astron - The American Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg

Transcription

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The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg a.s.b.l.
Connexion
Magazine
1st quarter 2006
6, rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
B.P. 542
L-1432 Luxembourg
Phone : (+352) 43 17 56
Fax : (+352) 26 09 47 04
E-mail : [email protected]
Website : www.amcham.lu
Chairman and CEO :
Paul-Michael Schonenberg
Marketing Director :
Margot Parra
Communications Director :
Tatjana Basilio-Schaefer
Editorial Committee :
Tatjana Basilio Schaefer
Ian Whitecourt
Layout Conception :
Colorbox SA
Printer :
Imprimerie Centrale SA Luxembourg
Please Note :
The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg does not
necessarily endorse the views or opinions expressed in this
periodical nor accept any responsibility in connection
with information rendered.
Copyright © 2006 :
The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg
No part of this publication may be reproduced without written
permission from the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg.
All editorial materials and advertising inquiries should be addressed to
the Chamber at the above address.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg asbl is an
international voluntary organization of business persons committed to
fostering bilateral trade and investment between the United States and
Luxembourg.
AMCHAM
Chartered Members
ALFI
Allied Arthur Pierre
Alter Domus
Arendt & Medernach
Assist Relocation
BDO Compagnie Fiduciaire
Caterpillar Luxembourg
Clearstream International
Dechert Luxembourg
Deloitte
Delphi Corporation
Dexia BIL
DuPont de Nemours (Luxembourg)
Ernst & Young
European Fund Administration
European Relocation Services
Euroscript Luxembourg
Fidelity International
Global Market Insights
Goodyear
Guardian Europe
Kneip Communication
Korn/Ferry International
KPMG
Kühne + Nagel
Loyens Winandy
McKinsey & Company, Luxembourg
MeesPierson Intertrust (Luxembourg)
Microsoft Luxembourg
Oracle
P&TLuxembourg
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Rowlands International – Vedior Interim
SEB Private Bank Luxembourg
State Street Bank (Luxembourg)
Streff Removals & Storage
Symantec
Tyco International
HONORARY CHARTERED MEMBER :
Ambassador e.m. Peter Terpeluk, Jr.
Contents
contents
4
Editorial
Chairman’s Remarks ....................................................................................................... 5
Member Spotlight
ASTRON Buildings SA............................................................................................... 6-7
Integreat SA ................................................................................................................... 8
New Members
New Members Approved by the Executive Committee ............................................ 10-12
Interview
Interview with H.E. Ambassador Ann L. Wagner .................................................... 13-14
Special Feature
Working in Luxembourg - 2nd Edition ................................................................... 15-16
AMCHAM EU
Funding the EU : Reopening the Debate on a European Tax................................... 17-18
Giving Flat Tax a Chance ........................................................................................ 18-19
AMCHAM Committees
Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ....................................................... 20-22
Anti-Money Laundering Are We Done Yet ?............................................................ 22-23
Quality of Working Environment by SES .................................................................... 24
Information Toolbox
Business Continuity Management against the Pandemic Risk ................................. 25-26
What can you be doing to plan for avian influenza ? .................................................... 27
Greater Region News
Telling a Success Story in the Greater Region :
The City of Wittlich ................................................................................................ 28-30
Community News
SPECIAL FEATURE :
Working in Luxembourg - 2nd Edition
AmCham Charity & Community Activities ................................................................. 31
Business Post : The Mail Solution for Professionals ....................................................... 32
AMCHAM Events ....................................................................................................... 32
Democrats Abroad ....................................................................................................... 33
Republicans Abroad ..................................................................................................... 33
(on the cover)
Useful Links
Telephone Numbers & Links ....................................................................................... 34
editorial
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Welcome to our completely
revised AMCHAM Magazine.
We are pleased to share with
you all of our exciting news and
accomplishments...
Chairman’s
Remarks
As you can see from the cover, your AMCHAM Newsmagazine has a new look which we hope reflects more
appropriately our new and higher standards of journalistic excellence and better showcases AMCHAM as a
professional organization. You also will have noticed from the cover photo, that this issue of AMCHAM honors
our recently launched “Working in Luxembourg -Second Edition”. We are very proud of the progress we have
made upgrading the news magazine and of the “Working in Luxembourg” book.
P
lease find additional information on
the WIL II publication in this issue.
With this revised second edition,
AMCHAM has created the absolutely essential, must-have English language where-to-go,
who-to-see, how-to-get-it done, whatyou-need-to-do, how-to-contact, business
bible for anyone wanting to do business in
Luxembourg. Available in both CD and book
format, this priceless compendium of information is a must-have information resource!
We have been very busy on other fronts as
well. It’s my pleasure to report that all of our
activities are going along according to, or better than, our projected plan. At the moment,
our membership stands at 230 member companies, our largest membership to date and
we fully expect that by the end of the year
2006 we will have surpassed our goal of 250
member companies. Why 250? Well, to be
honest, this is the membership level needed
to financially support our overhead infrastructure at the level of activities we believe
necessary to meet the needs of our members.
We have tried over the past several years to
improve our services to you and to grow our
activities to a higher level of excellence. But
we have always strived to do this within a tightly controlled and very conservative budget
to make sure our expenses do not outpace
our revenues. We are pleased with the results
we have achieved. More importantly, your
feedback indicated you are satisfied with the
results we have achieved and the program
we offer.
At the core, we are an English language
networking and information-providing
organization that, additionally, researches and
lobbies to improve the business and living
environment for the international business
community within Luxembourg and the
Grand Region and to provide a voice for
Expat issues and concerns. In addition, we
promote the transatlantic dialogue and all
forms of cooperation between Luxembourg
and America...and, we promote Luxembourg
as a business location of choice for international companies. The articles in this issue
give ample evidence of our work in support
of these objectives and goals.
I am very pleased to announce the establishment of our newest committee: The
Industry Issues Committee (IICOM). For the
past several years we have been interested to
have a platform that will focus on the needs,
problems and challenges of our industrial
members. Now, based on the recent success
we have had with Intellectual Property issues,
we feel the time is right to launch this new
initiative. Please feel free to contact Ian Whitecourt, our AMCHAM Vice Chairman, who
has graciously agreed to be the Chairperson
for this new committee.
Due to its acute relevance, included within
this issue you will find two articles with important information related to the problem
of a possible Bird Flu Pandemic: one article
concerns business continuity issues for companies, and one article stipulates the steps
that individuals should take as precautions.
The medical and scientific community is concerned that there might be the potential risk
of the current bird flu mutating into a strain
that passes from human to human. Now
is the time for individuals, companies and
government officials to work together to take
appropriate preventive steps and to develop
appropriate action plans. Please read and pay
attention to these two articles... for the personal safety of yourself and your families and
for the protection of your companies.
I close by thanking you most sincerely for
your ongoing interest and support for AMCHAM. We look forward to hearing from
you and seeing you at our upcoming events...
and we wish you a very good spring!
Sincerely,
Chairman and CEO
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ASTRON
covering Europe
O
ne of the Grand
Duchy’s industrial
successes has been
ASTRON, a Diekirch based
company designing and producing
buildings for industrial and retail
applications. From this tranquil
location, the company’s products
are manufactured and shipped
all over Europe. Even, on some
occasions, further afield to far
corners of the globe: Africa,
China, the Caribbean and the
Indian Ocean.
Significantly, the company recently
celebrated its 40th anniversary in
Luxembourg, an event that was
marked by an Open Day graced
by the presence of HRH Grand
Duke Henri of Luxembourg.
From small beginnings in the early
60’s, the company has grown into
a major employer and a major
contributor to the Luxembourg
economy.
ASTRON’s presence in
Luxembourg began when its then
parent company, Commercial
Shearing (later to become
Commercial Intertech) set up a
facility to manufacture and supply
hydraulic equipment to its many
American customers operating
in the growing market of postwar Europe. Virtually at the
same time, a major contract was
secured to supply steel tunnel liner
plates, another of the company’s
products, to the Mangla Dam
project in Pakistan.
Traditional construction methods
at the time demanded 1-2 years to
build a factory, considerably longer
than the tunnel liner contract
period, so a “pre-engineered”
steel building was imported from
Stran-Steel of Texas in the USA
and constructed in just a few short
months...attracting much local
attention!
Recognizing the potential of
the fast and simple method of
constructing industrial premises,
Commercial Shearing management
negotiated a license agreement
with Stran-Steel and ASTRON
was born in 1965.
The product-line then was a range
of “pre-engineered” buildings for
factories, warehouses, retail and
leisure outlets. Dimensions were
fixed in a series of “modules”,
meeting most market demands of
the time but not yet offering total
flexibility. Huge clear spans could
be built – up to 72m – making
the buildings ideal for the giant
warehouses springing up all over
Europe. Equally, a range of
small buildings - 10, 12 and 15m
spans – met the need for start-up
facilities and workshops.
A few pioneering local builders
were recruited in various countries
to form the nucleus of a Builder
Network that could offer
customers a complete “turnkey”
construction service, marrying
local presence and service with
buildings centrally designed and
manufactured in Luxembourg.
Companies such as Wolf and
Sofsky in Germany, Aubert in
France, Hansen in Denmark,
Ruts and van Waning in the
Netherlands, among others, took
this new building concept and
started a revolution in European
industrial construction. Now there
are approximately 300 builders
throughout Europe.
The expiry of the Stran-Steel
license agreement and the
advent of digital computers
allowed the company to create
its own European product-line;
totally flexible in dimensioning
(to the delight of architects),
conforming to all European
norms and conventions, and
offering a much greater range
of construction possibilities.
ASTRON today offers
buildings up to 100m in span
(with or without internal
supporting columns), heights
up to 12m at the eaves and
of virtually any length.
Six different roof systems
and six wall systems fulfill
practical, environmental and
architectural requirements,
thermal and acoustical
insulations systems save
energy and make for good
working conditions plus a
full range of structural and
architectural accessories allow
ASTRON Builders to offer a
complete “turnkey” service
from one source. Traditional
construction materials, such as
glass, wood or brickwork, are
easily incorporated allowing
the creation of highly attractive
and individual buildings.
A joint venture in the early
90’s with Arbed, Luxembourg’s
giant steel company (later
to become a wholly-owned
ASTRON business), took
ASTRON into a whole new
dimension in construction
– multi-storey buildings! No
longer restricted to 1 and 2
storey structures, ASTRON
was perfectly positioned
to capitalize on Europe’s
growing demand for 3 and 4
storey buildings for combined
office/manufacturing/
servicing facilities dictated by
the explosion in computer
and service industries plus the
growing shortage and cost of
building land. Multi-storey
buildings account for about
10% of ASTRON’s business.
ASTRON buildings are
marketed through a network
of 300 authorized ASTRON
Builders throughout Europe.
These companies offer
complete «turnkey» services to
the end customers and their
architects or other professional
advisors including finding land,
help with planning permission
and building regulations,
optimization of the building
layouts and costs, plus full
turnkey construction services.
Today, some 15 to 20 averagesized buildings per week are
shipped to customers all over
Europe.
A major milestone in
ASTRON’s history was the
development by ASTRON
engineers in Luxembourg
of CYPRION, a proprietary
integrated computer software
system. Initially intended to
provide ASTRON Builders
with a simple, fast, dependable
means to price buildings
on-line, it now offers them
a whole range of building
services from computer
generated building realization,
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design and layout, pricing of buildings
and accessories, evaluating environmental
and energy impacts and so forth. Builders
can access many of ASTRON’s databases
24/7 giving almost unparalleled freedom in
running their ASTRON business regardless
of office hours or vacations.
ASTRON structural designs conform to
all major European standards and, today,
the company has type approval for its
designs in most countries where this can be
obtained. This greatly simplifies and speeds
up local approval processes.
