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Law · Tax · Banking · Private Wealth · Residence

Doing Business in Switzerland

How to benefit from the world’s leading centre forcross-border wealth and commerce

A comprehensive resource on Switzerland as a trusted global platformfor international companies, successful entrepreneurs and their familiesfrom Greater China, Asia, the Middle East, 
Africa and Latin America

Written and published byDr Alexander Ressos, TEPRechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law (Zurich, Switzerland)Trust and Estate Practitioner (STEP)Solicitor (Hong Kong)Solicitor (England & Wales)www.ressos.ch

Everything you need to know to do business in Switzerland

Dear Sir or Madam,

Helvetica Register is probably the most comprehensive information resource on doing business in Switzerland available on the internet, and it is free of charge. I wrote it for companies, entrepreneurs and families from Greater China, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America who are considering Switzerland as a base for their business or their wealth, and for the lawyers and advisers who accompany them. Having lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai, and having advised clients from across Africa, I know the questions that companies from frontier and emerging markets face when they come to Switzerland: banks that ask for more documents than they are used to, counterparties that need to be reassured, and a legal system that works differently from the one at home.

Setting up in Switzerland is straightforward once you know the rules. This resource sets them out in plain English, one question at a time, so that you arrive at your first meeting with the bank, the notary or the tax office already knowing what they will ask: which legal form suits your business, which canton, which licence, which bank and which permits your staff will need. Each answer rests on the statutes and official sources behind it, so that you can rely on it and present it to your board.

The articles contain general information and do not create a lawyer-client relationship. When your project needs advice on its specific facts, I will gladly help, working alongside your lawyers and advisers at home, if required.

Yours sincerely,

Signature of Dr Alexander Ressos

Dr Alexander RessosRechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law, Zurich

Explore the handbook

One Base for Four Continents

From Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to Zurich, Geneva and Zug.

Helvetica Register is written for companies, entrepreneurs and investors from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Japan and Korea, Singapore and South-East Asia, India, Central Asia and Mongolia, the Gulf, Africa and Latin America who use Switzerland as a global base: to hold subsidiaries, to bank, to trade, to invest and to raise capital, all the way to a stock exchange listing.

ShanghaiShenzhenHong KongTaipeiSingaporeJakartaManilaDubaiAbu DhabiDohaTokyoSeoulMumbaiUlaanbaatarTashkentAlmatyBakuKuala LumpurRiyadhBeijingJohannesburgLagosAccraNairobiCairoCasablancaPort LouisChengduBangkokHo Chi Minh CityMexico CityMonterreyGuadalajaraPanama CityBogotáLimaSão PauloRio de JaneiroMontevideoBuenos AiresSantiagoZurichGenevaZug

中文读者

在瑞士开展业务，从这里开始

Helvetica Register 以中文介绍瑞士的公司法、商业合同、银行开户、税务与居留。法律服务由在瑞士持牌执业的瑞索斯律师事务所提供，并与您在中国内地、香港或台湾的律师紧密合作。我们的瑞士团队中有以普通话和粤语（广东话）为母语的同事，回复迅速，可通过微信、WhatsApp、电子邮件和电话随时联系。

设立公司与控股架构 银行开户与许可证 税务、居留与家族财富
进入中文页面 与 Alexander Ressos 博士沟通

Get it right in Switzerland

Choose a subject and go straight to what applies to your company in Switzerland: the rules, the procedures and the figures, each with the source that supports it.

