| Headline: New Market strives to stay ahead Source: Euromoney Date: June 2000 Author: Philip Moore Biotechs and pharmaceuticals have so far dominated the SWX New Market, attracting institutional investors rare in other new technology markets. But while it may be ahead for the moment, the Swiss exchange is faced with strong competition from the fusion of growth exchanges in the rest of Europe, and the Nasdaq link-up. Philip Moore reports Ed Peter, head of Swiss equities at Deutsche Bank's Zurich office, reckons Switzerland is "five years ahead of Germany" in corporate restructuring and the delivery of shareholder value. "Swiss companies have already gone through an extensive restructuring process which is one reason why the equity market here was re-rated quite substantially on the upside in the mid 1990s," he says. Others agree. Analysts of the Swiss corporate scene say that for proof, investors need look no further than the recent track record of pharmaceuticals company Novartis - the product of the Ciba-Sandoz tie-up agreed in April 1996. At the time, it was the largest-ever corporate merger. Kevin Lyne-Smith, co-head of research at Julius Baer in Zurich, says that Novartis has been a test-case par excellence of a successfully executed merger. |