As business moved eastwards, the company
opened a second manufacturing plant
to serve customers and Builders in that
market. ASTRON now has two highly
automated manufacturing plants in Europe:
its main site in Diekirch, Luxembourg
(28.000 m2) and its Eastern plant in Prerov,
Czech Republic (18.000 m2). Sales and
design offices were established in Mainz,
Germany and Torcy, near Paris, France
as well as sales offices in Spain, Hungary,
Poland, Russia, Italy, Romania and Croatia
to provide improved local service.
A Key Account division, ASTRON
Construction International, was created
to meet the very specific needs of major
international companies constructing
multiple plants and facilities in many
different countries. This, too, has enjoyed
considerable success, providing “turnkey”
buildings, often in co-operation with
ASTRON Builders, to international giants
such as Guardian, Philips, IBM; Coca-Cola,
Alstra or Samsung in countries as diverse
as Luxemburg, France, Poland, Russia and
many in Northern Africa and Asia.
While extension of its product line into
multi-storey buildings as well as single/
two storey factories, warehouses, logistics
centers, retail and leisure outlets, plus the
expansion of its marketing into direct
sales in addition to its “bread-and-butter”
Builder sales, has turned ASTRON into one of
Europe’s leading manufacturers of industrial building
systems, the company’s roots remain firmly embedded
in Luxembourg. Local Builders such as Scholtes &
Brauch, MBS and Costantini have supplied hundreds of
buildings throughout the Grand Duchy. Indeed, there
is hardly a commune that does not boast an ASTRON
building and many U.S. companies set up their first
European facilities with the help of ASTRON.
From left to right :
Kjell Åkesson, CEO LINDAB Group; Jeannot Krecké, Minister of Economy
and Foreign Trade; H.R.H. Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg; David
Brodetsky, Managing Director ASTRON.
AN EVENT............................................
1965 - 2005 :
On 4th of October 2005, ASTRON celebrated its 40th anniversary in Diekirch,
Luxembourg, in the presence of His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Henri
of Luxembourg, Luxembourg ministers Jeannot Krecké, Luc Frieden, Claude
Wiseler, Nicolas Schmit, as well as many other important dignitaries.
Since August 31st 2005, ASTRON has been a member
of the LINDAB group. An international construction
group, headquartered in Sweden, LINDAB has an
annual turnover of some EUR 700 million and 4.500
employees worldwide. Its major activities are in
ventilation, 50%, and construction components and
building systems, also of 50%
Today, ASTRON has a staff of 350 people in its
Diekirch plant and 650 all over Europe. ■
Contact Details :
ASTRON Buildings SA
B.P. 152
L-9202 Diekirch
Phone: (+352) 80 291 1
Fax: (+352) 803 466
Website:
www.astron.lu
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Integreat
S.A.
R
elocation is really not
just my job, it has been
my passion. All the
interesting people and all the
interesting stories we encounter
every day in Luxembourg never
cease to amaze me.
I was pleasantly surprised to be
asked by AMCHAM to enter
this spotlight article to give more
depth and insight to our company
in such an honorable manner.
Integreat has been a proud
member of AMCHAM since our
inception in 1998.
Currently, we are one of the
longest running relocation
companies in the country.
There are many things that I
would attribute that to, however it
is also my personal belief that the
clients speak for themselves in this
business. The most satisfaction I
have is when a transferred family
is happy in their new home and
they are getting along brilliantly in
this new culture and climate.
Our “insider” perspective and
global recognition have also
played a strong role in our
firm hold in the local market.
I have been elected by the
European Relocation Association
membership to represent
the BENELUX region on
the Council, which gives us a
competitive edge.
It has been an honor to be
recognized in this way by my peers
and give input on the trends and
policies of the future of relocation
in the larger picture of Europe
as a whole. Being the youngest
member of the council, many
points are directed toward the new
ways of our industry in terms of
technology and innovation for the
next generation.
Relocation assistance has now
proven itself to have added value
to the financial and successful
outcome of an international
assignment and also to bridge the
communication with the human
resource department of the
corporation.
Our insight and focus on these
issues and policies give an
in-depth understanding of the
cultural challenges and then the
benchmarking of the global
contribution.
In Luxembourg, Integreat SA has
set the path for top technology
and relocation trends. Our clients
have upgraded their policies and
stamped their presence in the
country with the local offices.
Our certifications and
accreditations have kept us at the
forefront. Client tracking and
reporting, housing market trends,
evaluations and feedback have all
played a bigger role in the positive
outcome of these assignments
and for the employee to stay with
the company that has invested in
them.
Our success rate speaks loudly.
Our clients average two (2) days
to find a property, and we have
continued to show significant
savings on average as well, to each
financial output for the client.
Our administration package also
reduces the time to one (1) day
and these executives have to be
away from their office for only the
minimum.
Integreat S.A. is an independent
company located in Luxembourg,
specialized in relocation services
for corporate and private clients.
We provide professional support
during the stressful transition
time and throughout the duration
of your international expat
assignments.
Our Highlights include:
• Multilingual and multicultural
team behind each client move
– people who actually have
transferred here to Luxembourg
themselves
> Charlene Fideler
• Integreat has been a long
standing member of
Global networks and is
recommended worldwide
• Integreat has the highest
level of accreditation and
certification in Luxembourg;
including the EARP, GMS,
ERC and EURA
All aspects of relocation are
covered by a wide range of
quality services, fast answers to
daily questions, and packages
designed specifically to client
needs. Send in your housing
requirements even prior to
your arrival. We can then
provide you with a selection of
suitable accommodation and
arrange a program for viewing
appointments.
Integreat is a team of
Multicultural Consultants
with over 10 years European
Experience. We understand the
daily pressures and stress that
accompany an international
move and the frustration of
adjusting to new procedures
not to mention a new culture.
With our experience, we
can expedite your personal
relocation or the relocation of
your employees
We make the transition
smooth, quick and easy.
We assist you with all the
complicated details in moving
into a new home, country
or even continent. Our
consultants have moved to
Luxembourg themselves and
are internationally minded, and
trained to make your relocation
experience great. Read what
our clients say on the website.
Integreat S.A. is run by
Charlene Schuessler (Fideler).
I am an American national
originally from Southern
California; I crossed the
United States to obtain my BA
degree in Anthropology from
Columbia University, (BC) in
New York City.
After graduation I ventured
overseas and signed on as
a basketball player in the
Luxembourg national league,
as well as continuing my
education towards an MBA.
Off the court, my career
background includes Human
Resources, International
Personnel Administration,
Event Co-ordination, Training
Development and Cultural
consulting. Now, with close to
twelve years of experience in
Europe, we have developed
this network to assist others in
making their transition. ■
Charlene Fideler
Managing Director
Contact
Details :
Integreat S.A.
9-11, rue Louvigny
L-1946 Luxembourg
Phone: (+352) 2644 1673
Fax: (+352) 2644 1973
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
www.integreat.lu
10
AVAYA
Avaya designs, builds and manages communications networks for more than one
million businesses worldwide, including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE
500®. Focused on businesses large to small, Avaya is a world leader in secure
and reliable Internet Protocol (IP) telephony software applications, systems and
services. Driving the convergence of voice and data communications with business
applications – and distinguished by comprehensive worldwide services – Avaya helps
customers leverage existing and new networks to achieve superior business results.
We are a leading global provider of business communications software, systems and
services focused entirely on serving the needs of businesses large to small.
Our unique combination of communications applications, systems and services help
simplify complex communications and work with existing technologies from other
vendors, enabling customers to unlock value and potential from their network. And
by embedding communications into the very business processes of an enterprise,
we help to improve the way organizations work – making people more productive,
processes more intelligent and customers more satisfied.
Representative: Alain Huys
Title: Managing Director Belgium and
Luxembourg
Rue Henri Genessestraat 1
B- 1070 Brussel-Bruxelles
Phone: (+32) 2 525 55 55
Fax: (+32) 2 525 56 56
Website: www.avaya.com
EQUITY TRUST CO. (LUXEMBOURG) S.A.
Representative: Frank W.J.J. Welman
Title: Managing Director
Equity Trust was established in 1970 as an affiliate of a Dutch law firm. Over the
last 35 years we have grown organically and through acquisition, creating a truly
global independent trust provider. Today Equity Trust is the world’s leading trust
and fiduciary services group supporting high net worth individuals, corporations and
intermediaries all over the world.
B.P. 415
L-2014 Luxembourg
46A, Avenue J.F. Kennedy
L-1855 Luxembourg
Equity Trust Services in Luxembourg
We have in-house expertise to establish, in close cooperation with the client’s
tax advisor, lawyer and/or financial consultant, complex international financial
structures. Through our highly qualified accountants and legal staff, we provide
domiciliation services, accounting services, corporate legal secretarial services and
management for our clients at top professional level.
Phone: (+352) 427 1711
Fax: (+352) 421 961
Website: www.equitytrust.com
HEMELEERS & PARTNERS
MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
Representative: Rudy Hemeleers
Title: Managing Partner
We are building a senior team of business consultants with a common focus to be
recognized by our customers as a “bureau d’architectes” specialized in business
planning, management control and financial management information systems. An
example of our current assignments:
• The simplification of your planning and management reporting processes
(driver-based planning and budgeting, rolling forecasting, ABC/M through rapid
prototyping)
• The design of a data warehouse to integrate financial and non-financial
information and report the profitability of customers and services
• The implementation of management by objectives through cascading performance
dashboards and balanced scorecards
• IT Prioritization and cost management, IT Governance and Strategy Review, 3year Financial Systems Roadmap
Windhof Business Center
Ancienne Route d’Arlon 2
L-8399 Windhof
Phone: (+352) 061 707 101
Fax: (+352) 068 707 101
E-mail:
[email protected]
Website: www.hemeleers-partners.com
TANGO/TÉLÉ 2 LUXEMBOURG
Representative: Alex Zivoder
Title: CEO
Tango and Tele2 Luxembourg are part of Tele2, the pan-European leading
alternative telecom operator with more than 30 million customers and a presence in
23 countries. In 1998 Tele2 launched its mobile services in Luxembourg under the
brand Tango: it is today Luxembourg’s leader in providing high quality GSM, GPRS
and UMTS services. The European Commission ranked Tango as the 2nd cheapest
mobile operator in Western Europe. Tele2 Luxembourg offers the best deals on
fixed telephony, Internet and ADSL. Our staff is made of people who take fun at
what they do while making sure customers always get the best value for money.
75, route de Longwy
L-8080 Bertrange
Phone: (+352) 091 750 015
Fax: (+352) 27 777 888
Website: www.tango.lu
INTERSHIPPING S.A.
Representative: Patrick Bevilacqua
Title: Director
Intershipping S.A., registered in Luxembourg since 1998, is a ship owner and a ship
manager for other companies. As a group, it holds a fleet of six new 4,579 to 23,244
GRT oil and chemical tankers. All have Luxembourg flag and all are time-chartered
to first class companies.
14a, rue des Bains
L-2016 Luxembourg
While aiming at developing the present fleet size and adding chartering activities,
complementary business proposals are also being scrutinized. The management
wants to implement the most advanced on board security and safety systems, not
keeping any vessel older than 5 years, always ahead of existing EU maritime rules
and regulations.
IT LINGUISTICS INSTITUTE, SÀRL
An educational institution devoted to the study of English as a business and
technical language, ITLI develops and offers specialized curriculum to banks,
telecoms and IT departments in Luxembourg. We develop materials, documentation
and user tutorials then adapt the latest pedagogical methodologies for on-site
training.
Our expertise lies in specialized language domains for IT & software development,
continuity of operations, business and finance, telecommunications as well as
aviation and transport. We include testing and evaluation with end-user emphasis for
directors and managers, developers, programmers and architects as well as support
staff.
Phone: (+352) 46 66 92
Fax: (+352) 26 20 38 98
Representative: W. Jeffrey Britton, B.A., M.A.
Title: Director/Instructor
52, rue de Dommeldange
L-7222 Walferdange
Phone: (+352) 021 676 550
Fax: (+352) 263 328 50
Website: www.itli.lu
Give us a call when you next consider training resources for your technology
specialists.