Banking and Wealth Management

Banking secrecy and its statutory core, the duty of disclosure and its exceptions, the restitution of retrocessions, dormant accounts, and the consolidation that has halved the number of Swiss private banks since 2005. To the articles

Capital Markets

Listing and prospectus, disclosure of shareholdings, market abuse and insider dealing, and the supervisory division of labour between the exchange and FINMA. To the articles

Insurance and Pensions

The insurance groups of Zurich and Basel, occupational pensions and their investment rules, and the supervisory regime that governs both. To the articles

Commodity Trading

What a trading house actually does, why two official measures of its economic weight differ by a factor of three, and where the reporting duties and sanctions bite. To the articles

Trade Finance

The documentary credit and strict compliance, the abuse-of-right exception, and the frauds of 2020 that changed how banks read a set of documents. To the articles

AML and Compliance

Due diligence under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, the reporting duty to MROS and what follows a report, and the supervisory practice that has grown around both. To the articles

Sanctions and Export Control

The Embargo Act and the ordinances made under it, the Swiss position on the measures against Russia, and the reach of foreign law into Swiss transactions. To the articles

Tax and Transparency

The automatic exchange of information and what it actually transmits, administrative assistance in tax matters, and the end of the distinction between evasion and fraud. To the articles

Group and Holding Structures

Holding and management companies, the cantonal tax position after the 2020 reform, substance requirements, and where a structure ceases to be recognised. To the articles

Crypto-Assets and Digital Assets

The Zug cluster and the DLT Act, the licensing of intermediaries, the treatment of tokens in insolvency, and the reporting duties that attach to them. To the articles

Succession, Trusts and Foundations

Trusts recognised under the Hague Convention, Swiss foundations, forced heirship and its limits, and the taxation of each across a border. To the articles

Regulation and Supervision

The powers of FINMA and the instruments it uses, the licensing of asset managers, and the enforcement procedure from first enquiry to final decision. To the articles

Litigation and Arbitration

Geneva as a seat of arbitration, attachment under the Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act, and the enforcement of an award against assets held in Switzerland. To the articles

White-Collar Crime and Corporate Liability

Article 102 of the Criminal Code and what it requires of an organisation, the return of illicit assets, and the procedure that runs alongside a supervisory one. To the articles

International Organisations

The organisations seated in Geneva, the privileges and immunities they carry, and the effect of both on banking, employment and procedure. To the articles

Financial History

The fairs, the Reformation, the Refuge, the annuity syndicates, 1934, the dormant assets affair – the episodes that left today’s provisions behind. To the articles

IPO and Listing

Listing on SIX Swiss Exchange or BX Swiss, the prospectus and its approval, and global depositary receipts for companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen. To the articles

Double Taxation Treaties

The treaties with China and Hong Kong, the reduced rates on dividends, interest and royalties, and how to recover Swiss withholding tax. To the articles

Nine decisions that make your Swiss business a success

When you set up in Switzerland, a handful of early decisions shape everything that follows: the legal form, the canton, the bank, the people who represent your company and the permits your staff need. Take them in the right order and you open for business months sooner, with a structure your bank and your counterparties trust.

Company or branch

A subsidiary is a Swiss company in its own right and limits liability to its capital; a branch remains part of the foreign parent. Banks, landlords and counterparties usually prefer the subsidiary.

AG or GmbH

The AG requires a share capital of at least CHF 100,000 (Art. 621 CO), the GmbH at least CHF 20,000 (Art. 773 CO). The GmbH is simpler to run; the AG keeps its shareholders out of the commercial register.

A signatory resident in Switzerland

At least one person authorised to represent the company must live in Switzerland (Art. 718 para. 4 CO for the AG, Art. 814 para. 3 CO for the GmbH). Foreign founders usually solve this with a Swiss director.

Choosing the canton

Profit tax rates differ markedly between the cantons, and so do the language of the authorities and the character of the business community. Zurich, Geneva, Zug and Ticino each offer a different combination.

Opening the bank account

The share capital is paid into a Swiss bank before registration. The bank examines the beneficial owners, the source of funds and the business model; for companies from Asia, the Middle East and Africa this step often takes longest and should start first.

Licences and supervision

Most commercial businesses need no licence. Financial services, asset management and many crypto activities may require a FINMA licence or membership of a self-regulatory organisation under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Public deed and commercial register

An AG is formed by public deed before a Swiss notary (Art. 629 CO) and acquires legal personality only with its entry in the commercial register (Art. 643 CO).

