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Switzerland

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Switzerland. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Bern

Head of State

President Viola Amherd

Head of Government

President Viola Amherd

MSC is the world’s largest container line and has a 20.3 per cent market share. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hong Kong economy

Twist in Hutchison ports deal as Italian shipping family’s role surfaces

Aponte family owns world’s largest container line, which is spearheading the strategic acquisition of CK Hutchison’s overseas ports.

4 hours ago

United States

Explainer | Cars, clothing, Christmas toys: what US consumers are losing to Trump’s tariffs

15 Apr 2025 - 1:54AMvideocam

Hong Kong politics

BlackRock ‘eyes control of 2 Panama ports in Hutchison deal, MSC family others’

15 Apr 2025 - 2:11AMvideocam

Banking & finance

Battered dollar drifts lower on tariff nerves

Investor confidence in the world’s reserve currency in question following stream of tariff pronouncements from US President Donald Trump.

14 Apr 2025 - 2:06PM

US dollar and euro notes are pictured on September 6, 2022 in Brest, western France. Photo: AFP

Watches and Wonders

Form, fit and function were key trends at Watches and Wonders 2025

IWC, Chopard and Parmigiani Fleurier favoured functional complications and durability, while brands like Hublot, Zenith, Ulysse Nardin and Tudor focused on aesthetic values such as size and hue.

14 Apr 2025 - 11:52AM

Timepieces

The brains behind Rolex’s new Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller

Rolex has unveiled its Oyster Perpetual Land-Dweller, a watch years in the making, and revealed some of the steps a new design goes through.

2 Apr 2025 - 8:31AM

Science

European leadership in particle physics threatened by China: CERN chief

‘There is real competition’ from China in particular, Fabiola Gianotti said, adding the giant FCC project is ‘absolutely on the good track’.

1 Apr 2025 - 3:59AM

CERN Director General Fabiola Gianotti discusses the Future Particle Collider (FCC) in Meyrin, near Geneva, Switzerland on Monday. Photo: AFP

Mainland China

Editorial | Kirsty Coventry must rise to Olympic challenge after stunning win

The first woman to head the Games’ top international body has sensitive issues to tackle before the next events in Italy and the US.

29 Mar 2025 - 2:54AM

Style Edit

Style Edit: Richard Mille’s latest RM 74-02 Automatic Tourbillon

Richard Mille worked with Swiss composite expert North Thin Ply Technology on the material for the case, while inside lies the CRMT5 calibre, also produced in house.

25 Mar 2025 - 10:00AM

Science

Star scientist Pan Linfeng picks cutting-edge China post over fading Oxbridge

Scarce jobs and low pay no match for the opportunities offered by Beijing’s aggressive investment in scientific talent.

21 Mar 2025 - 9:00PMvideocam

Pan Linfeng, who spent nearly five years as a postdoctoral researcher at Cambridge University’s historic Cavendish Laboratory, has taken up a cutting-edge position in China. Photo: Thepaper.cn

Hong Kong stock market

Ebbing demand for Maotai, China’s favourite baijiu, adds to debt concerns

A persistent slump in sentiment has taken the wind out of Kweichow Moutai’s share price and the price of its preemium spirit known as baijiu.

3 Mar 2025 - 2:49PMvideocam

A 37-meter high replica of Maotai baijiu is pictured near the Maotai Airport in southwestern Guizhou province. Photo: Imaginechina

Banking & finance

Former HSBC CEO Quinn to join Julius Baer as chairman in May

Quinn’s experience at HSBC could help Julius Baer tap the fast-growing Asian market, one analyst says.

3 Mar 2025 - 9:15AM

Gold in Hong Kong

China’s nod for insurers to buy gold may drive prices above US$3,000: analysts

Goldman raised its forecast to between US$3,100 and US$3,300 per ounce for 2025, citing higher demand from global central banks.

23 Feb 2025 - 9:00AMvideocam

Science

China-US chip war takes a quantum leap with breakthroughs declared on same day

Peking University and Microsoft research teams’ papers reveal very different approaches to achieving stable, error-free qubits.