NOMURA BANK (LUXEMBOURG) S.A.
Nomura Bank (Luxembourg) S.A. was incorporated as a bank in Luxembourg on
February 2, 1990. Its main activities since inception have been fund administration
and custody.
Since its inception in 1990, Nomura Luxembourg has developed its expertise in
custody and fund administration both for Luxembourg and other offshore vehicles
and global custody clients.
An infrastructure built over the years enables Nomura Bank (Luxembourg) to
administer a wider range of products including the public and private placement
funds of both corporate and contractual types, equity funds, bond funds, money
market funds, emerging markets funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds, private
equity funds, trusts, and special purpose companies. These are domiciled in various
locations such as Luxembourg, Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.
AGENCE GÉNÉRALE PENNING,
BIERMANN & BACH
Penning, Biermann & Bach, established in 1986 is one of the leading insurance
agencies of ‘Le Foyer S.A.’. We offer a full range of insurance and financial products
to Institutional and Private customers.
Our multidisciplinary and multilingual team of 7 professionals analyzes your
situation and offers solutions that meet your real needs. We are committed to
the highest professional and ethical standards. We measure our success by the
satisfaction and loyalty of our customers.
Representative: Benoît Mariscal
Title: General Manager Administration
6, Av. Emile Reuter
B.P. 289
L-1220 Luxembourg
Phone: (+352) 46 38 88 8
Fax: (+352) 46 33 33
E-mail: fi[email protected]
Website: www.nomura.com
Representative: Ronald Schlesser
Title: Sales Manager
198, rue de Beggen
L-1220 Luxembourg
Phone: (+352) 43 45 11 1
Fax: (+352) 43 45 11 33
Website: www.agpbb.lu
11
12
RESOURCES GLOBAL PROFESSIONALS
Born out of a Big 4 firm, Resources Global Professionals is an international
professional services firm that provides accounting and finance, human capital,
information management, supply chain management, internal audit/risk
management and legal services on a project basis.
Our clients look for independent and cost effective assistance for meeting or
complying with many of the complex business and regulatory issues in today’s
marketplace. We assist them in building flexibility into their ‘Talents’ sourcing model,
providing access to specialised skills and expertise in a timely and cost-effective
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Interview
with H.E. Ambassador
Ann L. Wagner
see AMCHAM’s role as threefold: first it is a resource for American
and local businesses, second it functions as an advocate by closely
interacting with the Luxembourg government, the EU and businesses
and third it offers a platform for networking and renders valuable
community services.
Q: How do you assess the relations between the U.S. Embassy,
AMCHAM and the business community in Luxembourg?
Q: What were your and your family’s first reactions when the President
proposed you accept an assignment as Ambassador to the GrandDuchy of Luxembourg?
A: Around Christmas time of 2004 the President enquired at a dinner
whether I would be willing to consider foreign service. The reasoning
behind his question was my commitment and success in the context
of our political party, where I had gathered substantial experience
in the outreach programs I conducted. These programs took me to
almost every state of the United States and can be seen as advocacy
and diplomacy within a political party. So of course I was deeply
honored! I have always said “yes” to a wonderful opportunity. If
you ask me, had I envisioned this for myself ? No! However, I firmly
believe in rising to a challenge and hopefully excelling. You need to
seize opportunities. After I had accepted the offer the question of
parameters and of logistics arose – the coordination is not obvious if
you have a husband and three children!
A: As for the Embassy and AMCHAM, the key to success is
communication as both are dealing with the business community here
in Luxembourg. Presently my focus is on outreach to the community,
especially the business community. Our goal is to visit two U.S. or
Luxembourg companies per week in order to get direct feedback on
the concerns business people might have. Job creation and economic
growth are high on Luxembourg’s agenda, including diversification of
the economy and further growth in the financial services, information
technology and logistics management sectors. Biotechnology and
other research as well as intellectual property management also
show great potential for the future. This country benefits from a
central location, a multilingual workforce, political stability and a
business-friendly government. In short, Luxembourg’s greatest asset is
Luxembourg!
Q: What issues are of particular interest in the transatlantic dialogue?
A: As could be seen at the EU-US Summit in last June there is a
renewed sense of strengthening relations. The EU and the U.S. are
partners in tackling global issues together: establishing freedom
and democracy in more countries of the world, fighting terrorism
and nuclear proliferation, ensuring economic prosperity and energy
security, protecting the environment, tackling HIV/AIDS and avian
influenza, and helping the poorest nations of the world. Through
NATO and other means, we are working together on many issues
involving Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Middle East peace to name a
few.
Q: What have been your first impressions of Luxembourg?
A: They were absolutely fantastic. This is a country of rich history and
we share many common values. We have a long-standing relationship
that dates all the way back to World War I and II where we stood side
by side. The Luxembourg people are very kind and welcoming to
foreigners and at the same time show a great sense of national pride.
I have also been impressed by the diversity within the country, with
vivid cities and the beautiful countryside. From a business standpoint
and based on my governmental meetings it is clear that the (post-EU
Presidency) focus is on economic growth and job creation, similar to
what we had seen in the U.S. in the 1980s.
Q: Speaking of the country’s economy, how do you view AMCHAM’s
role in Luxembourg’s business environment?
A: Certainly this is a most remarkable year for AMCHAM as it will
celebrate its 10th anniversary! In the past decade the organization
has seen amazing growth and has successfully established itself as a
reliable source of information for expats in the Grand Duchy. Prime
examples are the recently published second edition of “Working in
Luxembourg” and the “Why Luxembourg?” presentation showcasing
the advantages of locating your business in this country. I actually
Jean-Claude Juncker, Ann L. Wagner
interview
13
Interview with H.E. Ambassador Ann L. Wagner
interview
14
Q: Corporate governance and business ethics in general have become
more of an issue within the business community over the last years.
This leads us to the question which values are guiding you in your
position as Ambassador?
A: There is certainly renewed emphasis on integrity, honest and
transparency in the business community. In my visits, I have been very
impressed by the commitment of many American and Luxembourg
companies to serving their communities. I strongly believe in service
to your faith, family and community—serving a cause greater than
yourself. My roots and background lie in the Midwest of the United
States, where children are taught conservative values, strong work
ethics, integrity, fairness and respect. All of these values are important
to my diplomatic work combined with the ability and willingness to be
open to listening to be ready to listen to people.
Q: It is never easy balancing the responsibilities of work, wife and
mother, so what advice would you give to other working women and
their spouses who face similar challenges?
A: I sometimes feel that there is too much emphasis on the fact
that I am a woman holding this position. My approach to the job is
no different because I am a woman. Like anyone, I bring my own
experiences, perspective and sensitivity to my work and I strive to be
a good wife, a good mother and a good ambassador. Certainly I have
been multitasking most of my life to balance my profession and family
life, as do most women! Ideally women need to find the necessary
support and help; your family needs to be part of what you are doing.
In my family this has always been the case.
Q: So how has this experience oversees been for your children so far?
A: I have three children: two boys of 17 and 15 and a girl of 11. The
15 year old is in a boarding school in the United Kingdom and the two
others are here with me. They have adjusted very well and have already
found many new friends at the International School of Luxembourg!
We have approached this challenge as a family affair.
Q: Is there anything you miss from home?
A: Well, what comes to mind first is food (laughter) such as a nice
Kansas City strip steak, coffee at Starbucks and toasted ravioli. On
second thought, I would say it is the lack of the familiar since every
day here I experience something new. One constantly needs to ask
Ann L. Wagner, J. Dennis Hastert, Lucien Weiler
for assistance. In January we returned home for a short visit to the
United States and that’s when we really felt the difference. Of course
we also miss our friends and family back home. A major difference
here compared to our life back in the U.S. is that as an ambassador
you and your family give up a certain amount of your privacy. On the
other hand we have fantastic support from the professional staff at
the embassy and the residence. Our life has been an adventure and we
have always welcomed new challenges, this of course means you must
accept certain trade-offs.
Q: What do you do to unwind from your busy schedule?
A: I enjoy spending time with my family. We love traveling together
and I also try to keep up a certain routine in exercising. Another
source of relaxation is staying in touch with my parents. Due to
his professional commitments my husband Ray spends only part
of his time here in Luxembourg, so I must admit that I do miss the
opportunity to brush things off at the end of the day by having a
conversation with him. Nonetheless we talk at the end of every day
on the phone and thanks to today’s technology we exchange e-mails.
Fortunately my husband does join us as often as possible; both my
husband and I are frequent flyers, so that we kiddingly say that we
have enough frequent flyer miles to go to the moon and back.
Q: Which historical figure would you like to have dinner and a talk
with and why?
A: Well, he might not be a historical figure, but I think I would very
much like to have had the chance to sit down with my maternal
grandfather. He was a truly self-made man with only an 8th grade
education who founded a very successful paint and lacquer company
in St. Louis. Unfortunately he died when I was very young; however,
my family members have described him vividly as being a very unique
person. He greatly enjoyed traveling and reading and firmly believed
in the importance of education. I feel that we share many aspects
of our personalities, such as a passion for life, a high energy level, a
strong work ethic and conservative values that give you strength and
faith to pursue your goals. He took risks and would always say yes to a
challenge. ■
Madame Ambassador, we thank you for this interview.
Paul-Michael Schonenberg & Tatjana Basilio-Schaefer
specialfeature
15
Working
in Luxembourg
.........................................................................Second Edition
It was around the millennium that a group of AMCHAM members realized a gap in the available literature
on the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: There was no Anglophone publication explaining the country’s business
environment! This sparked the first ambition and so a team of HR and legal experts was pulled together to write
the respective business guide:
I
n 2001, the American Chamber of
Commerce published the first edition of
«Working in Luxembourg» - a business
and professional guide providing an overview
to help professionals and business owners
understand the rules, practices and customs
of the Luxembourg business environment
as well as the realities and cultural context
of the workplace environment, the
governmental and social support systems.
This handbook had been enormously
successful, most notably due to the way in
which the information was presented in a
user-friendly, non-legal manner, offering
a wealth of useful reference material and
contact information.
In 2005 the MBC Committee which is
headed by Sylvie Schmit-Verbrugghen set
out to gather a team of legal and human
resources experts who revised and updated
the book in coordination with both the
Luxembourg and American governments.
This second edition is not only being
distributed in a hard-copy book format, but
also on CD-ROM and is available at the
AMCHAM office or at select bookshops
in Luxembourg (for details please see
AMCHAM’s website at www.amcham.
lu/publications). It is worth mentioning that
the CD-ROM version will be distributed at
the various trade missions the Luxembourg
Chamber of Commerce is intending to
make over the next few years. Furthermore
AMCHAM has agreed to donate books and
CD-ROMs to all Luxembourg Embassies
around the world in order to support the
promotion of the Grand Duchy.
The subjects covered range from work
permits to maternity leave, business licenses
to tax withholding, educational resources to
private clubs to relocation companies. This
book has been researched and published
as a public service to promote investment
in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and
to help Luxembourg-based expatriate
companies. The book’s purpose is to
facilitate the establishment of new business
in Luxembourg with the intended users
being government officials (both U.S. and
Luxembourg) involved in trade, business and
investment issues as well as business people
or individuals already located in Luxembourg
or considering Luxembourg as a business
location for European activities.
At a press conference held on February
23, 2006 which was kindly hosted by the
Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
(LCC), both LCC Director Pierre Gramegna
and AMCHAM’s Chairman & CEO
Paul-Michael Schonenberg emphasized
the close cooperation between the two
chambers on matters such as the promotion
of Luxembourg as an ideal gateway to
Europe. From AMCHAM’s perspective it
was clear that the organization’s efforts to
create an Anglophone publication outlining
the business environment of the Grand
Duchy was a worthwhile exercise or as
Mr. Schonenberg put it “What is good for
Luxembourg, is in the end good for the
Expat community as well...”. As one of
the international Chambers of Commerce
located in Luxembourg, AMCHAM has
set out to foster bilateral trade between
the United States and Luxembourg; this
endeavor therefore ties into long-term goals
such as ensuring further economic growth
by attracting new investments to its host
country.