Work and residence permits

Nationals of China and other third countries need a permit to work in Switzerland. Admission is limited to qualified staff and subject to annual quotas, so the key positions should be planned early.

CHF 100,000

From this annual turnover in taxable supplies, a company must register for Swiss VAT (Art. 10 para. 2 VAT Act). Registration with the cantonal tax office follows the entry in the commercial register.

Zurich

Banking, capital markets and corporate headquarters

Switzerland’s largest financial centre, home to the SIX Swiss Exchange, the head offices of the major banks and many international groups.

Switzerland in figures

A financial centre of global weight.

CHF10trn

in assets under management at banks in Switzerland, a record

Swiss Bankers Association, 2026
>33%

of global trade in crude oil handled by traders based in Switzerland

FDFA, aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch
900

commodity trading companies, most of them in Zug, Geneva and Lugano

FDFA, aboutswitzerland.eda.admin.ch
230

banks licensed in Switzerland

State Secretariat for International Finance, Key figures 2025 (as of 2024)

Five Financial Centres

One safe country, five places to be successful

Each Swiss financial centre has its own strengths, and the choice of location shapes your tax position, your access to talent and your banking relationships from the first day.

Zurich

Zurich is the largest Swiss financial centre, home to the major banks and insurers and to SIX Swiss Exchange, where companies raise capital and list their shares. It is also where Ressos Legal has its office, on Bahnhofstrasse.

Read more

Geneva

Geneva is the oldest and the most international Swiss financial centre: private banking and wealth management, the international organisations, and the trading houses between the lake and the station that move a large share of the world’s crude oil and grain.

Read more

Zug

The lowest tax burden among the major Swiss financial centres: companies in the city of Zug pay around 11.9% on profits, federal tax included. Holding and trading companies, commodity houses and the blockchain firms of Crypto Valley are based here, and for many foreign groups Zug is where the Swiss company is first set up.

Read more

Compare locations

Which financial centre fits your goals and objectives?

Choose up to three locations and compare them side by side: tax burden, language, economic focus and connections. A starting point for the first conversation.

 

Holding structures

What would your Swiss holding payin tax, canton by canton?

Enter the expected annual profit and how much of it comes from qualifying dividends and gains on subsidiaries. The comparison shows the approximate profit tax in the five financial centres.

CHF 5 m
60 %dividends and gains on holdings of at least 10 %

This income is largely relieved by the participation reduction at federal and cantonal level. The rest (interest, royalties, services) is taxed normally.

LocationEstimated profit tax per year

Indicative figures only, not tax advice.

Method: the effective profit tax rate of each cantonal capital (federal, cantonal and communal tax combined) is applied to the part of the profit that does not come from qualifying participations; qualifying participation income is treated as fully relieved, which slightly understates the real burden (Art. 69 f. DBG; Art. 28 Abs. 1 StHG). Rates: Zug 11.71 %, Zurich 19.47 %, Basel-Stadt 13.04 % up to CHF 50 million and 14.53 % above (KPMG Swiss Tax Report 2026; applied here to the part of the profit above CHF 50 million as an approximation); Geneva 14.70 % and Ticino/Lugano 16.05 % (KPMG Clarity on Swiss Taxes 2025). Minimum tax: for groups within its scope, the Swiss top-up tax raises the effective rate to 15 %; how it applies to participation income depends on the group, so here it is shown only as a floor on taxable profit. Not included: capital tax, commune-specific multipliers, tax rulings, patent box, R&D deductions, withholding tax. Figures are indicative and do not replace an analysis of the specific case.

Geneva

Commodity trading, private wealth and international organisations

The French-speaking centre on the lake, where commodity trading houses, private banks and international organisations sit side by side.

Articles and Insights

All articles
All articles

Books and Practitioner Handbooks

All titles

Zug

Holding companies, trading houses and digital assets

A small canton next to Zurich with a competitive tax position, home to international holding and trading groups and to the blockchain businesses known as Crypto Valley.

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?

