Strong Liechtenstein business location thanks to stable structures and short distances

Dear participants of the Investor Summit,

On behalf of the Liechtenstein Government, I would like to welcome you to this year's anniversary edition of the Investor Summit Liechtenstein. This is the tenth time the Investor Summit has contributed to connecting founders and investors. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Skunk, the agency that hosts today's event, for the networking it has enabled. I also want to thank the media partners and the numerous business institutions that support the Investor Summit. The Liechtenstein Government is pleased to support the Investor Summit again this year, together with the Liechtenstein Investment Market Association. Notably, this patronage allows the Government to make its contribution toward enabling networks and promoting start-ups. Let me start with a quote from Victor Hugo: "Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come." It would be difficult to find a more apt description of humanity's quest for progress. Passionate about their own ideas, founders – people like you! – are the perfect symbol of this aspiration. At the beginning of your journey as a company is a promising idea – at the end of the journey, in the best case, an economic success story. We would like to support you on this journey. Start, develop and complete your ideas with us in Liechtenstein – there are numerous good reasons for doing so.

Liechtenstein offers you stable political structures and a broadly diversified business location with over 5,100 active companies. From January to November 24, 2021, we were able to register over 600 company formations, a remarkable number for a small country like Liechtenstein. Due to Liechtenstein's small size and its efficient administration, economic actors benefit from short, unbureaucratic channels as well as quick decision-making processes. Thanks to the customs treaty with Switzerland and access to the EEA, our country offers resident companies non-discriminatory access to two highly interesting economic areas. Membership in EFTA, in turn, enables Liechtenstein to be part of one of the largest networks of concluded free trade agreements worldwide.

As Minister of Home Affairs, I am convinced that the success of our efforts to generate work and wisdom strongly depends on research and innovation. For many years, the Government has therefore been striving to create ideal framework conditions for an innovation-friendly business location. In 2019, a total of over 375 million Swiss francs was invested in research and development in Liechtenstein. This corresponds to approximately 5.6% of our GDP and represents an international top value! The Government supports a range of platforms that promote innovation. Today's Investor Summit is an excellent example. In addition, we also invest heavily in the digitalization of the economy. Through digital checks, the Government supports SMEs that implement digitalization measures. In short: Liechtenstein is a strong and reliable partner for you, valued start-up entrepreneurs, today and in the future. With our help, your innovative or even revolutionary ideas are given the opportunity to become reality.

I am now looking forward to learning in more detail about the ideas of selected start-ups and growth companies together with you, and I wish you an exciting Investor Summit 2021. Thank you very much!

(Welcome address by Deputy Prime Minister Sabine Monauni at the Investor Summit, November 30, 2021)