21 Feb 2025 - 6:58PMvideocam

The hi-tech competition between the US and China saw details published this week of landmark quantum computing studies from both countries. Photo: Shutterstock

Business of climate change

Overcapacity, trade curbs eat into China’s cleantech dominance: S&P Global

China’s share of solar-module and battery manufacturing to drop by up to 19 percentage points by 2030, rating company says.

20 Feb 2025 - 7:30PM

An employee inspects a solar panel at a workshop of a photovoltaic enterprise on December 25, 2024 in Lianyungang in China’s Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

China stock market

China’s DeepSeek-led AI story to draw US$200 billion into stocks: Goldman Sachs

The bank raises its 12-month targets for the MSCI China and CSI 300 indexes, implying a 16 to 19 per cent upside from current levels.

17 Feb 2025 - 12:17PMvideocam

American cinema

Audrey Hepburn lived here: Swiss villa on market for US$21 million

Hollywood actress spent her last 30 years at 18th century farmhouse near Lake Geneva with extensive gardens, 8 bathrooms and 12 bedrooms.

9 Feb 2025 - 6:15PM

Food and Drinks

Coffee and cheese go together. Yes, really. Why they work, and pairing tips

Need a cheese pairing? Ask a barista. Coffee is a better choice than many wines, experts say. They reveal which beans are best for the job.

7 Feb 2025 - 3:15PM

Coffee goes just as well as wine with cheese, say experts, who offer pairing tips. Photo: Shutterstock

Armenia

Most Asia-Pacific entrepreneurs see major potential in AI: UBS

Globally, about 67 per cent of respondents said they would use AI to improve productivity, while 46 per cent would use it to cut headcount.

6 Feb 2025 - 8:06PM

Biomedicine: Companies

Chinese biotech firms cash in on promising drug discoveries via licensing

China has 4,804 new drug candidates under development, second only to the US at 5,268, according to data provider PharmCube.

7 Feb 2025 - 5:45PMvideocam

Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks rise as UBS sees big fund inflows amid state support plans

UBS estimates US$236 billion of fund inflows in 2025 as a result of Beijing’s directive to funds to shore up the capital markets.

27 Jan 2025 - 4:56PMvideocam

Pedestrians crossing a street in Shanghai as an electronic billboard shows key stock indexes on January 21, 2025. Photo: Reuters

World Economic Forum

Trump tells Davos he wants Xi to help stop Ukraine war – as it happened

The returning US leader also wants more money from Nato members, threatened Canada tariffs and talked about the AI race with China.

24 Jan 2025 - 2:21AMvideocam

Trump is shown on screens as he addresses the WEF via remote connection. Photo: EPA-EFE

Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong’s Paul Chan defends city’s currency peg to US dollar in Davos

Finance chief says important to offer stability for the business environment, as volatility expected in capital markets during Trump presidency.

24 Jan 2025 - 1:09AMvideocam

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese electronics recycler GEM plans Hong Kong share listing

Specialist in recycling batteries, electronic waste, scrapped cars and waste plastics seeks funds to speed global expansion.

22 Jan 2025 - 7:30AM

Climate change

Davos climate activists paint Amazon base green, disrupt helicopters

Greenpeace, which briefly blocked heliport in the Swiss town, said it was calling for ‘a fair tax on the richest people’.

21 Jan 2025 - 12:44AM

Climate activists hold a banner as they stand behind police after they painted the windows of the Amazon booth during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Monday. Photo: AFP

Electric & new energy vehicles

China’s WeRide starts third European self-driving trial in Switzerland

Company is stepping up efforts in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Japan and South Korea, CEO Tony Han says.

14 Jan 2025 - 5:00PMvideocam

WeRide-powered autonomous vehicles have found use at Zurich airport and the French Open. Photo: Weibo/ Xauto报告

European Union

Switzerland: UBS size worries former finance minister, must reduce risk

Following its takeover of Credit Suisse, some fear UBS is too large and may seek a new home outside Switzerland.

11 Jan 2025 - 5:38PM

Hong Kong economy

Swiss stance on Russia may boost family office business in Hong Kong: minister

Switzerland’s neutral image affected by Russia-Ukraine war, treasury secretary Christopher Hui says.

5 Jan 2025 - 10:36PM

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