Helvetica Register is an information portal. It explains what companies and entrepreneurs from around the world, and in particular from Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, need to know about doing business in Switzerland: company law, commercial contracts, licences, banking, tax and residence.

Legal advice in Switzerland is provided by Ressos Legal, a Zurich law practice advising on all areas of Swiss law under the direction of Dr Alexander Ressos. Further information is available at www.ressos.ch.

Your project in Switzerland Speak to Dr Alexander Ressos Company formation, shareholder and commercial agreements, acquisitions, licences, bank accounts, tax and residence permits: I advise on Swiss law and coordinate with your lawyers in your home country, as well as local counsel in other jurisdictions as required.

How Ressos Legal can help

Beyond the information in this handbook, Ressos Legal advises companies, entrepreneurs and families from around the world, and in particular from Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, on all areas of Swiss law, including corporate and commercial law, banking and finance, investment funds, trusts, tax and inheritance matters, and litigation and arbitration, working together with their lawyers and advisers at home.

  • China Desk For companies, investors and families from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: setting up, banking, trading and holding assets in Switzerland, with a team that speaks Mandarin and Cantonese.
  • Companies and groups Corporate and commercial law, regulatory matters and compliance: Swiss companies, holdings and branches, commercial contracts, bank accounts and licences, capital increases and listings on SIX Swiss Exchange.
  • Private wealth Companies, trusts and foundations in Switzerland and abroad for asset protection, wealth planning and succession, including Liechtenstein foundations and offshore trusts.
  • Moving to Switzerland Residence permits and lump-sum taxation, permanent residence and citizenship, schools, buying a home and the move itself for international families.
  • Dispute resolution Litigation and arbitration before Swiss courts and arbitral tribunals, injunctions and asset freezes, and the protection of assets under pressure.
  • Asset management The licensing and supervision of portfolio managers and managers of collective assets, the structuring of Swiss and foreign investment funds, and their distribution in Switzerland.
  • Tax, inheritance and estates Swiss and international tax for companies and families, double taxation treaties, inheritance and the administration of estates.
  • Trade and sanctions Commodity trading and trade finance, sanctions and export controls, and the compliance programmes of trading companies in Switzerland.
  • Crypto and digital assets Token classification and FINMA licences, crypto businesses in Zug’s Crypto Valley, the taxation of digital assets and disputes over them.
Attorney Profile and Qualifications Speak to Dr Alexander Ressos

An Invitation for Cooperation to Law Firms and Advisors in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America

When your client invests or does business in Switzerland, the Swiss side of the matter needs a Swiss lawyer. I advise on Swiss law only, so the advice on the law of your home jurisdiction, and your relationship with the client, remain with you.

I am myself also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England and Wales, and I practised for 15 years in Singapore and Hong Kong, living in Singapore as a permanent resident. I understand how your clients think and take decisions, and my team includes native speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese who respond promptly and can be reached on WeChat, WhatsApp, by e-mail and by phone, in keeping with the pace at which business is done in Asia.

The same applies to accountants, tax advisers and family offices who need a Swiss counterpart for a company formation, a bank account, a licence or a transaction governed by Swiss law.

We agree the protection of your client relationship in writing: I will not approach your client on any other matter, we define the scope of the mandate at the outset, and I report to you as well as to the client.

Refer a client
Dr Alexander Ressos, Attorney-at-Law in Zurich

Dr Alexander Ressos

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law (Zurich, Switzerland)
Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP)
Solicitor (Hong Kong)
Solicitor (England & Wales)

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From the world's growth markets to Switzerland: How you can benefit

Quality and Exclusivity

Companies, founders and investors from around the world, and especially from Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, choose Switzerland because it is a premium jurisdiction: its 230 banks make an emerging markets business internationally bankable and investable, its capital market is open for an IPO or a fundraising round, Geneva and Zug are among the world's leading commodity hubs, and a Swiss local presence inspires trust with counterparties and lenders worldwide.