Working in Luxembourg - Second Edition
specialfeature
16
Jeannot Krecké, Paul-Michael Schonenberg,
Sylvie Schmit-Verbrugghen, Tatjana Basilio-Schaefer,
Ian Whitecourt & Pierre Gramegna
Luxembourg’s Minister of Economy,
Jeannot Krecké, graciously honored
AMCHAM with his presence and
found very favorable words regarding
the business guide. He announced his
support to ensure the widest possible
distribution of the publication, because
in his words it meant the following:
“Whoever knows this publication (i.e.
Working in Luxembourg), will know
Luxembourg.”
In this sense, AMCHAM hopes to be
part of the continuous effort to make
many more business people aware of
what the Chamber’s team is already
convinced of: Luxembourg is a great
place to live, work and do business! ■
Communications Director
AMCHAM EU:
Funding the EU :
amchamEU
17
Reopening the Debate
on a European Tax
A feature particular to the EU system is that the exercise of legal powers is not accompanied by corresponding financial powers.
During the recent negotiations on the budgetary perspectives, this disjointed structure proved to be a major issue.
W
hen the EU’s heads
of state met at the
end of last year
(December 15th and 16th)
for their bi-annual European
Council meeting in Brussels,
the task ahead of them
appeared gargantuan. Following
months of protracted, highly
emotive discussions, a positive
conclusion to the negotiations
that would provide the budget
planning for the European club
from 2007-2013 looked like a
long-shot.
met with relief rather than
celebration. The deal, which was
far from perfect, simply meant
that the doomsday headlines that
would have been splashed across
the front pages of newspapers
throughout Europe were
reduced to minor diatribes in the
European sections. Politicians
were saved embarrassment and
the EU itself was saved from
predictions of its decline and
eventual break-up.
The contentious issue was over
whether the UK would give
up its ‘rebate’, which it had
enjoyed since Margaret Thatcher
infamously slapped her handbag
down on the table, back in
1984, during a speech in Bruges
protesting that she wanted her
money back. In the end British
Prime Minister, Tony Blair
agreed to reduce the UK’s rebate
by 10.5 billion euros over the
budget period in exchange for a
promise that a root and branch
review of the budget (including
CAP funding) would take place
in 2008-9.
This deal however did not
please all EU decision-makers.
On December 27th 2005, Peer
Steinbrück, German Finance
Minister, expressed the following
concerns in an interview in Die
Welt: “It is not acceptable that
some Member States on the one
hand are getting more money
from the EU budget and on the
other hand are not improving
their own fiscal basis”.
According to Mr. Steinbrück,
Member States that have a low
corporate tax rate compared
to their real economic power,
should not be allowed to get the
full amount of EU structural
funds they were allocated.
The fact that European leaders
were able to seal a deal was
This fierce fight over the
Financial Perspectives
reaffirmed, in some quarters,
the case for an autonomously
financed EU. Currently the
EU’s coffers are lined through
a myriad of sources – via
gross national income-related
contributions from the Member
States, revenues from customs
duties, agricultural levies, fines
and one percent of the VAT
base. This has inextricably linked
the EU budget with national
budgets meaning that Member
State governments must be
seen by their electorates as
defending their money during
the negotiations and fighting
tooth and nail for any handouts
for fear of being punished in
future general elections.
As a result, budget negotiations
have been increasingly bitter
and prone to grandstanding to
the ‘home’ audiences by the
heads of state and government.
Understandably, support is now
growing for a system that will
de-couple EU resourcing from
direct payments made by the
Member States.
This trend was summed up by
the President of the European
Commission, José Manuel
Barroso, who argued a day
after the summit on Monday
December 19th that “We have
to think about some reform of
the resources of the EU... We
should look at a system... that
would go beyond negotiations
between countries.” Moreover,
Mr Barroso asserted that the
Commission now had a strong
mandate for such an exercise,
since the summit specifically
asked the Commission to come
up with a revised proposal
for the budget by 2008-2009
“without taboos.”
For a Commission President
resolute on pushing for more
powers for the Brussels
executive, these words are more
than mere conjecture. They are
also supported by a number of
leading Member State politicians
including Austrian Chancellor
and current EU President,
Wolfgang Schuessel, Germany’s
new Chancellor Angela Merkel,
Bavaria’s Chancellor, Edmund
Stoiber and France’s Interior
Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy.
Think-tanks and trade
associations are also
demonstrating their support for
the idea. At a press conference
after the summit the director
of the Austrian Institute for
Economic Research (WIFO),
Karl Aiginger and President of
Eurochambres, Christoph Leitl
both stressed that “direct taxes
are missing [in the EU] as an
important fiscal instrument”
and indicated that taxes on
energy, international financial
transactions, energy or CO2
emissions could be possible
sources.
amchamEU
18
This reopens two different
debates: The first one on the
possibility of a tax at supranational level to finance the
means of international policies
and the other on the federal
character of the EU system.
The possibility of an
international tax has already
been discussed in relations
with the implementation of the
UN Millennium goals. Experts
discussed the possibility of
introducing environmental taxes,
taxes on financial transactions
or surtax on the profits of
multinationals. However, any
of these taxes should be based
on the following principles:
technical feasibility, significance;
stability; permanence resources;
and economic rationality (to
minimise distortions). Europe’s
competitiveness could indeed
be harmed by any additional
fiscal burden. For instance,
the introduction of a tax on
currency transactions would
be realistic only if all major
financial centres participate
in order to avoid large scale
evasion.
Despite these practical
limitations to the idea of a
supra-national tax, several
European decision-makers keep
using this very attractive idea
to propose solutions to global
political problems. President
Chirac, in association with
Brazilian Premier Luiz Inácio
Lula da Silva, supported the
introduction of global taxes to
finance development. On the
same line, in the aftermath of
the tsunami catastrophe, the
Belgium Minister for Trade
and International Cooperation,
Armand De Decker, also
proposed to introduce a
Currency Transaction Tax at
EU level. At a time where the
EU political agenda focuses
on cutting red tape, improving
the business environment
and fostering European
competitiveness at global level,
these proposals seem quite
anachronistic.
A more fundamental debate for
the EU’s future may be on the
allocation of financial power.
In the main existing federal
regimes, the exercise of legal
powers is generally accompanied
by corresponding financial
powers. For example Article
104a of the German Basic Law
says that “the Federation and
the Länder shall separately meet
the expenditure resulting from
the discharge of their respective
tasks”, and under the Spanish
Constitution, “the original
power to establish taxes by
means of law belongs exclusively
to the State” (Article 133-1) but
“the Autonomous Communities
shall enjoy financial autonomy
for the development and
exercise of their competences”
(Article 156).
The same principle is found in
Belgium and in the American
and Canadian constitutions. This
is why one of the main proposal
of the federalist camp in the
European Convention was to
increase the EU’s competencies
in the field of taxation. Josep
Borrell Fontelles, a former
Member of the Convention
and current President of the
European Parliament, proposed
the following:
• the harmonisation of
tax thresholds and the
establishment of an obligatory
minimum rate for income tax
and corporation tax in the
EU, the promotion of the fight
against financial crime and the
abolition of tax havens;
• the creation of a European tax
(without increasing the total
tax burden on the taxpayer) to
finance the community budget
and
tax to finance the politics of
sustainable development of the
Union.
Creating an EU tax to
finance the EU budget would
automatically reinforce the
federal character of the
European Union. Therefore it
is not surprising that the UK
has already expressed strong
reservations about this proposal.
However, with the European
Constitution in a state of
inertia, the only obvious and
realistic ‘Plan B’ appears to be
the adoption of the principal
fiscal proposals agreed by the
Convention by way of existing
regulatory channels. ■
Marie-Caroline Laurent,
Policy Officer
Mark Caulfield,
Senior Policy Officer
American Chamber
of Commerce to the European
Union (AmCham EU)
For more
information on
AMCHAM EU
please turn to:
www.amchameu.be
• the establishment of the rules
for a European ecological
Giving Flat Tax
a Chance
Although calls for a heavy progressive graduate income tax were echoed in 1848 by Karl Marx in his Communist Manifesto
in the first half of the 19th century, before then usage of the flat tax in industrialised countries had been the norm. Today,
although most developed industrialised economies have long adopted Marx’s views, the use of flat tax is making a comeback,
particularly in the economies of several former communist countries. Its case study successes and the resulting mini economic
booms in those states may make Western European countries with their current sluggish economies, and other parts of the
industrialised world, re-evaluate how they do business.
I
n simple terms, the flat tax
means that an individual is
taxed a flat rate. Instead
of the numerous and cumbersome income brackets, (as seen
in progressive tax), in a flat tax
system the government establishes a threshold by which all
parties’ income is taxed equally.
This threshold number is
typically low enough to provide
incentives for people to actually
pay their taxes and avoid tax
evasion. Currently within the
EU, “governments retain sole
responsibility for direct taxes, -
the amounts they raise by taxing
personal income and company
profits”.
Proponents of the ‘flat tax system’ see it as the answer to fiscal
simplification. By proposing a
flat tax on a person and corporate income, it helps reduce the
administrative burden and red
tape associated with a complex
graduated income tax system.
It is also believed to provide
incentives to invest and generate
increased revenue.
In modern 20th century economies, the flat tax was first
introduced in Estonia in 1991,
with a flat rate of 26% for
individuals. According to the
Bank of Estonia, its country’s
revenue has steadily risen, from
36 billion kroons in 2001 to 48
billion kroons ($4.06 billion ) in
2003. Flat tax has then caught
on in other former communist
countries after being introduced
into the economies of Latvia
(1994), Lithuania (1994), Russia
(2001) Serbia (2003), Ukraine
(2003) Slovakia (2003) Georgia
(2004) and most recently Romania (2005).
The flat tax experiment that has
received the most attention in
Europe has been the case of
Slovakia. With a current flat
tax of 19% for all personal,
corporate, and sales taxes, since
introduction of the flat tax in
2003, its economy has flourished. (Currently taking into
account total tax burden, out of
the current EU countries and
OECD countries, Slovakia has
the lowest tax rate). As a result
of the success of the introduction of the flat tax, Slovakia has
seen a notable reduction in its
budget deficit. Encouraged by
Slovakia’s success, other Eastern European countries have
followed suit, most recently
Romania, which is scheduled to
join the EU in 2007, introducing a flat tax of 16%.
Voices against the new
trend
However, those who favour a
progressive income tax say that
the flat tax is not without its
faults. They argue that introduction of the flat tax eliminates
all forms of tax exemptions
and allowances. They also say
that it favours the wealthy to
the detriment of the poor. Moreover, they argue that the flat
tax favours share and dividend
holders since “profits are taxed
only once at the source”
So what is a government
supposed to do?
Economists can debate theories
of taxation and economics
endlessly. It is true that the
results of introducing a flat tax
in different economies will yield
different results. However, the
current successes in the former
Communist countries cannot
be overlooked. The gains from
a radical tax simplification in
Europe and across the Atlantic
would be huge. (Estimates
for the US for just administering, collecting, enforcing and
compliance place the costs of
its progressive system between
10 - 20% of revenue collected).
However, mobilising the more
mature economies of Western
Europe to adopt such a system
might be a harder economic
theory to put into practice. ■
Daniela Coleman,
Policy Officer
American Chamber
of Commerce to the European
Union (AmCham EU)
19
amchamEU
Case study successes
For more
information on
AMCHAM EU
please turn to:
www.amchameu.be
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amchamcommittees
20
Compliance with
Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002
There is a lot of discussion within business and political circles about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and, in
particular, the costs involved in its implementation. Some non-U.S. companies have even considered
withdrawing their securities from being traded in the US, while others have analyzed their profits
from their U.S. business against the cost of compliance. Analysts have reported that not only has
London overtaken New York as the market of choice for international IPOs, but Europe (led by
London) surpassed the United States in terms of the value of all new listings in 2005. Cynics point
out that this trend owes much to Sarbanes-Oxley and its convoluted corporate regulatory regime.
