About this portal
Helvetica Register is an independent publication on doing business in Switzerland. It is written for companies, entrepreneurs and investors from Greater China, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America who are setting up in Switzerland or already run a business here, and for the lawyers and advisers who accompany them. This page explains what the publication covers, where the material comes from, what standard it is held to, and where the line to legal advice runs.
What this publication is for
A company that enters the Swiss market meets a sequence of decisions which depend on one another: the choice between a company and a branch, the canton and its tax position, the question whether the business needs a licence, the bank that will open the account, the contracts with shareholders, distributors and employees, and the residence permits of the people who will run it. Each of these questions has a clear answer under Swiss law, but the answers are scattered across federal and cantonal rules, supervisory practice and the requirements of the banks.
Helvetica Register brings them together in articles that answer one question at a time, in English and with a view to readers whose legal background lies in Hong Kong or mainland China. Where a Swiss rule differs from what a reader from Asia would expect, the article says so.
The Swiss financial centres remain part of the picture. Zurich, Geneva, Zug, Basel and Lugano operate under the same federal law and differ in almost everything else: the composition of their industry, the cantonal tax position, the languages of their business community and the institutions they host. Where a company settles often matters as much as how it is structured.
What the articles cover
Law. Company formation and corporate governance, commercial contracts, acquisitions and joint ventures, employment, regulation and supervision, disputes and arbitration.
Tax. Corporate and cantonal taxation, withholding tax and stamp duties, double taxation treaties, the taxation of individuals who relocate, and the international exchange of information.
Trusts & Fiduciary. Holding and family structures, trusts and foundations, trustees and family offices, succession planning.
Banking & Finance. Opening and keeping a Swiss bank relationship, commodity and trade finance, and what makes a company from China, India, the Gulf, Africa or another emerging market bankable in Switzerland.
Capital Markets. Listings on SIX Swiss Exchange and BX Swiss, prospectus requirements, private placements and other forms of capital raising.
Who writes here
The publisher is Dr Alexander Ressos TEP, Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law in Zurich, entered in the Register of Attorneys of the Canton of Zurich, admitted as a Rechtsanwalt in Germany and as a Solicitor in Hong Kong and in England and Wales, and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. His practice, Ressos Legal, is based at Bahnhofstrasse 10 in Zurich and advises clients from Greater China, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America on Swiss corporate and commercial law, market entry, tax and private client matters.
That background shapes the articles in two ways. They compare, because a question about Switzerland reads differently when it is asked from Hong Kong, Shanghai or Singapore. And they connect, because in practice company law, tax, banking and residence form one project for the client and are treated here as one field.
Where the line runs
Helvetica Register is an independent publication. Its articles contain general information as at the date of publication; they do not take account of anyone's circumstances, they do not replace examination of an individual case, and they create no lawyer-client relationship. Reading an article, writing to the editors or receiving a reply does not establish an engagement.
Advice in an individual matter is given by the practice, which is presented separately at www.ressos.ch. It advises on Swiss law. Questions under the law of Hong Kong, mainland China or another jurisdiction remain with the client's lawyers there, with whom the practice works closely; law firms in Asia that refer a client keep the client relationship.
The particulars identifying the publisher appear in the Legal Notice; the conditions of use in the Terms of Use; the handling of personal data in the Privacy Policy.
Corrections and suggestions
References to errors, to outdated statements and to sources that ought to have been consulted are welcome, and so are suggestions for subjects that are missing. Write to contact@helveticaregister.com. Corrections are made in the article concerned and, where they affect substance, noted there.
Reuse
Individual articles may be read, printed and stored for private use, and quoted within the limits of the statutory right of quotation with the source named. Suggested citation: author, title of the article, Helvetica Register, date of access. Systematic copying, republication and the use of the content to train automated systems require prior written consent.