mer, 24 Avr 2024
Les législateurs suisses cherchent à renforcer la sécurité nationale et la stabilité économique par le biais d'une proposition de loi sur l'examen des investissements visant à contrôler les prises de contrôle étrangères.
The introduction of an investment review is intended to prevent takeovers of Swiss companies by foreign investors. The National Council committee responsible would like to extend the bill.
The National Council’s Economic Affairs and Taxation Committee (WAK-N) has postponed the overall vote on the draft bill to introduce investment control until the end of June because details still need to be clarified, as the parliamentary services announced on Tuesday. The approval of the bill was largely undisputed with 19 votes in favour, 4 against and one abstention.
The aim of the bill is to prevent takeovers of domestic companies by foreign investors if these takeovers endanger or threaten public order or security in Switzerland.
The Investment Review Act is the result of a motion by Beat Rieder, a member of the Council of States from the canton of Valais. One of the reasons for this was the takeover of the Swiss agrochemical giant Syngenta by the state-owned company Chem China for 43 billion dollars.
In contrast to Parliament, the Federal Council is of the opinion that there is no need for an investment review. It considers the existing rules to be sufficient. In addition, the cost-benefit ratio of an investment review is unfavourable.
To date, there have been no known takeovers that have endangered public order or security in Switzerland in the past.
The majority of the WAK-N sees things differently: it wants “to have an instrument in hand to intervene if the protection of strategic interests requires it”, according to the communication. The Commission advocates a broad scope of application for the bill.
Specifically, it demands that the investment review should also apply to non-state investors and that, in addition to public order and security, the supply of essential goods and services should also be explicitly mentioned as worthy of protection.
In addition, the majority wants to increase the Federal Council’s leeway to subject further companies to the approval requirement if necessary.
©Keystone/SDA
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