W
hether or not you agree with the
requirements of the Act, it is
clear that companies are gaining
benefits by implementing stronger internal
controls. Such benefits include the reinforcement of fundamental disciplines, responsibilities and structure, improving risk assessment and mitigation, improved data quality
and information, and providing assurance
that management’s instructions are executed
as intended.
All companies that fall into this classification, irrespective of size, are required to have
registered and be in full compliance with the
requirements.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 30th July, 2002,
also referred to as SOX, is one of the most
significant changes to federal securities laws
in the United States since the introduction
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
and has brought in a new era of corporate governance and accountability. It was
enacted following a wave of well-publicized
corporate financial scandals that included
Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing and
Arthur Andersen. Its purpose is stated as ‘to
protect investors by improving the accuracy
and reliability of Corporate disclosures made
pursuant to the securities laws, and for other
purposes’.
• enhanced reporting requirements, including
an assessment on the effectiveness of
internal controls;
Compliance with the Act is
mandatory for:
• all publicly-traded companies in the United
States (U.S.), including all wholly-owned
subsidiaries, within and outside of the U.S.,
and non-U.S. companies publicly-traded in
the US; and
• all publicly-traded non-U.S. companies
doing business in the US.
The SOX legislation is wide ranging
and has established:
• legal accountability, responsibility and
criminal and civil penalties for executive
management;
• new independence standards for public
accounting firms;
• a Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (PCAOB) under the Security and
Exchange Commission (SEC) to oversee
public accounting firms and issue accounting standards.
By now all companies falling into the above
classification should have established their
financial reporting frameworks, the purpose
of which includes the submission of an
annual assessment of the effectiveness of
the company’s internal accounting controls
to the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). The following paragraphs are intended to refresh the reader with the principal
sections of the Act pertaining to company
compliance requirements.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act itself is organized
into eleven sections but, if we exclude the
requirements for public accounting firms
and the establishment and operation of the
PCAOB, the most important, in terms of
compliance, are as follows:
Section 301 - Public Companies
Audit Committees
Section 301 states that each company
should have an Audit Committee made up
of independent individuals appointed from
the company’s Board of Directors, for the
purpose of overseeing the accounting and
financial reporting processes and audits of
the financial statements of the company.
Such responsibilities specifically include the
appointment, compensation and oversight of
the work of any registered public accounting firm (external auditor or consultants)
employed by the company for audit, financial
reporting or related purposes, to whom such
public accounting firms will report directly.
The Committee will also establish procedures
for the receipt, retention and treatment of
any issues relating to accounting, internal
accounting or auditing matters, as well as
processes for ‘whistle blowers’ that maintain
individual’s confidentiality and anonymity.
Of course, if the Board has not appointed an
Audit Committee then the entire Board of
Directors will be accountable for enacting the
Audit Committee’s specified responsibilities.
Section 302 - Corporate
responsibility for financial reports;
Corporate responsibility for the content of
financial reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission is stated as being
with the principal executive officer and the
principal financial officer. These individuals
are now required to certify that:
a) they have reviewed the report and that
it fairly presents in all material respects
the financial condition and results of the
company;
b) they are responsible for establishing,
maintaining and evaluating the effectiveness of internal accounting controls;
c) they have disclosed to the company’s
external auditors and Audit Committee
all significant deficiencies in the design
or operation of internal controls and any
fraud that involves management or other
employees;
d) that they have indicated whether or not
there were significant changes in internal
controls or any other factors that could
significantly affect internal controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation,
including any corrective actions taken.
Section 401 - Disclosure in periodic
reports;
All financial reports are required to be prepared in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles.
Section 409 – Real-time issuer
disclosures;
Companies are required to disclose to the
public, on a rapid and current basis information concerning any material changes in
the financial conditions or operations of
the company.
The above compliance requirements either
take a one-off effort to establish or the
implementation of a repeatable process
and are executed at Corporate level. The
compliance requirements to Section 404
relating to ‘Management Assessment of
Internal Controls’ are, however, a different
matter. Section 404 states that each annual
report will contain:
• an Internal Control Report which states
that it is the responsibility of management
for establishing and maintaining an
adequate internal control over financial
reporting for the company;
• a statement identifying the framework
used by management to conduct the required evaluation of the effectiveness of the
company’s internal control over financial
reporting;
• management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the company’s internal control
over financial reporting as of the end
of the company’s most recent fiscal year,
including a statement as to whether or not
the company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective. The assessment
must include disclosure of any «material
weaknesses» in the company’s internal
control over financial reporting identified by management. Management is not
permitted to conclude that the company’s
internal control over financial reporting is
effective if there are one or more material
weaknesses in the company’s internal
controls; and
• a statement that the registered public
accounting firm that audited the financial statements included in the annual
report has issued an attestation report on
management’s assessment of the company’s
internal control over financial reporting.
There have been considerable discussions
on how wide the definition of internal controls over financial reporting are, as nonfinancial events have a way of impacting
a company’s financial position. The SEC
has now determined that the term ‘internal
control over financial reporting’ means:
A process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive
(CEO) and principal financial officer (CFO)
and effected by the company’s Board of Directors, management and other personnel,
to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the reliability of financial reporting and
the preparation of financial statements for
external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and
includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records
that, in reasonable detail, accurately and
fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company;
(2) provide reasonable assurance that
transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and that
receipts and expenditures of the registrant are being made only in accordance
with authorizations of management and
directors of the company; and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the company’s assets that could
have a material affect on the financial
statements.
The scope of Section 404 of the SarbanesOxley Act has therefore been deemed to include all transactional records involving the
acquisition or disposal of the companies
and customer assets. Such records have to
be recorded and maintained in a manner
that can provide assurance that they are
accurate, complete, authorized, recoverable
and have not been compromised by any
attempt or conspiracy to commit fraud.
The question is therefore what needs to be done
to comply?
Obviously the responsibility of the CEO
and CFO must be delegated through the
organization to those with the necessary
skills in designing effective and efficient
internal controls and individuals dealing
directly with the recording and maintenance
of data.
A good starting point is to undertake a
complete review of the company’s Policies
and Standards. The objective of this review
is to ensure that the company’s values
and operational principles comply with
the Board of Directors and all regulatory
requirements. It is strongly recommended
that, in reviewing operating standards,
serious consideration be given to complying
with those issued by recognized standards
bodies, such as ISO, AICPA, IIA, ISACA/
CobiT, COSO and Basel II. Implementing
and maintaining such recognised standards
of operation will enable management to
demonstrate compliance to SOX and can be
used within marketing material to provide
assurance to shareholders, investors and
customers as to the adequacy of the company’s operational controls (e.g. ISO 9000
certified; SAS 70 compliant).
The next step is to identify and document
current processes, procedures and the associated internal controls that are used in the
recording and maintenance of transactional
records. An effective method is to flowchart the processes. This exercise will then
lead to an evaluation of the procedures
effectiveness, identification of efficiencies
or deficiencies and compliance to defined
standards.
This exercise must not only include all manual procedures but also all computer-based
practices, from data centre operations, contingency, to logical access over accounting
records. It should be noted that the focus
of any corrective actions should be to utilize computer-based controls, which are less
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susceptible to failure. Significant emphasis
must also be put on the adequacy of audit
trailing all actions involving transactional
data as well as the associated application
programs used to record such data.
Such an exercise generally brings value to a
company by leading to tighter controls and
efficiencies to procedures. Most companies
have policies in place, but for many there
is a layer of dust on the policy manual that
has been neglected over the years, while
some companies have never promoted their
policies to management or staff. Meanwhile,
controls may have been developed haphazardly over time in an effort to keep up
with growth or have not been updated to
correspond to structural changes. SarbanesOxley provides the opportunity to undertake
a process review and re-engineering, the
results of which may prove very beneficial.
Responsibility should be allocated for ensuring continued compliance at director level.
Larger companies should give consideration
to appointing a dedicated Governance Process Director whose responsibilities should
include:
• maintaining Corporate Governance, Policies and Standards (at Corporate or local
level, as appropriate);
• executing the above processes reviews on
an ongoing basis;
• maintaining the internal control structure
(COSO, CobiT);
• incorporate internal controls into system
designs and new business processes;
• drafting the required periodic regulatory
reports (SOX, CSSF, FSA, etc) for CEO
and CFO review and sign off;
web site http://www.sec.gov/about/laws.html
and apply the necessary compliance controls
over their organization. ■
• resolving internal control issues raised by
audits;
• keeping current on all regulatory requirements (delegated to the Compliance
Officer);
• act as the primary contact for regulators;
• own standard certification projects;
• manage CEO and CFO expectations.
Internal audit’s work programs should incorporate regulatory compliance testing and, if
not already in place, an effective exception
reporting matrix under a risk management
framework should be implemented.
Non-compliance with the requirements of
the Act will lead to criminal prosecution
involving significant fines or imprisonment for up to 20 years or both. The
exact penalties are detailed within specific
sections of the Act.
This article is intended to provide the reader
with an overview of the more generally relevant
compliance requirements for a company falling
under the Acts classification and is in no way
intended to be comprehensive. The reader is
encouraged to review the requirements in their
entirety as well as those published on the SEC
MICHAEL
P. RAS..........
Michael P. Ras is an independent
management consultant who specializes
in Governance, Policies and Standards
and compliance with regulatory
requirements. His background is within
internal audit, IT and operations,
holding senior management and
executive positions within multinational
companies. Michael has been involved
with both the IIA and ISACA, writing
articles, holding training courses and
speaking at conferences on internal
controls and CobiT. Considered an
expert in anti money laundering, he has
recently helped design a system and
associated processes for a prominent
financial institution, while his security
and business recovery expertise were
put to practice with 9/11. Michael can
be contacted through AMCHAM.
Anti-Money Laundering
are we done yet ?
Risk-based approach: focus on this important aspect of the CSSF circular 05/211
and how it can be addressed from a practical point of view
In certain cases new regulatory requirements give the opportunity of making processes more efficient. This
is the case with the emphasis put by the CSSF circular 05/211 on the application of a risk-based approach
to Anti Money Laundering and clients’ identification. But one has indeed to be open to the minimum
investments that will generate a “win/win” situation. The current article highlights two examples of
innovative risk based approaches in the private banking industry and in the investment fund industry.
I) Continued emphasis that requires constant
improvement of documentation
The emphasis on anti-money laundering
(“AML”) and its relevant requirements has
been an on-going process since the end of
1993. As such, it is quite understandable that
many players consider that all the necessary
procedures and systems have now been
implemented and that any development
on the regulatory and / or legal side is to
be considered as not having an important
impact as regards risk management.
However, CSSF circular 05/211 clearly
demonstrates that anti money-laundering
is an on-going process and, one could say,
a never-ending story. Of interest is the fact
that the guideline puts further emphasis on
a relatively new major concept: the necessity
of a risk-based approach concerning the
client base.
II) Why is this particularly true for the
Luxembourg financial sector?
As such, the need to adopt a risk-based
approach should appear quite logical
and obvious. Luxembourg being an
international banking center, all nationalities
and all professions are represented in the
client base of this financial center and this
already brings certain elements of risk
differentiation.
If you combine this with the increasing
types of banking services proposed as
well as a marked tendency towards more
sophisticated services and the use of
complex structures, it becomes evident
that just applying a standard anti money
laundering process for all types of clients
and services quickly becomes inefficient
and even dangerous.
III) It all makes sense! And it can also be a
significant value added exercise.
of risk, the bank’s management provides
the necessary tools to allow the account
manager to efficiently tackle the anti money
laundering aspects of his profession and to
fully buy-in into the AML concept.
IV) Our concrete advantage
Once the clientele is risk categorized the
management can allow a better and more
efficient supervision by putting emphasis
on the high and medium risk clients. This
saves a lot of time and is more efficient
for the follow up actions. All things staying
the same, i.e. in the absence of changes
in the client profiling and of doubtful
transactions, a client considers as lower
risk would deserve less attention by the
management.
