belgium : gateway to europe an overview of the belgian economy by philippe donnay, economic advisor...
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Belgium :
gateway to Europe
An overview of the Belgian economy
By Philippe Donnay,Economic advisor Federation of Enterprises in Belgium
Belgium : Gateway to Europe
1. Belgium, at the heart of Europe
2. “State of the art”-infrastructure
3. A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
4. An open and attractive economy
Belgium: at the heart of Europe
UnitedKingdom
France
Germany
Netherlands
Luxembourg
Belgium: at the heart of Europe
Brussels
• capital of Belgium
• capital of the EU
• headquarters of NATO
• 1,700 European headquarters of MNOs
• world’s fourth international meetings and conferences center
• second largest concentration of journalists in the world
Belgium is Belgium is at the heartat the heart of : of :
three cultures,three cultures,
the Europe of the 15,the Europe of the 15,
a 370 million Consumers Market.a 370 million Consumers Market.
Do you know that Do you know that 60% of the 60% of the European European market is located market is located at less then one at less then one driving day ?driving day ?
Belgium: at the heart of Europe
Belgium : Gateway to Europe
1. Belgium, at the heart of Europe
2. “State of the art”-infrastructure
3. A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
4. An open and attractive economy
0,52
0,65
1,31
1,32
1,62
1,62
1,77
3,07
4.0
4,86
0 1 2 3 4 5
Sweden
USA
Spain
Ireland
United Kingdom
France
Germany
J apan
The Netherlands
Belgium
Source: Competitiveness Yearbook 2003
Road Infrastructure
Density Km/sq.Km
A Highly Developped Road Network
100
104
117
117227
227285
288430
474
0 100 200 300 400 500
USA
Sweden
Spain
Ireland
J apan
France
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Germany
Belgium
USA= base 100
Source: Competitiveness Yearbook 2003
Railway network
Density /sq.km
A Dense Railway network
Air Infrastructure
Numerous intra-European and inter-continental air connections
• Brussels Airport – Zaventem worldwide passenger and cargo services
• Ostend – Bruges Airport mainly cargo services
• Deurne Airport European passenger services (e.g. London, Berlin, Dublin, Geneva)
• Liege Airport top ten European air freight hub (380 000 T handled in 2003)
• Charleroi Airport passenger terminal; hub a.o. to Ryan Air
Water Infrastructure
• Antwerp2nd largest port in Europe, 4th largest worldwide (140 mln. tonnes of cargo/year)
Largest petrochemical complex in Europe, 2nd largest worldwide
• Zeebruges Leading port in the car sector (1 577 618 cars)
• Ghent23,9 mln. tonnes seaborne cargo traffic (wide variety of cargo)
• OstendHandling goods and passenger services
• LiègeSecond largest European River Port (27 mio T loaded/unloaded
2002)• Brussels
Maritime harbour with ships up to 4,500 Tons• Strepy-Thieu
Most advanced boat lift - 1.1350 t
Water Infrastructure
Belgium : Gateway to Europe
1. Belgium, at the heart of Europe
2. “State of the art”-infrastructure
3. A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
4. An open and attractive economy
90 9073
3825
8070
4428
16
55
14 12 10 50
20
40
60
80
100
Quadrilingual
Trilingual
Bilingual
Anglo-saxon German
ic
Romanic
Source: OCDE 2000
Multilingual Workforce
Is it easy to have access to a skilled labor force in your region ?Is it easy to have access to a skilled labor force in your region ?
Source: Competitiveness Yearbook 2003
5,276,16
6,37
6,586,83
7.00
7,03
7,087,19
7,29
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Spain
Sweden
France
Belgium
Japan
Germany
Ireland
USA
(Out of 10)
Ability to Recruit New Talents
0,9
1,2
1,6
1,8
1,9
2,1
2,6
4
0 1 2 3 4 5
Belgium
Italy
Germany
Spain
Portugal
France
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Absenteeism rate in % of hours normally worked
Source:Eurostat
Absenteeism
Belgium : Gateway to Europe
1. Belgium, at the heart of Europe
2. “State of the art”-infrastructure
3. A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
4. An open and attractive economy
Exports Imports
Belgium: hub of Europe
Belgium
EU
Importance of foreign trade
25
35
45
55
65
75
85
95
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
% o
f GD
P
Exports of Belgium
Top five export nations in 2003 (bn EUR)
17,78
21,95
26,61
37,16
42,451. Germany
2. France
3. Netherlands
4. UK
5. U.S.A.
Top five export products in 2003 (in %)
10,7
13,4
13,54
14,41
22,181. Chemicals andpharmaceuticals
2. Transportequipment
3. Machinery andequipment
4. Plastics
5. Diamonds andprecious metals
Belgium : A wealthy country
70
75
80
85
90
95
100
105
110
GDP per capita (EU-15 = 100)
BelgiumFranceGermanyItalyEU-15EU-25
… ON ALL LEVELS OF YOUR INVESTMENT
The Corporation Real estate and equipment
depreciation system Special tax agreements:
fiscal rulings Low effective corporate tax rate:
many tax rebates applicable and as from 1-1-2006 : notional interest deduction
The Shareholder no taxation on capital gain
The Management attractive fiscal system for
expatriates
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Italy
Sweden
Denmark
Belgium
Luxemburg
Ireland
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Germany
France
Effective tax rates
2001
Effective tax rates
2001
Source : The Effective Tax Burden of Companies in the Member states of EU Source : Baker & MçKenzie 2000
Many Fiscal Opportunities For Foreign Investors
Notional interest deduction
• A new innovative tax feature in international tax low
• What is it ?– A notional interest calculated and deducted yearly
from the taxable basis– Used to off-set operational or financial income
(lower effective tax rate)– Automatically applicable to all Belgian companies
and branches of foreign companies
Notional interest deduction
• Reduce the tax discrimination between debt-financing and equity-financing
• Lower the effective corporate tax rate for all companies (higher after-tax return on investment)
• Strenghthen the financial position of companies and branches by increasing their equity
Notional interest deduction
• How does it work ?
Annual Tax Deduction
=
Equity x Rate
Made in BelgiumProducer of the largest number of cars per capita in
the EU.
The world's second largest petrochemical centre.
One third of all dredging work in the world done by
Belgian companies.
The world's leading exporter of synthetic carpets.
By far the world's largest diamond centre.
Belgian fashion is recognized on the
international scene.
Renowned all over the world for chocolates,
biscuits, beer and endives.