Contact:
Michael Leidig
Phone: +43 (0)1 811 40 174
E-Mail: leidig@newsfox.com
- Vienna
- Headquarters
- Congress
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| Congress Centre - The Hofburg Palace |
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Vienna (pte010/04.09.2012/10:30) - Walk into any shop in the Austrian capital Vienna and you are almost guaranteed to get somebody who can give you service in English. The English language is enormously popular here in the Alpine republic, and nowhere more so than in the capital.
According to the latest information from Statistics Austria, 65 percent of the population as a whole between 25 and 65 speaks English as a second language. That rises still further for those for whom English is a third or a fourth language.
The European Statistics Agency Eurostat puts the figure in the population as a whole at 68 percent who speak English, which on a European average means only the UK, the Baltic countries and Malta and Cyprus have a greater percentage of English speakers. Germany, Italy and France and the other countries featured fall far behind. Yet when the Economist wrote a story about the supposed decline of Vienna as a centre for international businesses, it claimed that the "biggest weakness" was the fact that so few of its citizens spoke the language.
It is a misconception, and one that in part could be spread by the fact that there is little dialogue on the subject of headquarters location.
Headquarters Austria (HQ Austria) which is interested in expanding debate on the subject of location is now organising Europe's first Congress allowing open debate on what a modern city needs to offer international firms to attract the business.
HQ Austria is independent - and not connected to any political party, and HQ Austria wants to put the focus of discussion on the dynamic developments in Europe's multinational business world with a platform for all.
But for the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, it is also an opportunity for the city to show what it has to offer. In the last two years, Austria has seen a net increase of 19 new regional headquarters. That means that with 308 regional headquarters Austria is in a considerably better position than its Central and Eastern European rivals in Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
More than a thousand international firms such as Siemens, Beiersdorf, Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly or Henkel and FedEx are coordinating their CEE businesses from Austria. But Austria is not resting on its laurels. As the president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce (WKW) Brigitte Jank explained: "The competition is not sleeping."
And the WKW is well aware of the need for continued investment to improve the attractiveness of the location - without continued investment in education and infrastructure the situation could quickly change for the worse.
More than 20 years after the opening of Europe many companies are now considering how best to match the economic and business requirements with their existing structure and headquarter decisions - something which the First European Headquarters Congress is set to address.
With its Spanish riding school and Hofburg palace, its cafes and parks, the baroque city of Vienna is a delight. Added together with its many international schools, cheap and efficient 24-hour public transport network and the fact it is just so clean and polished - it is small wonder Vienna frequently tops the various quality of life polls.
Leo Hauska, from HQ Austria, agrees, but adds that although Vienna remains extremely attractive for companies managing their businesses in central and Eastern Europe - new challenges are arising all the time - exactly the subjects that will be in focused on at the First European Headquarters Congress in October.
According to research by the Vienna Chamber of Commerce based on contact with 60 firms that have international headquarters in the capital - they are constantly reviewing their position. With modern communications technology and virtual office possibilities it is increasingly easy to be geographically diverse, and so the advantages of one location are gradually being diluted.
There constantly needs to be fresh impetus if the business is to be maintained. And it is worth maintaining. Brigitte Jank says that of the 118 billion euros investment by foreign firms in Austria some 84 billion - roughly 70 percent - is invested in Vienna. She said: "It is a powerful argument why we need to work hard to make sure Vienna remains attractive as a business location. A higher quality of life alone is not enough. Investors also need a reliable infrastructure, good connections to the main foreign markets and an environment in which the business can grow, with plenty of highly qualified staff."
To Vienna every investor is important, particularly those in the research and high-technology branches. She said that politicians also need to realise that they should do their part to support businesses - in for example making work permits for key staff and management easy.
But while the Economist may not have been correct in its assessment that English is the Austrian capital's biggest problem - it does have a few disadvantages notably in the fact that taxes are high and property prices are also expensive. Despite that business is still coming in for now. In the first half year of 2012 the Austrian business agency registered 94 new projects - in comparison with 80 in the same period last year.
Most of those came from Germany with 35 new projects, followed by Italy with 10 and Russia and Great Britain with six. From eastern and southern Europe there were 49 new companies, mainly from Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The latter is especially significant given the low wage costs and tax advantages that might otherwise have made these regions a rival for the headquarters location business.
For those interested in the topic the First European Headquarters Congress takes place on the 4th and 5th of October 2012 in Vienna. Experts from political business and scientific sphere will be discussing the challenges and what the future holds for headquarters in Europe.
It takes place in the Imperial Riding School Renaissance Vienna Hotel with a dinner in the Vienna City Hall, and booking can be made on http://www.headquarters-congress.com
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