P.IVA: 02717250126

MILANO VIA BORGONUOVO, 9 – 20121 MILANO TEL: 02/78.38.11 FAX: 02/36.75.51.82 E-MAIL: infomi@bsva.it

VARESE VIA MARCOBI, 8/10 – 21100 VARESE TEL: 0332/23.58.72 – 0332/28.55.53 FAX:0332/23.49.19 E-MAIL: infova@bsva.it

www.bsva.it

Insider tips for doing

business “The way”For the outsider, living and working in Italy is a practice in patience

OVERVIEW

BSVA Studio Legale Associato is a law firm established morethan 10 years ago, providing integrated legal advice todomestic and international clients mostly on corporatematters, commercial litigation, restructuring, employment andlabour law, administrative and insurance law.

In addition to advising clients on the main practice areas, theinternational capability of the Firm allows its professionals toadvice in devising and implementing creative structures forcomplex deals, real estate transactions, corporatereorganizations and restructuring, assets spin-offs and anyother transactions involving private companies and investors.

These services include legal advice in establishing company inItaly, drafting of shareholders and board meetings, negotiatingand drafting all types of commercial agreements, includingsupply, agency, distribution and employment contracts.

Our goal is to establish a long-standing relationship with ourclients. This enables us to have a deep understanding of ourclients’ business which results in cost-benefits and moreeffective legal representation. Our business model effectivelyand efficiently matches client requirements with tailor-madesolutions, saving valuable time and resources. BSVA StudioLegale Associato will support every step of the way in doingbusiness in Italy

BUSINESS-OPPORTUNIES-IN-ITALY

According to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom (The HeritageFoundation and The Wall Street Journal), Italy is only the 87thfreest economy in the world. Italian economy remains burdenedby political interference, bureaucracy, corruption, high levels oftaxation, a rigid labor market, an ineffective judicial system, acomplex regulatory framework and the high cost of conductingbusiness.

Despite this not particularly flattering picture, Italy remains the7th largest economy in the world and the 5th largest byindustrial output and still offers many good businessopportunities. It boasts world-class companies in the fields ofautomotive, high tech design and precision engineering, highquality consumer goods, textiles and fashion and is aninteresting market and aBUSINESS CULTURE THAT SIMPLY CANNOT BE IGNORED.

Italians are famous the world over for their sense of family and itcould be said that this strongly relationship-oriented approachhas been taken into the world of commerce. Indeed, it is true tosay that the Italian economy has a greater percentage of smalland medium sized, family-run businesses than any otherEuropean state.

This is not to say that all companies are riddled by nepotism andold style cronyism but the idea of an enterprise being anarrangement of strongly felt relationships is still very much inevidence.

BUSINESS-OPPORTUNIES-IN-ITALY

ITALY‘S ECONOMY HAS A NUMBER OFIMPORTANT STRENGTHS.

Italian households have sound balancesheets, and private savings havetraditionally been high. Private debt, atabout 125 percent of GDP, is among thelowest in the euro area.

The public sector, despite having one of thelargest debt in the world, has also largeassets.

With net foreign liabilities at around 20percent of GDP, Italy‘s net internationalinvestment position is more favorable thanin other euro area periphery countries, andits current account deficit is relatively low.Italy‘s exports, though lagging in terms ofhigh value-added contents, are among themost diversified in the world.

At present, even wide-ranging structuralreforms are underway in Italy, aimed ataddressing key bottlenecks in the productand labor markets, Italian banks are notfueling industry and business and most ofthe enterprises, are dealing with cost cuttingprogram, personnel redundancy or -evenworst- insolvency or pre-insolvencyproceedings.

In the same time, also the venture capitalindustry is on hold, even there are severalactive seed and venture capital funds, bothprivate and public or a combination of thetwo ready to support prospective foreignplayers by co-investing in early stagecompanies.