V) Risk-based approach in the investment
fund industry
Is that approach also bringing efficient
results for the fund industry?
A concrete viable solution to this diversity
appears to be the implementation of
this risk-based approach, especially as
this approach is the only one having the
necessary flexibility to incorporate further
growth of clients and services offered.
Applying proper AML standards to
Investment Funds is often perceived as
more complex and burdensome than in the
banking industry. Know Your Customer
(“KYC”) requirements for example will
depend on subscription routes. In addition,
money laundering schemes in the fund
industry may be more difficult to identify.
More and more, we tend to advise financial
institutions to set up a common framework
for all account managers to allow them to
assess AML risks in a consistent way.
One of the particularities of the fund
industry is that investments could be kept
for a long period of time without any
contact with the investor.
This can be achieved through the issuance
of a dedicated questionnaire that will
address all main aspects of AML risks and
that will use risk scoring factors to assess
different types of situations, based on
responses obtained.
As a direct consequence certain
investments in Funds may have been done
at a period of time when AML regulations
were significantly different than actual
rules and practices. How is it then feasible
to achieve proper KYC on the complete
population at the same time?
Account managers are therefore leading
the risk categorization process under the
strict adherence to the common reference
benchmark. In a few months time the full
population is being covered through the
exercise.
As such, the ratio of investment to results
is highly positive if the banking industry
accepts to examine such a solution in a
medium-term timeframe.
One positive aspect is that the account
manager becomes actively involved in the
quality building exercise in this approach.
As such, the message is loud and clear;
it is the account manager that knows the
best his clients and the related risks. By
providing clear and rigorous categories
Let’s be clear: it is not feasible! You have
to remediate to the lack of proper KYC
documentation, but you need to apply
degree of prioritization to your process
otherwise it may last forever while still
not addressing your higher risk exposures
immediately.
This is where you can indeed apply the riskbased approach and first define risk criteria
to be applied to the whole client database
and then address in priority the missing
information on the most risky clients. In
practice such an approach is also receiving
the full support of the funds promoters.
VI) Conclusion
A risk-based AML approach is crucial
for appropriately managing your risks,
protecting your reputation and adding
value to the way you serve your clients.
Therefore it makes sound business sense
and should not be viewed merely as
an additional regulatory compliance
requirement.
In this particular case, it is even possible
to take full advantage of it and make
the requirement beneficial to the whole
business. ■
ERIC
COLLARD..........
KPMG Luxembourg
Eric Collard is the partner
in charge of the Forensic
department at KPMG
Luxembourg.
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Quality of
Working Environment
by SES
The quality of the working environment is a very important element of the SES Human Resources strategy,
whose aim is to be the employer of choice in the industry. This fits perfectly with one of the objectives of
the Human Resources Committee of the AMCHAM, which is to advocate on behalf of quality of life issues
impacting the international working community in Luxembourg.
T
here are many aspects within a company that can influence the quality
of the working environment. In all
those aspects however, the Management and
the Human Resources department are very
much involved. Within SES, we face a big
challenge with our employees coming from
around the world and the extreme mix of
culture; we have therefore to manage very
different expectations and decided to adopt
English as the official working language.
“SES being out in the beautiful countryside
of Luxembourg has all the facilities available
to make an ideal working environment and
has easy accessibility from Germany, France
or Belgium”, said Jan Stroetinga, President
of SES Personal Delegation.
Our Group can easily be described as very
dynamic as well in terms of social activities
and has developed a real tradition of event
organization. A special team of employees
(volunteers), called Enter(tainment)Team
was created some years ago with the unique
and important objective to organize events
such as the New Year party taking place in
January each year, the summer party in June
and a special celebration for the employees’
SES ASTRA’s
participation in the
Ariane’s cup
children around
Saint Nicholas. This
team also organizes
charity activities,
amongst other
activities, to support
local schools or
countries in need.
SES has built very
impressive sport
facilities which give
the opportunity
to our employees
either to do sport
The New Year Starting Party with the Hydrazine
on their own (fitness
Group composed of SES employees.
room, running) or in
teams (football, volsional knowledge such as management,
leyball, badminton,
presentation skills, language courses, stress
dancing, etc.) in the morning, during lunch
management or creativity & innovation. The
time or in the evening. A few weeks ago the
training program is adapted to the company’s
sport facilities were also made available to the
changing needs on a year by year basis.
partners of employees. Sailing- and ski trips
are also organized annually.
Human Resources is also the center of the
mediation process to ensure that conflict,
These social activities are really important
threat or mobbing situations between emto us because they create opportunities for
ployee and manager are detected as early as
our employees to meet in a more informal
possible and mediated neutrally on a case by
manner. They are also a great communication
case basis.
tool and enhance the company’s culture.
“For several years now, I have seen that SES
is doing its best to improve the working
life balance of its employees” explained
Jan Stroetinga, President of SES Personal
Delegation.
The SES employees also benefit from an
excellent chef who has managed the Eurest
restaurant for some years. His whole team
proposes excellent and diverse menus daily
and can organize catering for specific activities.
Another challenge that SES successfully
managed, and that any company faces in
our present day, is the separation of the
smoking/non-smoking area. An efficient
and modern ventilation system allows the
smokers to remain in the main building and
share a social moment without disrupting
non-smoking colleagues.
More specific to Human Resources, an
important choice of training is available to
employees, who can train specific profes-
We are currently analyzing two projects that
will keep on improving the working environment of our employees. One project is an
open space pilot that will increase communication within and between the different
departments and create more social corners.
Another important project is the Employee
Assistance Program which will help to avoid
risks and damages occurring from situations
which are being perceived as problematic and
stressful by the employees.
SES is therefore a very dynamic company
who aims to create the best possible environment for its employees. The Voice of the
Employee survey allows the Management
to monitor how the working environment is
developing within the company in terms of
efficiency and quality. ■
Detlef Krauss
SES ASTRA Senior Vice President,
Human Resources
25
Business continuity management
against
the pandemic risk
Is your organization prepared
for a pandemic?
Currently the media coverage
of avian influenza is extensive,
highlighting the very real risk
of a flu pandemic in the near
future. We are warned that
there is a significantly higher
risk of infection due to lack of
immunity and, perhaps more
importantly, that there are likely
to be many more fatalities from
a flu pandemic stemming from
pandemic flu, than we usually
expect from the seasonal winter
flu commonly experienced in
Luxembourg. Nor is it limited
geographically so we are
looking at a potentially global
pandemic.
There is no timeline as to when
we should expect pandemic
flu but the risk of this disease
has been forecast by various
international agencies and
sources, most notably the
World Health Organization
(WHO). This is the reverse of
Y2K.
Although pandemic flu may
not have a direct impact on
your business it will almost
certainly have an effect on your
staff, either physically and/or
mentally, depending upon the
circumstances.
Are Luxembourg organizations
prepared for a pandemic?
In Luxembourg, financial
institutions in particular have
developed continuity programs
that are designed to assist their
critical operations to maintain
or recover their functionality
despite a potentially disruptive
event. These plans have been
concentrated to cover low
probability but high impact
events such as fire or air
* Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
plane crash. Nevertheless, the
current “all hazards” approach
to business continuity may
not be sufficient to address
circumstances in which the
organization must try to
function during an outbreak
of “pandemic flu” or another
serious infectious disease.
Indeed, a number of world
financial institutions have
already had to deal with the
difficulties of maintaining
staff and facilities in
locations touched by the
2003 outbreak of “SARS*”.
For many organizations, the
2003 experience showed that
planning and preparation
efforts could prove invaluable
in providing their organizations
with the ability to function
effectively in a “pandemic flu”
outbreak. Just as contagious
outbreaks do occur, it could
present their organizations with
difficult challenges unlike any in
recent history:
• A serious “pandemic flu”
outbreak could erupt in
waves over weeks or even
months. As a result, business
continuity plans that address
discrete events that might
affect organizations for
limited periods may prove
inadequate for the longerterm impact of a “pandemic
flu” outbreak.
• During a “pandemic flu”
outbreak, organizations
may have to deal with
unprecedented absenteeism
for weeks at a time, from
illness, family demands or
fear of contagion. Personnel
absences may become so
widespread that existing
succession plans may
prove inadequate to have
sufficient personnel available
to maintain even critical
operations.
• A “pandemic flu” outbreak
is likely to simultaneously
affect multiple regions of the
country and the globe. As a
result, the backup facilities
that have been established by
many financial organizations
may be affected by the
outbreak as much as the
primary locations they are
intended to back up.
• Disruptions could spread
to other key infrastructures.
These types of problems
might make it very difficult
for employees to function
effectively at work.
What considerations can
be made at this stage to
enhance and/or create business
continuity management?
The approach to enhance /
create a plan is no different
from the one used for
implementing a plan against
another risk. The difference
lies in the questions asked, the
elements taken into account
and the triggers used.
In fact, the approach is classical.
The Deloitte methodology to
implement continuity is divided
into four phases:
1. Analyze
• Current State Assessment
• Risk assessment;
• Business impact analysis
(“BIA”);
2. Development
• Governance
• Availability / Recoverability
Strategies
• BCM Plans /
Documentation
3. Implementation
• Resource Acquisition
• Training
• Testing
4. Continuous Improvement
and Quality Assurance
In the light of a potential
pandemic, what are the major
factors to take into account?
• Business impact
analysis
The purpose of this stage is to
analyse the operational effects
of the influenza pandemic on
each essential business function
and department.
As part of this stage, it will
be necessary to consider the
implications of an influenza
pandemic on the wider
community (impact and extent).
The likelihood is that there will
be a reduced, and in some cases
increased, demand for services
that the organizations provide.
This assessment will identify
the anticipated levels of
demand for each of the
services against specific levels
of infection as defined by
the WHO. Based on this
information, the assessment
will seek to determine the staff
levels required to provide the
predicted levels of service.
Traditionally in Luxembourg,
most BIA identify critical
operations that need to
be constantly maintained
or recovered within a few
hours after an event, and
identify other operations
that can be slated for longer
recovery periods or even
suspended completely during
an emergency. A pandemic
outbreak, however, could
26
constitute an event that could
last weeks or even months.
As a result, disruptions in this
second category of operations
may severely compromise an
organization’s ability to function
if continuing wide-spread
absenteeism is experienced
among support staff for weeks
on end. Accordingly, many
organizations should review
their business impact analysis
and determine how they can
better take into account the
potential difficulties posed by
this risk.
implementation of quarantine
restrictions, evacuations etc.
• Availability /
Recoverability
Strategies
• BCM Plans /
Documentation
Utilizing the information
identified in the preceding
phase, the organization
should determine appropriate
strategies to support
the continued operation
throughout an influenza
pandemic. In any case, the
strategy defined should match
with the national authority’s
decisions / recommendations
and coordinate with that of the
WHO.
In order to facilitate the
strategies definition and the
later resource acquisition,
when necessary, the WHO
has identified 6 levels of
infection that can be used to
trigger stages of the Business
Continuity arrangements with
specific advice within each
level.
These levels are:
1. Current Status – Disease
isolated with sporadic
outbreaks
2. Consistent and more
widespread infection
3. Confirmation of human to
human transfer
4. Epidemic
5. Pandemic
6. Inter-Continental pandemic
Policies and procedures need
to be established for each of
the 6 levels of infection. In
the earlier levels, these policies
will include guidelines on
travel but may escalate to key
staff isolation/relocation/
vaccination, travel restrictions,
The primary issue to be
addressed by the procedures
will be how to effect the
appropriate deployment of
available staff to support
critical processes. This will take
into account the criticality of
services identified within the
analysis phase.
Specific strategies will be
defined to ensure that
appropriate levels of service
can be maintained.
