The Netherlands
Prime Moves
A publication of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency | July 2012 | UK & Ireland Edition
The Netherlands: gateway to growth As the world becomes more interconnected, ambitious companies are investing overseas to spur growth and to open up new markets. In fact, the FDI Forecasting Unit at the Financial Times is cautiously optimistic of a 4.4% growth in global FDI in 2012, with particularly strong growth in renewable energy and data centres*.
Top European destinations Of the top 10 European destinations for FDI, the Netherlands was the best performer in terms of growth in the number of FDI projects in 2011. Expanding overseas The UK government is encouraging companies in the UK to increase their trade and investment activities abroad and expand into addiCountry
Growth in number of 2011 projects (% change on 2010)
The Netherlands 29% Ireland 22%
tional markets. Research by RSM Tenon in 2012, revealed that a third of UK entrepreneurs are planning to expand their business overseas. Of them, nearly half are looking to Western Europe as their best opportunity for business growth, regardless of the Eurozone crisis.
Romania 20% UK 13% Spain 0.4% France -2% Czech Republic
Source: NL Agency
-5%
Poland -13% Russia -16% Germany -22% Source: The FDI Report 2012. Fdi Intelligence, a division of the Financial Times Ltd.
Ireland take their first steps into the markets of mainland Europe by investing and expanding into the Netherlands. “This shows the Netherlands still has a favourable investment climate,” says Mr Henk Bleker, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Investment. “Companies favour our position as a stepping stone to Europe because of our language and educational skills as well as our fiscal climate.”
Next step into Europe The NFIA results for 2011 reveal that many companies from the UK and
Contents
The Netherlands is ‘Open for Innovation’
Ventac and Terremark’s new home in Holland
4
NFIA News
5
Prime Moves
6
2-3
The Netherlands is ‘Open for Innovation’ The Dutch are well known for their innovative culture – from solutions for use in the natural environment, such as combating rising water levels and building islands in the sea, to developing new technologies such as TomTom and Wi-Fi.
sity of Twente. This university also hosts Nanolab NL, and conducts joint research into nanotechnology. All these networks provide important platforms to link scientific knowledge with the commercial need for innovation and help with faster and lower cost routes to market.
The Open Innovation Model ‘Open Innovation’ is a term promoted by Berkeley Professor, Henry Chesborough, as a way of managing innovation and bringing monetary value to technical knowledge and creativity. Dutch companies successfully adopt an open innovation culture – using external as well as internal ideas, partnerships and risk and reward sharing.
Clusters of expertise In international rankings, Dutch universities score highly for both teaching and research. Moreover, the presence of home-grown leading multinationals, such as AkzoNobel, Philips, Shell and Unilever is combined with many other global businesses, such as Danone, Dow and Yakult, who have chosen the Netherlands for their R&D activities. This ensures a solid, broad and extremely knowledgeable business base. Food Valley and Leiden Bio Science Park are two examples of world class clusters of expertise.
The High Tech Campus Eindhoven is synonymous with open innovation. Philips was the driving force behind its establishment in the 1990s and its continued growth is a result of several public and private sector collaborations. Now, over 8,000 researchers, developers and entrepreneurs work closely together developing new products and technologies in high tech systems. Other smaller scale examples include the Open Innovation Centre Advanced Materials (OICAM) in Nijmegen. This network of companies and knowledge institutes focuses on sharing knowledge, conducting research into and developing high-grade materials and material technology. Closely linked, 200 researchers at the Dutch Polymer Institute perform exploratory research in the area of polymer materials together with the Univer-
Source: Jeroen Verreijt ǀ Dutch Polymer Institute
The Netherlands ‘Open for Innovation’ | page 2
New R&D fiscal policy The Netherlands has a new competitive R&D fiscal policy to help companies looking to finance their R&D activities. As well as the corporate tax rate of 20% on taxable profits up to €200,000, (25% > €200,000) Dutch-based companies can make use of the: • WBSO: R&D allowance deducting wage tax and social insurance contributions from the wage bill • RDA: general tax facility seeking to reduce companies’ R&D operating costs and investment in R&D assets • Innovation Box: Effective tax rate of only 5% for R&D income from self-developed patented and unpatented intangible assets which qualify for the WBSO.
Source: Royal Grolsch N.V.