BUSINESS-OPPORTUNIES-IN-ITALY

In such a situation, also considering the ongoing financial crisis iskeeping blocked the economy in Italy, the liberalization and growthpolicies pushed by the government unleash attractive businessopportunities to develop for foreign investors in:

» Infrastructures (highways, high-speed train, intermodal);

» Public-private ventures in energy, water, gas, waste disposal andrecycling, public transport, etc.;

» Service (facility management; wholesale; cash and carry; retaildistribution and trade; R&D development);

» Financial Institution (open to foreign investor and to sovereignfunds to invest in shares of Italian banks);

» Healthcare and education ( for-profit colleges and universities;substitution of government –led with private-led and moreefficient healthcare service);

» Tourism and leisure (enhance and already distinguishedpositioning between the first to the fifth in world ranking foraccommodation capacity, tourist destination and arrival, currencyearnings);

» Environmental sector (agro-energy, water treatment, recycling-energy efficiency, waste, pollution control, biomass-building);

» Privatization (a new season of privatization for municipally-owned companies is on schedule).

How BSVA can help you?With respect to the possible business opportunities to bedeveloped in Italy, BSVA Studio Legale Associato, thanks to itsnetwork of clients, contacts and connections in variousindustry sectors, with banks and investment funds, can provideassistance to foreign investors in setting-up joint-ventures andstrategic alliances by negotiating a full array of cooperation andshareholders’ agreements, acquisition transactions ofcorporate’s equity stake, going concern, assets or real estatedeals.

MILAN, LOMBARDIA AND BSVA

With its offices in the financial/fashion district downtown Milan and in

Varese, BSVA Studio Legale Associato is located in the industrial and

commercial heartlandofNorthern Italy. However the firm’s clients aredoing

business throughout theentire country.

Milan area and Lombardia are in the heart of north Italy in a strategic

position between northern Europe and the Mediterranean basin, ensuring

high accessibility of goods and people, at the crossroads of Europe's two

vital development axes.

Milan is in an area with more than 10 million inhabitants, like London or

Paris; responsible for 15%of theGross Domestic Product (GDP); it has a per

capita income which is almost double the national one and its level of

unemployment is half of the national one; it registers 40% of invention

patents; yearly 10million tickets are sold for art exhibitions, theatre, cinema;

it is the business premises of 650 fashion showrooms and competes with

Paris and New-York; it is the capital of the voluntary service and the tertiary

sector.Milan always has been an international hub and its service economy

grewa lotover thepastyears.

WHY ITALY?

60 million consumers at home, 396 million consumers in

surrounding territories.

The reasons for doingbusiness in Italy are grounded. Strategically it is

located in the heart of theMediterranean area with communication

corridors to southern, central and northern Europe. By air, most of

Europe’s Capitals are within 2 hours flying time, as well as many in

North Africa and theMiddle East. This means that apart from the 60

million consumers at home, abusiness in Italy alsohas at its fingertips

an international market of another 396 million consumers in

surrounding territories, not counting themillions around theworld in

lovewith the Italian tasteor linkedwith the Italian roots.

THE IMAGES POSTED ABOVE REPRESENT SOME OF THE PRODUCTS OF THE ITALIANEXCELLENCE.Without any official reference to the specific brand or companies, please find heretothe industrial or business sectorswhere Italian companies are leaders or trend setters(here theofficial listof Italian leading companies:www.mbres.it/en/publications/leading-italian-companies);- Fashion business (haute couture, clothes, suits, shoes and luxury accessories,

manufacturing,etc.) ;- Food industry (Pasta, cheese, chocolate, wine, vegetables and fruits, fish and

meat,etc.);- Design andcontemporaryfurniture;Porcelain andceramic;- Hospitality and leisure (Hotels, restaurants, travel and tourism, Sport and

leisure); Healthcare- Automotive and Yachting (Luxury and sports car/motorcycle, shipyard, boat and

yacht);- Entertainment,Media&Communication;- Engineering; Aerospaceanddefense;Technology; Metals;

- Retail &Consumer.

DISCLAIMER

Information contained in this guide does not constitute any kind of adviceon any particularmatters and should not be considered as such.While allreasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this Guide, BSVAStudio Legale Associato accepts no responsibility for any errors it maycontain, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, or for any loss,howevercaused, sustainedbyanypersonthatreliesonit.

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