Some organizations that have
decided to develop business
continuity plans for a pandemic
outbreak are structuring these
plans to phase in escalating
responses as development
warrant. Other organizations
have decided to have the phases
in their plans coincide with
alert programs that are being
developed in locations in which
the organization’s facilities
are located or in line with the
WHO levels.
handle high volume levels of
the firms’ telecommuting or
teleconferencing capabilities.
Furthermore, it is important
that all members and staff are
fully aware of the plans to deal
with a disruptive incident. It
is particularly important that
key members of the teams
that will be involved in the
recovery processes are fully
aware of their obligations and
responsibilities within the plans.
It is recommended to consider
including specific scenario
workshops to ensure that an
influenza pandemic or similar
event can be catered for by the
plans that are developed.
Nevertheless, organizations are
strongly advised to consider
the prospect of a sudden
emergence of a pandemic
among humans and to factor it
into their business continuity
and crisis management planning
now, rather than waiting for
evidence of a pandemic to
emerge. Previous pandemics
have shown that they quickly
develop a momentum of their
own and suggest that sufficient
triggers have been met to
warrant preparedness planning
(it is better to learn from the
past than to try and predict the
future). ■
In any case, part of the
approach to preparing at
this time involves ongoing
monitoring of reliable
sources about the medical
considerations associated with
this issue.
During the plan development
stage, organization should deal
also with the following issues:
• Education and communication
(crucial during this type of
disaster);
• Employee health and safety;
• Administrative matters;
• Service providers and suppliers.
• Training and Testing
Testing is central to any
effective business continuity
management strategy. However,
a comprehensive testing of
response plans for a pandemic
outbreak that could last for an
extended period of time may
be unrealistic. Accordingly,
it is possible to concentrate
tests on a portion of their
response plans, such ability to
What about the next steps?
Unlike many other incidents,
there should be some
preparation time to allow
the detailed planning and
implementation of the
mitigation measures before the
pandemic arrives. The inclusion
of a pre-pandemic preparation
stage in the organization’s plans,
will allow the organization to
carry out the preparation for
the pandemic without going to
the full implementation of the
plan at stage.
Guy Samson
Senior manager,
ERS-Enterprise
Risk Services,
Deloitte SA
27
What can you be doing
to plan
for avian influenza ?
Any of us who have been following the Avian Influenza story in the local and international press are aware
that there are a lot of uncertainties with a potential Avian Influenza (AI) pandemic. Will it or will it not
occur? The World Health Organization cannot say with certainty, but they must plan for the worst. As
governmental organizations continue to minimize the uncertainties at their level, much of the contingency
planning that can be done at the business and personal level is basic, tangible and proven to be effective. Basic
principles of crisis management apply – Plan, Allocate Resources, Communicate and Coordinate. Information
and advice is readily available on the Internet at the U.S. Government’s official Avian Influenza website
(http://www.pandemicflu.gov/).
T
he American Embassy
Luxembourg closely
monitors the national
Avian Influenza readiness
posture of Luxembourg and
finds that the Government of
Luxembourg is transparent in
its dealings with the general
public. Its Ministry of Health
has drafted an Avian Influenza
contingency plan, which has
been reviewed by Luxembourg’s
Council of Government.
The American Embassy has
developed its own Avian
Influenza outbreak contingency
plan, in order to better inform
and serve the American
community in Luxembourg.
As future developments may
dictate, and when we have more
specific advice, we will reach out
to the American community in
Luxembourg through warden
message announcements or
other public forums. You may
also research the latest U.S.
Government advice on the
American Embassy Luxembourg
Internet website (listed at the
end of this article). The upper
right-hand corner of our website
has links to the official U.S. and
Luxembourg websites for Avian
Influenza.
Businesses should go to
the “Business” tab on the
(U.S.) Government’s official
AI website and print the
“Business Pandemic Influenza
Checklist”. This is a thorough
but simple progress tracking
guide. It assists the leadership
of an organization in
working with employees and
external organizations in your
community. A business can
go a long way toward a sound
continuity model in the face
of a pandemic or other similar
disaster by carefully answering
the questions on this checklist
and tracking its progress.
Individuals and families
should go to the “Individuals
and Families” tab on the U.S.
Government’s official AI website
and work through the personal
planning checklists provided.
These lists recommend tangible
and effective things a family or
individual can be doing now to
prepare for possible disruption
of basic services should a
pandemic develop. Much
of this entails planning for a
potential scenario of “social
distancing” and remaining at
home for a period of time until
local governmental actions have
been implemented.
The planning advice for
businesses and families and
individuals are not designed to
generate panic. To the contrary,
they provide positive and
proven actions that will give us
peace of mind in having done
all we can do at this stage of
a potential pandemic. Good
preparedness by businesses,
families and individuals will also
help government organizations
to more smoothly implement
their response in the event of a
pandemic.. ■
Kent Trogdon
U.S Embassy Luxembourg
AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI)
INFORMATIONAL WEBSITES :
U.S. Government’s Official AI Website :
www.pandemicflu.gov/
Government of Luxembourg Official AI Website :
www.gouvernement.lu/dossiers/agriculture_dev_rural/grippe_
aviaire/index.html
U.S. Embassy Luxembourg Website :
http://luxembourg.usembassy.gov/
greaterregionnews
28
Telling a Success Story
in the Greater Region :
The City of
WITTLICH
A globalized world...
In an increasingly globalized
world, national boundaries,
legislation and policies are losing
their impact on companies
acting as global players, calling
the capacity to shift enormous
capital flows as well as entire
production lines from country
to country, their own. There is
no doubt that this development
has intensified the competition
between regions desiring to
attract investments in order to
sustain their long-term economic growth.
The Greater Region...
This being said, it becomes all
the more apparent that AMCHAM has adopted a broader
approach in its efforts to support the economic development
of Luxembourg by marketing
the Grand Duchy and the surrounding Greater Region as an
ideal gateway to Europe. In the
given situation the necessity has
arisen to look beyond national
boundaries, to identify common
economic and political interests
with the ultimate goal of optimizing the available resources of a
region to remain competitive on
a global scale.
The above-mentioned has led
AMCHAM to enter into a dialogue with economic and political
decision-makers in the Greater
Region in order to assess its
strengths and weaknesses that
might affect the region’s future
development. Lying at the heart
of Europe, the Greater Region
is well advised to market its
aggregated potential to investors
rather than focus on national
borders and thereby limit itself.
The IRT and the City of
Wittlich...
Crossing the border into
Germany a small AMCHAM
delegation had the opportunity
to obtain a first-hand impression
of the economic opportunities
Goodyear Dunlop Tires
Germany GmbH Werk
Wittlich
available only a mere 30-minute
drive away from Luxembourg.
The Board of Directors of
the IRT (Industriepark Region
Trier) impressively demonstrated that the county boasts an ex-
highest in all of Rhineland-Palatinate. The success story can
certainly also be traced back to
the approach the administration
in town hall has chosen; under
the lead of the city’s mayor,
cellent infrastructure combined
with a highly qualified workforce, flexible administrations
and last but not least a sufficient
supply of land designated for
industrial use.
Ralf Bußmer, an efficient,
process-oriented organizational
structure has been established in
order to meet the expectations
and requirements current and
potential investors might have.
A group of dedicated professionals responds to demands
in a flexible and pragmatic way,
thus minimizing the time-lag
between an actual demand and
the solution.
In a next step a closer focus was
taken on the city of Wittlich,
a township of over 19.000
inhabitants, centrally located
between Trier and Koblenz
and functioning as an economic and cultural center in the
region. The statistics speak a
clear language in favor of the
responsible decision-makers.
With 16.000 workplaces the
ratio of the number of workplaces in relation to the number
of inhabitants is one of the
Wittlich proved to be of particular interest to AMCHAM
owing to the fact that it has
a long-standing history of
American companies active
within its city-limits. Among
the impressive number of 1.100
employers, three major players
In the year 1888 Irish veterinarian John Boyd Dunlop
patented a totally new type
of tire after watching his son
struggle to ride a tricycle with
solid-rubber wheels and thus
took the first step towards a
company today known as one
of the leading tire manufacturers worldwide. As part of the
strategic joint venture between
the American Goodyear Tire
& Rubber Company and the
Japanese Sumitomo Rubber
Industries it has access to all
significant international markets.
The initial decision to establish
a tire production in Wittlich in
the early 1970s was influenced
by several relevant factors:
- the central location in Europe,
- the excellent regional/supraregional infrastructure (railway,
waterways and highways),
- the availability of a German
workforce known for its quality-orientation
- sufficient supplies of water
and electricity
- the availability of land in a
sufficient size and quality
- an excellent communal in-
frastructure offering schools
and housing for the required
workforce and their families
- subsidies from the land of
Rhineland-Palatinate
The plant was opened in
1971 and became part of the
Sumitomo Group between 1985
and 1999. Since mid 1999 it is
run in a joint venture between
Goodyear Tires and Sumitomo
Rubber. Essential competitive
advantages include the technological know-how, the development and implementation of
new, advanced products and the
quick product availability for
clients. In order to achieve these
goals, both management and
workforce need to demonstrate flexibility and rapidity in
the implementation of new
projects. To give an example: In
1997 continuous production in
21 shifts was introduced in the
framework of a pilot project, increasing the weekly work hours
from 37.5 to 40 without salary
adaptations. The main goal was
to secure the competitiveness
of the location which was
equally supported by the plant’s
management and workforce.
Today the location serves as
logistics center and production
site with superior quality standards. The motivational instruments applied by the company’s
management include measures
such as continued education,
idea management and monetary
bonuses, ultimately leading to
an exceptionally low turn-over
of staff.
The highly successful company
culture is complimented by a
close partnership and cooperation with the town’s administra-
29
greaterregionnews
have an American background:
Dunlop Tires (being part of
the Goodyear group), Franklin
Electric and Ideal Standard.
With a combined workforce of
close to 1.900 employees they
are relevant economic forces
in the county. A more detailed
look at these three companies
will allow us to better assess the
region’s economic potential.
greaterregionnews
30
tion on questions ranging from
infrastructure to environmental
issues.
Franklin Electric
Founded in 1944 by two former
General Electric engineers,
Franklin Electric is a global
leader in water well pumping
systems and fuel pumping
systems. Franklin’s products are
present in approximately one of
every two water wells and filling
stations worldwide.
Since 1967 the European
headquarters are located
in Wittlich, with the initial
decision for this location being
based on the German roots of
one of the company founders
as well as the attractive cost
structure back in the 1960s.
Although several production
plants have been established
in other European locations
such as the Czech Republic or
Italy, the central location is still
being considered as a major
advantage. The flexibility and
responsiveness of the local
administration regarding their
needs are an additional factor in
favor of the location.
Ideal Standard
The American Standard group
headquartered in Piscataway,
New Jersey, employs 60.000
people globally working in the
three main fields of activity of
“Heating & Cooling”, “Vehicle
Controls” and “Bath & Kitchen”. Ideal Standard Germany
opened a fittings plant in Wittlich in 1969 which over time has
grown to a production site with
an annual output of approximately 1.5 mio. brass fittings and
9.5 mio. ceramic cartridges. The
European product development
is centrally handled at the Witt-
lich plant guaranteeing clients
high end products of increasing
complexity, according to Mr.
Löw, the plant’s production
director.
Among the reasons to maintain
a production site in an environment of high labor costs, are:
- the capability to fulfil clients’
requirements within a short
time lag
- the accessibility of external
know-how offered by universities and research institutes in
the region
- the availability of reliable
subcontractors
- the central location within
Europe with an excellent
infrastructure
- a highly loyal and qualified
work force (with an average
period of employment of 20
years)
Especially the latter ties into the
so-called soft criteria of a company’s success; the impeccable
reputation of the German work
force is perceived by clients
to guarantee an outstanding
product quality (“Made in
Germany”), thus letting the
company benefit from a high
client loyalty.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that companies established in the Greater
Region are – as in many other
places - facing decisions such
as the transfer of production
sites to low-cost countries in
Eastern Europe or Far East, the
advantages offered by the combination of the central location
within Europe, an excellent
infrastructure, a highly qualified
workforce with outstanding
work ethics and flexible and
responsive local administrations
strongly suggests the long-term
commitment to the region.