Food Valley
Leiden Bio Science Park
Wageningen University lies at the heart of Food Valley, one of the largest agri-food and nutrition centres in the world. The combination of 1,400 food companies, 70 research companies and 20 research institutions gives this region an excellent knowledge infrastructure. Food Valley is also home to the Top Institute Food & Nutrition, the public-private innovation programme Food & Nutrition Delta and NIZO food research. Foreign agri-food companies use the Food Valley region for food related science and development as well as manufacturing of agri-food and nutrition products.
The Leiden Bio Science Park is home to the largest concentration of life sciences activities in The Netherlands. Most of the biomedical life sciences companies located in Leiden are spin-offs from the university and the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC). This includes startups and multinationals like Crucell and Janssen Biologics, with activities ranging from R&D to manufacturing. Several centres of academic research in the areas of drug discovery, industrial biotechnology and medical technology are are also based in Leiden Bio Science Park.
The Netherlands ‘Open for Innovation’ | page 3
TEDxBinnenhof Catwalk for Innovation On 25th June 2012, the TEDx Catwalk for Innovation in The Hague turned the spotlight on the innovative powers of the Netherlands. Ten inspiring speakers showcased their groundbreaking Dutch ideas on tackling pollution, health care costs, biodiversity, climate change and scarcity of natural resources, food and energy. Watch all the Dutch ideas worth spreading via www.tedxbinnenhof.com.
Ventac and Terremark find a new home base in Holland
Ventac Group is a leading provider of innovative noise control solutions for industrial vehicles and buses. From their state of the art laboratory and manufacturing facilities in County Wicklow, Ireland, they provide a comprehensive service that includes development, design, testing and manufacturing solutions for OEM’s across the world. Darren Fortune, Ventac’s MD, explains why they chose the High Tech Automotive Campus (HTAC) in Helmond, the Netherlands, for their European support office. “We want to build on our presence within the European market,”
Terremark chooses Schiphol for its first European data centre
says Darren, “as we have strong business relationships in mainland Europe. Geographically, it’s the perfect location in Europe with easy access by air and road. “We were also impressed with the facilities and opportunities at the Campus and we liked their ethos. They are aiming to be a centre of excellence for the automotive industry. That makes it an inspiring environment for our business.”
Getting the right advice “Setting up in the Netherlands was relatively straightforward for us,” says Darren. “We already had experience of doing business there and we knew some good people. The NFIA and Brabant Development Agency (BOM), in particular, helped us on the legislative side. “One thing to bear in mind is that the business environment is very structured offered the best opportunities. The Netherlands has a favourable commercial climate and the colocation market is better developed here than in other European countries. Practically all the large carriers have a facility in the Netherlands, while the fact that a sufficient power supply was available to us played an important role. The global recognition of Schiphol was also a crucial factor. “Wherever you are in the world, everyone knows Schiphol,” explains Eric. “It was also a nice symbolic touch that Schiphol is known as the ‘mainport’ to Europe: in our industry, that is what we are too.”
Terremark provides clients with a broad package of IT services, including colocation, managed hosting, cloud computing, and security, from almost 50 data centres across the globe. In September 2011, they opened their first private European data centre at Schiphol.
Green power
“We considered various locations across Europe,” says Eric Lisica, Terremark’s VP of Data Centre Services Europe, “but, the Amsterdam/Schiphol area
The data centre building has been renovated with particular attention to sustainability. “We only purchase green electricity,” says Eric, “and we
Ventac and Terremark’s new home in Holland | page 4
and you need to do your research and have a robust business plan. On a practical level, personnel contracts, cost structures and pensions are all different and we had some conflicting advice from the different people we spoke to. If I were doing this again I would say ‘speak to the NFIA first. They have all the knowledge and contacts and you know you can trust them’. “I enjoy working with the Dutch because they are friendly yet direct and open to new innovative business partners. However, to be successful in the Netherlands,” Darren concludes, “you need a good partner to help you understand the culture and develop your strategy.”
www.ventac.com have a very modern cooling system that allows us to keep power consumption to a minimum. “There are, of course, a number of permits required to build a data centre, which makes the preparatory phase very complex,” Eric recalls. “But, we’ve had enormous help from the NFIA and its regional partners (amsterdaminbuisness, Schiphol Area Development Company and Amsterdam Airport Authority). We have been able to approach them for free support, information and advice in areas, such as tax, subsidy and incentive programmes. They have an extensive network of partners, and have put us in touch with the right people at organisations such as the Tax Authority and NL Agency.”
