Amsterdam

Through its central location and the immediacy of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the region has long been a major port of transit to and from the European mainland, for people, goods and capital. But with the shifting of economic weight in Europe, an extra dimension has emerged. In their search for an ideal operating base to coordinate and consolidate their activities on the European continent, more and more companies are choosing the Amsterdam region as the location for their Pan-European head office. Meanwhile, the presence of some 1,400 foreign enterprises in turn attracts business and logistics service providers with their worldwide networks. Uniquely, not only the multinationals work across borders; service providers also have the in-house expertise to serve them internationally. Whether financial, business, logistics, creative or ICT services, their product knowledge stretches across Europe and further a field.

So a Europe-specific cluster of activities, unique in its scope and composition, has sprung up, offering enormous advantages to participating ventures. They can grow faster here, create more added value, and find each other more easily in order to share knowledge and develop new services or products together.

Amsterdam advantages
Any list of Amsterdam’s location advantages should distinguish between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ factors. The most visible hard plus-point as a business location is that there are more than 350 million European consumers within a range of 800 miles, and the region is eminently equipped to distribute and supply the transport and passenger flows to and from this second-largest consumer market in the world. In the direct surroundings are two large port complexes, good road and rail connections and an airport with a very comprehensive timetable of flights. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is regularly voted the best airport by business travellers, and has won numerous awards as Europe’s best cargo airport.

But Amsterdam is well connected in other ways, too. It is home to the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), the world’s largest internet hub in terms of both traffic and members (over 250). The concentration of broadband connections in the Netherlands is the third highest in Europe. This has encouraged the growth of many innovative ICT companies, and their presence ensures continued progress in the field of data transport. The strength of Amsterdam is nevertheless defined to a considerable extent by its compact scale, which makes possible a continuing cross-pollination between complementary and supporting partners.

In addition, a lenient and transparent tax climate plays a role in the growing attractiveness of Amsterdam as an international business location. In European terms, the Netherlands levies a low rate of tax on profits, and an exemption regulation that applies to the profits of (international) concerns above a certain level is extremely interesting for companies. Tax treaties have been arranged with nearly all major trade countries to prevent double levies, and the Dutch tax inspector is prepared to make advance agreements with new ventures concerning their expected tax burden.

Expats benefit too: 30% of their Dutch income is exempt from tax, and recently they gained yet another advantage. Within the framework of the knowledge migrants’ scheme, expats and their families qualify for an accelerated application procedure for residential and work permits.

Soft USPs
Thanks to the relatively low cost of living, good and affordable international schools and a ready supply of business and living space, Amsterdam has plenty to offer your organisation and employees in material terms. But Amsterdam is even more exceptional in terms of its hidden qualities, its soft unique selling points (USPs).

Amsterdam offers all the advantages of a cosmopolitan city and business centre, but on an intimate scale, as one American entrepreneur states. The work-life balance that results is prized by everyone.

In addition, Amsterdam enjoys a rich tradition as an international centre for social and cultural innovation. This spirit of innovation is still alive and well in Amsterdam. In fact, thanks to an abundance of top-quality knowledge institutions and an even bigger supply of creative minds, there is a constant undercurrent of fresh ideas, concepts and initiatives that beg for knowledge to be shared and boundaries to be crossed.  

Creative impulses like these also contribute to another quality which characterises Amsterdam and its occupants: an international orientation. The Dutch ways of doing business is distinguished by an ability to build bridges between different cultures. In the melting pot of Amsterdam, with its 174 different nationalities, this has also become a way of life.

The composition and working strengths of the local professional population bears this out; mainly multilingual, multicultural, tolerant, and independent-minded, it is always geared towards finding a consensus.

Many think that Amsterdam has won its director’s chair in Europe precisely because of these properties. After all, in the cultural patchwork of Europe, you must be able to build bridges and the Dutch people and all the expatriates who choose to live and work in Amsterdam have a particular talent for doing just that.

Come and see for yourself!

•  On average, foreign businesses in the Netherlands grow 10% annually (source:  Berenschot report for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, 2007). Profits are around 9% (for comparable Dutch businesses, 6%)
• One-third of all direct foreign investment is used to expand existing activities