1. Belgium : gateway to Europe
An overview of
the Belgian economy
By Philippe Donnay, Economic advisor Federation of Enterprises in Belgium

2. Belgium : Gateway to Europe
Belgium, at the heart of Europe
“State of the art”-infrastructure
A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
An open and attractive economy
· Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of the EU and home to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers.
· Brussels also hosts the headquarters of NATO, the strategic defence alliance of Europe and North America.
· No less than 1,700 multinationals have their European headquarters in or near Brussels.
· As a result of all this, Brussels is the world's fourth leading venue for international meetings and conferences. With 600 international press agencies situated in Brussels, it also boasts the second largest concentration of journalists in the world.

3. Belgium: at the heart of Europe
United
Kingdom
Netherlands
Germany
· Belgium is located right at the heart of the European Union: its neighbours are France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It is the second most densely populated country in the EU (10.2 million inhabitants, with a surface area of 30,500 km²).
· Its central location is important since the European Union represents a free trade area of 378 million people. 2 out of 3 Europeans live within 350 km of Brussels, the capital of Belgium
Luxembourg
France

4. Belgium: at the heart of Europe
Brussels
capital of Belgium
capital of the EU
headquarters of NATO
1,700 European headquarters of MNOs
world’s fourth international meetings and conferences center
second largest concentration of journalists in the world
· Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of the EU and home to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers.
· Brussels also hosts the headquarters of NATO, the strategic defence alliance of Europe and North America.
· No less than 1,700 multinationals have their European headquarters in or near Brussels.
· As a result of all this, Brussels is the world's fourth leading venue for international meetings and conferences. With 600 international press agencies situated in Brussels, it also boasts the second largest concentration of journalists in the world.

5. Belgium: at the heart of Europe
Belgium is at the heart of :
three cultures,
the Europe of the 15,
a 370 million Consumers Market.
Do you know that 60% of the European market is located at less then one driving day ?

6. Belgium : Gateway to Europe
Belgium, at the heart of Europe
“State of the art”-infrastructure
A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
An open and attractive economy
· Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of the EU and home to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers.
· Brussels also hosts the headquarters of NATO, the strategic defence alliance of Europe and North America.
· No less than 1,700 multinationals have their European headquarters in or near Brussels.
· As a result of all this, Brussels is the world's fourth leading venue for international meetings and conferences. With 600 international press agencies situated in Brussels, it also boasts the second largest concentration of journalists in the world.

7. A Highly Developped Road Network
Road Infrastructure
Density Km/sq.Km
Source: Competitiveness Yearbook 2003

8. A Dense Railway network
USA= base 100
Railway network
Density /sq.km
Source: Competitiveness Yearbook 2003

9. Air Infrastructure
Numerous intra-European and inter-continental air connections
Brussels Airport – Zaventem
worldwide passenger and cargo services
Ostend – Bruges Airport
mainly cargo services
Deurne Airport
European passenger services (e.g. London, Berlin, Dublin,
Geneva)
Liege Airport
top ten European air freight hub ( T handled in 2003)
Charleroi Airport
passenger terminal; hub a.o. to Ryan Air

10. Water Infrastructure

11. Water Infrastructure Antwerp Zeebruges Ghent Ostend Liège Brussels
2nd largest port in Europe, 4th largest worldwide
(140 mln. tonnes of cargo/year)
Largest petrochemical complex in Europe, 2nd largest worldwide
Zeebruges
Leading port in the car sector ( cars)
Ghent
23,9 mln. tonnes seaborne cargo traffic (wide variety of cargo)
Ostend
Handling goods and passenger services
Liège
Second largest European River Port (27 mio T loaded/unloaded 2002)
Brussels
Maritime harbour with ships up to 4,500 Tons
Strepy-Thieu
Most advanced boat lift t
Antwerpen: 61,4 miljoen ton containertrafiek – 3de grootste containerhaven na Rotterdam en Hamburg.
Grootste petrochemische cluster in Europa, 2de grootste wereldwijd na Houston, Texas (grote variëteit chemische producten).
Ook ijzer en staal, fruit, auto’s,...
Zeebrugge: leider in transhipment van auto’s
containertraffiek ook belangrijk: TEU per jaar
grote variëteit in general cargo: vers fruit, fruitsappen (Tropicana), suiker, pulp & papier (Stora Enso)
Ghent: ertsen en metalen (> 5 miljoen ton)
voeding (> 4 miljoen ton)
minerale brandstoffen (>3,5 miljoen ton)
Namen Gent: Volvo Gent, Sidmar,...
Oostende:

12. Belgium : Gateway to Europe
Belgium, at the heart of Europe
“State of the art”-infrastructure
A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
An open and attractive economy
· Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of the EU and home to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers.
· Brussels also hosts the headquarters of NATO, the strategic defence alliance of Europe and North America.
· No less than 1,700 multinationals have their European headquarters in or near Brussels.
· As a result of all this, Brussels is the world's fourth leading venue for international meetings and conferences. With 600 international press agencies situated in Brussels, it also boasts the second largest concentration of journalists in the world.

13. Multilingual Workforce
Anglo-saxon
Germanic
Romanic
Source: OCDE 2000

14. Ability to Recruit New Talents
Is it easy to have access to a skilled labor force in your region ?
(Out of 10)
Source: Competitiveness Yearbook 2003

15. Absenteeism rate in % of hours normally worked
Source:Eurostat

16. Belgium : Gateway to Europe
Belgium, at the heart of Europe
“State of the art”-infrastructure
A multilingual, well-educated and motivated workforce
An open and attractive economy
· Brussels is not only the capital of Belgium, but also the capital of the EU and home to the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers.
· Brussels also hosts the headquarters of NATO, the strategic defence alliance of Europe and North America.
· No less than 1,700 multinationals have their European headquarters in or near Brussels.
· As a result of all this, Brussels is the world's fourth leading venue for international meetings and conferences. With 600 international press agencies situated in Brussels, it also boasts the second largest concentration of journalists in the world.

17. Belgium: hub of Europe Belgium EU Exports Imports
· Thanks to its central location in Europe, Belgium really is the hub of Europe. Foreign trade is the lifeblood of the Belgian economy: imports and exports account for more than 80% of Belgian GDP, but only 35% of EU GDP.
· Belgium is 11th largest exporter in the world in absolute figures and even ranks 3rd in the world in terms of exports per capita (after Singapore and Ireland). EU
Exports
Imports

18. Exports of Belgium Top five export nations in 2003 (bn EUR)
17,78
21,95
26,61
37,16
42,45
1. Germany
2. France
3. Netherlands
4. UK
5. U.S.A.
Top five export products in 2003 (in %)
10,7
13,4
13,54
14,41
22,18
1. Chemicals and
pharmaceuticals
2. Transport
equipment
3. Machinery and
4. Plastics
5. Diamonds and
precious metals

19. Belgium : A wealthy country

20. Many Fiscal Opportunities For Foreign Investors
… ON ALL LEVELS OF YOUR INVESTMENT
The Corporation
Real estate and equipment depreciation system
Special tax agreements:
fiscal rulings
Low effective corporate tax rate: many tax rebates applicable and as from : notional interest deduction
The Shareholder
no taxation on capital gain
The Management
attractive fiscal system for expatriates
Effective tax rates 2001
Source : The Effective Tax Burden of Companies in the Member states of EU Source : Baker & MçKenzie 2000

21. Notional interest deduction
A new innovative tax feature in international tax low
What is it ?
A notional interest calculated and deducted yearly from the taxable basis
Used to off-set operational or financial income (lower effective tax rate)
Automatically applicable to all Belgian companies and branches of foreign companies

22. Notional interest deduction
Reduce the tax discrimination between debt-financing and equity-financing
Lower the effective corporate tax rate for all companies (higher after-tax return on investment)
Strenghthen the financial position of companies and branches by increasing their equity

23. Notional interest deduction
How does it work ?
Annual Tax Deduction =
Equity x Rate

24. Made in Belgium Producer of the largest number of cars per capita in
the EU.
The world's second largest petrochemical centre.
One third of all dredging work in the world done by
Belgian companies.
The world's leading exporter of synthetic carpets.
By far the world's largest diamond centre.
Belgian fashion is recognized on the
international scene.
Renowned all over the world for chocolates,
biscuits, beer and endives.