www.terremark.com
NFIA News Investing in people Encouraging innovation is about more than infrastructure and fiscal policy. Ultimately, it’s about people and attracting talent from across the world. The Dutch Government has, therefore, introduced a simplified procedure for ‘Knowledge Migrants’ coming to the Netherlands for short term projects. To make life easier for investors and entrepreneurs, The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has announced a ‘short stay pilot scheme for highly-skilled migrants’. The scheme is an extension of the current highly-skilled migrants scheme (kennismigrant) and includes those coming to the Netherlands for short term assignments of up to three months (90
More highly-skilled migrants in the Netherlands During 2011, more highly-skilled people came to the Netherlands than ever before – mostly from India, the US, China and Japan. The Dutch Government has a very welcoming attitude towards highly-skilled migrants and strives to reduce obstacles to obtaining visas, residence and work permits, if certain salary criteria are met. Recently, the Ministry of Social Affairs announced a pilot for larger knowledge intensive companies who need to bring in staff for specific orders. days). It has been designed to help approved employers attract talented people from outside the Netherlands to work on short-term projects or provide training or consulting services. Under the scheme, individuals who qualify as highly-skilled migrants, will have the process for applying for a work permit shortened sig-
New NFIA office opened in Tel Aviv On June 5 Minister Verhagen officially opened the new NFIA office in Israel. The office is located within the Dutch Embassy in Tel Aviv and is headed by Mr. Marnix van Voorbergen. The Israeli economy is booming, driven by new technologies and internationalisation. The NFIA aims to play an important role in helping Israeli companies to internationalise and seize global opportunities faster. The office will serve as the local base to promote economic, innovation and R&D cooperation between Dutch and Israeli companies and organisations as well as facilitate Israeli companies’ European expansion plans in the Netherlands.
NFIA News | page 5
Source: NFIA Israel
nificantly (from around five to two weeks), as less paperwork will be required. This pilot scheme will run until the end of 2013 when the IND (Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service) will assess whether these simplified entry procedures should be implemented indefinitely.
Prime Moves Ireland-based Intuition, opened an Amsterdam office to serve Northern European markets. ServInt, a leading cloud infrastructure US-based cloud hosting provider, opened their first data centre presence outside North America in Amsterdam. “Amsterdam’s available resources of premium connectivity and the most highly skilled technical support, are unparalleled in the region”. Council of International Schools, a non-profit membership organisation supporting improvement of international education, consolidated its global operations in Leiden. Hoyu Co. Ltd., a Japan-based manufacturer of hair-colouring and hair-cosmetics products, has opened a new European sales office in Amsterdam, relocating from London. GoGrid, a leading cloud infrastructure company, established its EMEA Headquarters and a new data centre in Amsterdam. Ireland-based Kerry Ingredients & Flavours has announced the opening of a new emulsifier plant in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands. GE Benelux, the regional division for US-based General Electric, opened its new divisional headquarters in Rotterdam. “GE has strong ties with the region and will focus on transportation, mobility, energy and healthcare sectors”.
Source: NBTC – Jochem Tack
The Netherlands: competitive and happy Recent surveys confirm the Netherlands is a great place to do business in and offers an excellent quality of life. It ranks: • 2nd Bloomberg Best Countries For Business 2012
• 3rd worldwide in the UN Human Development Index 2011 – best countries to live in
• 4th worldwide in the newly created United Nations World Happiness Report
• 6th in the WIPO and INSEAD Global Innovation Index 2012
• 7th in the World Economic Forum’s survey of most competitive economies
• 10th in the IMD’s Global Quality of Life 2011 survey.
Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), an operational unit within the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation provides assistance to companies interested in setting-up, expanding or restructuring their pan-European operations in the Netherlands. The NFIA is here to assist you at every stage of your strategic decision making by offering a combination of information, advice and practical help. Free of charge, without obligation and on a confidential basis. While information in this newsletter has been compiled from reliable sources, the Government of the Netherlands takes no legal responsibility for any of the statements made. Articles in this newsletter may only be reproduced with permission of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency.
Editorial: Wendy Sayer
NFIA UK & Ireland 38 Hyde Park Gate London SW7 5DP United Kingdom T: +44 20 7225 1074 F: +44 20 7584 3396 info@nfia.co.uk www.nfia.co.uk www.twitter.com/NFIALondon