Working Group on Finance and Taxation Meet in Zurich

At the beginning of November 2007, the Working Group on Finance and Taxation met CFOs of Swiss companies in Zurich. During the daylong meeting, the heads of the working group, Professor Dirk Honold and Dr Jan Schmidt-Brand, gave presentations on the effects of the latest amendments to the Law on the Limitation of Risks Related to Financial Investment and on the Modernisation of Conditions for Capital Investments that were recently passed in Germany. The presentations were followed by a group discussion. In addition, the some 30 participants – of whom around 10 were from Switzerland – were first able to enjoy the entertaining comments by experts about the demands of the public capital market on biotechnology companies from the viewpoint of biotech research and then listen to a presentation about the situation and trends in global finance markets with information about asset management.

Barbara Heller (Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG) and Bernhard Hofer (Paion AG) gave presentations about their companies and their specific historical and current challenges, which were followed by a lively discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of Switzerland and Germany as business locations.

The meeting ended with a reception in the Zunfthaus zum Rüden am Limmatquai. The next meeting is scheduled on 12 February 2008 in Heidelberg.