The Swiss legal system protects confidentiality and works efficiently. If you relocate with your family, you will find one of the highest qualities of life in the world: excellent international and private schools, universities that rank among the best in Europe, first-class healthcare, safe cities, and beautiful lakes and mountains on your doorstep.

An Invitation to Law Firms in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America

As a Swiss Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law based in Zurich who is also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and England & Wales, I work closely with law firms in your home jurisdiction, from mainland China and Hong Kong to the Gulf, Africa and Latin America: you advise on the law of your jurisdiction, I advise on Swiss law. Your client remains your client.

I arrange the incorporation of companies, partnerships, trusts, foundations and other structures in Switzerland and abroad, and take care of all legal agreements relating to them, from shareholder agreements and commercial contracts to licences. I also act as your external general counsel and as the one-stop coordinator in multi-jurisdictional matters.

Full administrative services for your company are available through an affiliated trust company in Zug, the most favourable canton for setting up a company in Switzerland, which also works in Chinese. Its services include bookkeeping, payroll, annual accounts and tax returns.

Contact me for a first conversation: together we establish which entity, which licence, which banking relationship and which residence permit your project needs, and how to best go about it. Much of my practice consists of exactly these projects. Beyond that, I advise on all aspects of Swiss corporate and commercial law, banking and finance law, and litigation and arbitration.

  • Company, licence and bank account, planned together First the Swiss company is set up. Then the licences and permits your business needs are obtained, from cantonal trade, import and professional permits to a FINMA licence (in the case of financial services) or membership of a self-regulatory organisation. Finally the bank account is opened. Each step builds on the one before, so we prepare them together.
  • Crypto-assets and digital assets since 2017 I have advised on digital assets since 2017, on more than 900 projects: token issuances, trading platforms and custody, decentralised finance and the tokenisation of real assets. This includes legal opinions on the classification of tokens under financial regulatory law, on licensing requirements and on anti-money laundering duties, and the set-up of foundations and companies in Zug's Crypto Valley.When things go wrong, I act in crypto-related disputes, litigation and arbitration, including claims against fraudulent exchanges and decentralised finance platforms. I trace misappropriated assets on the blockchain and apply for freezing orders, injunctions and the attachment of assets held in Switzerland and abroad.
  • Swiss counsel, working alongside your lawyers at home I am a Swiss lawyer entered in the Register of Attorneys of the Canton of Zurich and admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England and Wales. I am also admitted as a Rechtsanwalt in Germany. On Swiss inbound matters my role is Swiss law; advice on the law of Hong Kong, mainland China or any other home jurisdiction stays with your lawyers there. Because I am trained in common law, their documents, their drafting and their way of working are familiar to me, which makes the cooperation quick and precise. Having practised in Singapore and Hong Kong for more than 15 years, with clients across mainland China and Asia, I understand Chinese and Asian business culture and how decisions are taken, and my team includes native speakers of Mandarin and Cantonese who respond promptly and can be reached on WeChat, WhatsApp, by e-mail and by phone, in keeping with the pace at which business is done in Asia.I also know the Middle East from the inside: I lived in Dubai and served as legal counsel to the Government of Dubai, including legislative drafting for its world-class financial centre. For example, together with Professor Peter Butt of the University of Sydney, I drafted land laws and land registration legislation for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).I have also advised clients from Africa, among them commodity traders from West Africa, on structuring their business and holding their assets through Switzerland.Among many other cross-border matters, my work has also taken me to coal mining projects in Mongolia, agricultural commodity trading in Ukraine, defence industry public procurement projects in the Middle East and international fertiliser trading in Geneva. For almost ten years I also served as a director of a commodity trading house in the chemical industry based in Geneva.
  • Direct access I handle your matter personally, supported by a multilingual team, from the first assessment to completion. You deal with the same person throughout. Your success is my best reference.
Speak to Dr Alexander Ressos Attorney Profile and Qualifications Visit ressos.ch

The first conversation is without obligation. It clarifies whether and how I can act for you; legal advice follows once an engagement has been agreed. Professional secrecy applies from the first word.