Decision-makers on the economic and political stage may
under no circumstances neglect
the strong regional interdependency which is not only a fact
but an opportunity that needs
to be grasped to make one’s
voice heard in our interdependent world. ■
For more
information
please turn to
the following
websites :
Industriepark Region Trier:
www.i-r-t.de
Stadt Wittlich:
www.wittlich.de
Dunlop:
www.dunlop.de
Franklin Electric:
www.franklin-electric.de
Ideal Standard:
www.idealstandard.de
AmCham
Charity & Community
Activities
Dilek Ayaydin at Stëmm vun der Strooss.
Cross. It not only functions as
a shelter for the homeless, but
provides additional services
such as a mobile ambulance,
a clothing depot, social
counselling and a bi-monthly
magazine which offers the
homeless a platform to be heard.
So, responding on short notice
and working with the Charity
Committee of our charter
member Clearstream, we quickly
gathered together 10 very large
boxes of donated warm winter
sweaters, jackets, coats, gloves
and hats for distribution at the
homeless shelter. There was
no cost associated... the time
involved was minimal...we did
not ask anyone to contribute
financially...we just asked people
to donate surplus warm winter
clothing that they had no further
use for to people who really
needed warm clothing to wear.
From time to time we are asked what we, as AMCHAM,
are doing as charitable and community activities. In simple
terms the answer is: We do quite a lot!
While first and foremost
AMCHAM is a business
networking, communication
and lobbying forum, we are
interested in and support the
American and international
communities and their causes
globally and particularly within
Luxembourg. Our biggest
ongoing charitable activities are
associated with the Toys for Tots
Program within Luxembourg
and the American Stand of
the International Bazaar. In
addition we have a supportive
relationship of several years with
the charity of the Grand Duke
and Grand Duchess.
But, from time to time we
help in other ways, too. As one
small example, we would like to
make mention of our clothing
collection in support of the
homeless men in Luxembourg
this past winter. Remember
the arctic temperatures we had
in January and early February
2006? During that bitterly cold
period, Dilek Ayaydin from our
central office discovered there
was an urgent need for warm
men’s clothing for distribution
to homeless men by the “Stëmm
vun der Strooss” homeless
support organization here in
Luxembourg. This organization,
which was founded in 1996,
is dedicated to fostering the
integration of the socially
deprived, is supported by
the Ministry of Health and
cooperates closely with the Red
The results were many happy
faces and a good feeling of
accomplishment for all who
participated. Our thanks to
the Clearstream employees for
their support...and to Tatjana
and Dilek for their very caring
interface with the homeless
shelter!
communitynews
31
Needless to say that
organizations such as “Stemm
vun der Strooss” are grateful
for aid all year round; for those
who would therefore like to
learn more about ways they
can support a worthy cause, we
recommend contacting:. ■
Chairman & CEO
Contact Details :
Stëmm vun der Strooss Asbl
105, rue du Cimetière
L-1338 Luxembourg-Bonnevoie
Phone: +352 49 02 60
Fax: +352 49 02 63
Website:
www.stemm-vun-der-strooss.com
communitynews
32
Business Post :
the mail solution
for professionals
Although strategic, dealing with mail is often a time- and cost-consuming task in many companies. P&T can do
it faster and cheaper. To meet the requirements of its business customers, the Postal division of P&TLuxembourg
has developed a broad range of specific services: Business Post.
B
usiness Post solutions
allow P&T to meet the
needs of large, medium
or small companies.
The Confort package gives
them trouble-free working, by
sending their mailings in bulk to
our agents – P&T takes care of
the rest.
Companies can save on their
postal bill with advantageous
rates, depending on the type of
mail they send - they can also
use an appropriate contract
- Export if they send a lot of
mail abroad, for example, or
Eco if they have a great deal of
non-urgent mail.
Companies will receive their
post earlier in the morning, or
have it collected by a special
service at a time to suit to
them – the Distri+ and Prise à
Domicile [collection at domicile]
packages (which can be
combined in a Business package)
have been designed to improve
the profitability of P&T’s
customers working day.
Professionals can use mailbox
advertising for their marketing
or sales operations – the Direct
Mail package is regularly used
to advantage by many of P&T’s
business customers.
Depending on the quantity
of mail companies send, and
the delivery times acceptable
to them, P&T’s sales staff can
advise them on the best Business
Post package. For further
information call P&T on 08002
3210.. ■
Olivier Mores
Head of Communication
AMCHAMevents
Forthcoming events organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg include:
Monday, April 3, 2006
Monday, May 15, 2006
12:00 – 14:30, Sheraton Luxembourg Aerogolf Hotel
ABAL Luncheon
With special guest speaker : Dr. Rolf Tarrach, Rector of the University
of Luxembourg, «The Luxembourg University: What Next? The 10 Year
Plan»
12:00 – 14:30
ABAL Luncheon
With special guest speaker : Russian Ambassador to Luxembourg,
H.E. Edouard Roubenovitch Malayan.
Tuesday, May 9, 2006
18:00 - 20:00, further details to be announced
HR Committee: Diversity Workshop
Surinder Sharma, Equality and Human Rights Director at the National
Health Service (UK)
Thursday, May 11, 2006
18:30 – 20:30, State Street Bank
ComIT: Compliance and Business Continuity
Thursday, June 8, 2006
18:30 – 20:30, Fortis Banque Luxembourg (coin Bd. Royal/Rue Notre
Dame)
FinCom and ALFI : Roles & Responsibilities: U.S. Chief
Compliance Officer (CCO) vs. UCITS III Management Company
Robert De Normandie (The Directors’ Office), Jim Davis, Director of
Global Compliance Franklin Templeton Investments (USA)
Monday, June 12, 2006
12:00 – 14:30, Sheraton Luxembourg Aerogolf Hotel
ABAL Luncheon
With special guest speaker : Hans-Peter Keilbach, U.S. Chamber of
Commerce
Republicans Abroad
Working for Americans
T
his year will prove to be
a curve in the road. As
once famously quoted
“a bend in the road is not the
end of the road... unless you fail
to make the turn.”
We have Bin Laden promising
us to return, we still have the
petrol crisis though many of us
would oh so like these things to
go away.
It is time to seriously think
about our contributions to the
current global situations. The
things we buy, the vacations
we take, the choices we make
all lead to these current events
that play off on our living room
screens.
The communist party of Peru
has in their official “Great Military Plan,” to create uprisings
within a war among peoples.
Sounds like a plan from any
revolution. There is a plan out
there and we are unwittingly a
part of it. Bin Laden and his
cohorts are taking the peasants
war to the people of the world,
and mainly their own, spread out
in all lands.
We must wake up and defend
our beliefs by becoming an
active participant in our world.
Be aware that we are affecting
things and stop being afraid to
become involved. Make your
voices be heard either in the
front rooms or even the back.
The USA should and does react
as William Shakespeare wrote:
“the robbed that smiles, steals
something from the thief.”
overseas
We refuse to be put asunder now
or in the future but to remain
the unfolding story of a nation
who respects others and wants
to live in peace and freedom.
Thank you for your support. ■
communitynews
33
Sharon Molitor-March
Chairperson, RAL
Each generation, each vote
brings about increasing prosperity and the merging of our world
into one global marketplace, and
now next a nation seeking to
find peace among nations who
already trade.
My wish is that you all react
and take charge with your
motto being “problems are only
opportunities with thorns on
them” (Hugh Miller). Get active
today. Join us for sometimes
controversial but always exciting
monthly get-togethers by
emailing [email protected] or
calling 091723360.
Dear Fellow Democrats
A
s Chair of Democrats
Abroad of
Luxembourg, I am
proud to tell you we are among
other Americans throughout
the world who are active
participants in Democrats
Abroad. As we all know we
have many more millions of
Americans who call themselves
Democrats living overseas
~ our job is to find more of
them just in Luxembourg
and make sure they join us in
our local chapter. There are
approximately 2500 Americans
living in Luxembourg; we have
a membership database of
approximately 100. Hum ~
Where are the rest?
We need your participation, your
voice and more importantly,
your passion to change the
of
way the United States is being
governed. Our goal is to see
that Democrats take back the
Senate (2006) and the White
House (2008); our number one
goal at our local level in is to
register all Americans who can
vote. No American should feel
they can not vote in American
elections regardless of where
they may live overseas. In March
the Democratic Party will launch
on online voter registration
tool specifically developed for
American living abroad.
Chairman of the Democratic
Party, Governor Howard Dean,
received a standing ovation on
his first anniversary as DNC
Chair. He continues to spread
the message of our party as
being one of optimism and
implicit criticism, but continues
Luxembourg
to repeat the often phrase
“Together, we can do better.”
Five elements of what
Democrats stand for and will
deliver on are now clear:
• Americans deserve honesty
and transparency in
government
• Economic strength creating
American jobs that will stay
in America; Democrats will
balance the budget, achieve
middle class tax fairness and
tax simplification
• A strong national defense
• A health system that works for
everyone, just like the systems
in 36 other advanced industrial
nations
• A strong public education
system that is real and paid
for, including fully funded Pell
Amendment grants to make
it possible for Americans to
get their children through
college.. ■
Christine Heinerscheid
[email protected]
usefullinks
34
Useful
Telephone Numbers & Links
U.S. Government Resources
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Washington D.C.
U.S. Government Guide
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of State
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
www.uschamber.org
www.governmentguide.com
www.doc.gov
www.state.gov
www.cdc.gov
Luxembourg Resources
U.S. Embassy in Luxembourg
Government of the Grand Duchy
46 01 23
478-1
www.amembassy.lu
www.etat.lu
43 17 56
46 54 66
42 11 35 60
021-32 26 86
26 20 37 65
45 50 83 1
42 39 39 1
26 45 96 73
49 83 27
26 44 10 20
www.amcham.lu
www.bcc.lu
44 84 77
45 69 23
091 72 33 60
www.awcluxembourg.com
http://lu.democratsabroad.org/
www.republicansabroad.com
www.als.lu
Chambers of Commerce
American Chamber of Commerce
British Chamber of Commerce
Chilean Chamber of Commerce
Chinese Chamber of Commerce
French Chamber of Commerce
Italian Chamber of Commerce
Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
Nobelux – Nordic Countries Chamber
Portuguese Chamber of Commerce
Spanish Chamber of Commerce
www.ccil.lu
www.ccl.lu
www.nobelux.se
www.chacomesp.lu
American Community
American Women’s Club of Luxembourg
Democrats Abroad
Republicans Abroad
Luxembourg American Society
Education (Anglophone)
European School
International School
St. George’s School
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Miami University
Sacred Heart University
43 20 82 1
26 04 40
42 32 24
42 59 91 314
58 22 22-1
22 76 13
www.islux.lu
www.st-georges.lu
www.erau.edu/luxembourg
www.units.muohio.edu/luxembourg/
www.shu.lu
Transportation
Airport Luxembourg-Findel
Central Train Station
Benelux Taxis – VIP Services
Colux
Inter-Taxis
Taxilux
47 98 50 50
49 24 24
40 38 40
48 22 33
40 52 52
40 75 02
www.luxair.lu
www.cfl.lu
40 99 77 91
www.pt.lu
11 81 7
11 81 6
269 465-1
www.editus.lu
113
112
44 11 31 33
48 90 06
www.police.public.lu
44 11 1
4 37 77 1
4 97 76 1
24 68 1
www.chl.lu
www.clinique-eich.lu
Telecommunication
P&T
Directory Inquiries:
National
International
Mailbox Services: BPM Lux
www.bpm-lux.com
Emergency
Police
Fire/Ambulance
Children/Poisoning
Luxembourg Air Rescue
www.lar.lu
Hospitals
Centre Hospitalier (CHL)
Clinique d’Eich
Clinique Ste. Thérèse
Hôpital Kirchberg
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astron - The American Chamber of Commerce Luxembourg

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