In recent years, companies from emerging economies have increasingly been investing abroad, in some cases for reasons of industrial policy. Such direct investment in Switzerland has led to fears that this may result in a loss of jobs and expertise, and that national security may be put at risk. The Swiss Government has closely considered these potential risks in its report “Cross-border Investments and Investment Controls” of February 2019.
With the adoption of motion 18.3021 Rieder "Protection of the Swiss economy through investment controls" in March 2020, the Swiss Parliament instructed the Government to create a legal basis for controlling foreign investments. The debate in parliament has shown that it wants a targeted, effective and administratively lean investment control scheme. The Swiss Government is currently in the process of implementing this mandate.
