Foreign Investments

International investments are a key pillar of the Swiss economy. They promote economic growth, innovation, and the global integration of businesses while also raising issues related to investment protection, market access, and national security. Learn about the different forms of international investment, the role of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and the international and domestic regulatory frameworks that govern cross-border capital flows.

Swiss National Bank, front of the building.

What is an International Investment?

The Swiss National Bank distinguishes between foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment. Foreign direct investment generally refers to capital investments made by an investor with the intention of establishing a lasting interest and exercising a direct influence over the business activities of an enterprise abroad. For statistical purposes, foreign direct investment includes the establishment of a foreign subsidiary or branch, as well as the acquisition of at least 10% of the voting share capital of a company located abroad.

By contrast, international portfolio investments are capital investments in foreign enterprises that are made without the intention of exercising direct managerial influence. These include debt securities (such as money market instruments and bonds), equity securities (such as shares, participation certificates, and profit participation certificates), and investment fund units.

Economic Importance of Foreign Investments for Switzerland

International investments are a key driver of economic growth and prosperity in Switzerland, as they are in most other economies. Switzerland has long been recognised not only as a leading exporter of industrial goods and services but also as a major exporter of capital. Swiss-based companies have traditionally invested substantial amounts of capital abroad, particularly in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI). At the same time, Switzerland has successfully established itself as an attractive destination for foreign capital.

According to the Swiss National Bank, the total stock of Swiss foreign direct investment—held in the form of production, distribution, and research facilities abroad—amounts to more than CHF 1.4 trillion. In addition to large multinational corporations, several thousand small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are engaged in international direct investment. Together, they employ nearly 2.2 million people abroad. Income generated from Swiss direct investments overseas amounts to approximately CHF 100 billion annually.

Conversely, the stock of foreign direct investment in Switzerland currently stands at around CHF 1 trillion. Foreign-owned companies employ approximately 550,000 people in Switzerland, while income generated from foreign direct investment exceeds CHF 80 billion.

Compared with many other countries, Switzerland maintains a particularly high level of outward foreign direct investment. This is reflected in the ratio of the country's stock of foreign direct investment to its gross domestic product (GDP). The economic significance of international investment also becomes evident from a historical perspective: since 2010, the stock of Swiss investments abroad has more than doubled, and it has increased more than fourfold since 2000.

What Is SECO’s Role in the Field of International Investment?

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is responsible for negotiating international investment disciplines on behalf of Switzerland. These are primarily negotiated through bilateral investment protection agreements (IPAs), which are designed to protect foreign investments against actions by the host state that violate international law.

Within the framework of investment chapters in free trade agreements, SECO negotiates market access disciplines for foreign direct investment (FDI). These provisions seek to ensure favourable conditions for the establishment of businesses and to guarantee non-discriminatory treatment of economic activities in the host country under international law.

In addition, SECO represents Switzerland in international organisations and forums dealing with investment policy and investment law, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It also plays a leading role in developing and shaping Switzerland’s international investment policy.

International Investment Rules Relevant to Switzerland

WTO

The legal framework of the WTO contains multilateral rules governing international investment, primarily through the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS). These agreements establish international disciplines on investment in specific areas of economic activity.

Efforts to extend international investment rules to non-services sectors during the Doha Development Round were discontinued in 2004 due to differing expectations between capital-exporting and capital-importing countries.

The WTO also undertakes initiatives aimed at facilitating international investment, particularly in developing countries, in order to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Switzerland actively participates in these efforts and contributes to the development of an open, transparent, and predictable international investment framework.

OECD

For Switzerland, the investment rules agreed within the framework of the OECD on the liberalisation of investments are also of particular importance. Towards the other OECD member states, Switzerland is committed to the non-discriminatory treatment of foreign investments in all sectors of its economy. In return, Swiss investors benefit from the same principle of non-discrimination in the other OECD member states.

The OECD Codes of Liberalisation of Capital Movements and of Current Invisible Operations allow for certain exceptions, which must, however, be notified.

The attempt to conclude a comprehensive Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), which would have included the liberalisation and protection of international investments as well as legally binding dispute settlement mechanisms, failed in 1998 after several years of negotiations.

ICSID

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) is part of the World Bank Group. ICSID provides conciliation and arbitration services for investment disputes between Contracting States and nationals of other Contracting States in accordance with the ICSID Convention. The provisions of the ICSID Convention are supplemented by several sets of rules and regulations. Switzerland is a member of ICSID and a Contracting State to the ICSID Convention.

UNCITRAL

Switzerland also participates in the work of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). UNCITRAL Working Group III is examining various options for reforming investor–State dispute settlement. In this context, discussions focus, among other things, on the methods for appointing arbitrators and judges, dispute prevention, and the possible establishment of a permanent court and/or an appellate mechanism.

Sector-Specific Plurilateral Investment Rules

Sector-specific multilateral investment rules apply to Switzerland in the energy sector within the framework of the Energy Charter Treaty. It provides investment protection against non-commercial risks for investments made and includes an investor–State dispute settlement mechanism.

This treaty has recently undergone a revision, the first since its entry into force in 1998. The negotiations resulted in an agreement in principle on 24 June 2022. The revised treaty will enter into force once it has been ratified by three quarters of the contracting parties.

Bilateral Investment Protection Agreements BITs

In the absence of a global investment protection regime, Switzerland negotiates international investment protection rules on a bilateral basis, in the form of bilateral investment protection agreements (BITs). Worldwide, there are more than 3,000 such agreements, which makes the legal framework partly complex and explains the interest in a multilateral solution.

Further information on BITs of other countries can be found on the UNCTAD website. Within the framework of EFTA, Switzerland also negotiates free trade agreements, some of which include investment provisions.

Investment Screening

In recent decades, cross-border investments have gained increasing importance worldwide. Such investments are a key factor for economic development and the international integration of companies. At the same time, they may raise questions regarding public order and security in certain circumstances, particularly in connection with security-related activities or when a company provides an essential service for the entire economy that cannot be replaced within a reasonable period of time.

Against this background, in 2020 the Swiss Parliament instructed the Federal Council, through Motion 18.3021 Rieder “Protection of the Swiss Economy through Investment Controls”, to establish the legal basis for the screening of selected foreign investments. On 15 December 2023, the Federal Council submitted the dispatch on an Investment Screening Act (ISA) to Parliament.

Parliament adopted the Investment Screening Act on 19 December 2025. The purpose of this law is to prevent the acquisition of a domestic company by a foreign investor from endangering or threatening Switzerland’s public order or security. For this purpose, certain acquisitions are subject to an approval requirement. This applies to domestic companies operating in particularly critical sectors and being acquired by foreign investors controlled by a foreign state.

The entry into force of the Investment Screening Act is currently planned for 2027.

Consultation on the Federal Act on the Screening of Foreign Investments

The consultation documents can be accessed through completed consultations.

Press releases

Contact

State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO
Foreign Economic Affairs Directorate
Special Foreign Economic Service / International Investment and Corporate Sustainability
Holzikofenweg 36
CH - 3003 Bern