region.

In addition to this acquisition role, the WFIA actively maintains relations with both present and potential future international investors. That is a major benefit to foreign investors. The WFIA is an important communication link between the business community and the municipal government. They have a personal relationship with the companies as well as in-depth understanding of the government system. The WFIA have also been instrumental in creating business-to-businessnetworking opportunities and aiding newly arrived personnel in their adaptation to the region. The Hague is an old world city that is ambitious in its drive to mark its place in the new world economy. In addition to actively developing its infrastructure and highlighting its spacious layout, The Hague continuously strives to provide high quality accommodation and facilities in order to appeal to a sophisticated international business community. This jewel of a city, nestled in the dunes, is only just rising to its full potential as a world-class location for enterprise and innovation.