Switzerland has secured its position as the most innovative country in the European Commission’s European Innovation Scoreboard 2023. It performed particularly well in education-related and environment-related indicators, and scientific publications. Switzerland has scored 139.6 per cent of the EU average in the European Commission’s latest European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS). An extended analysis that includes 11 other European countries shows that Switzerland continues to hold its 2022 title as the most innovative country in Europe in 2023, with top scores in education-related indicators, scientific publications and environment-related indicators, according to the Innovation Scoreboard’s country profile of Switzerland. Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands remain in the top five. The 2023 EIS report is the third edition published using the new measurement framework introduced in 2021.

Lombard Odier is continuing to bet on Chinese equities, despite the recent souring of global investment sentiment towards the country, saying that it still expects the country to outperform developed markets. “We believe China will outperform in the second half after a period of underperformance, as companies deliver superior earnings growth for the full year relative to their developed market counterparts,” it wrote in its latest investment strategy report for private clients. Its outlook contrasts with the growing trend among asset allocators to abandon their overweight positions towards China having been disappointed by the failure of the reopening rally to sustain itself for as long as had been hoped.

‍Sixents Technology and Fixposition AG have officially announced their strategic partnership in China. Sixents Technology, an expert provider of GNSS high-precision positioning services, and Fixposition, a Swiss supplier of high-precision positioning sensors, have joined forces to offer customers the Vision-RTK 2 a one-stop solution for RTK centimeter-level high-precision positioning. This service aims to simplify the utilization of global high-precision positioning technology in all scenarios and benefit a broader range of industries. Both Sixents Technology and Fixposition have firmly established themselves as pioneers within their respective domains. Their products and technologies, which occupy critical positions in the positioning technology industry’s value chain, present a compelling synergy.

Cedrus Group (“Cedrus”), a global Swiss financial group, is pleased to announce that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group (“Xiuzheng”) in March 2023. Xiuzheng is a renowned Chinese pharmaceutical major; namely, it engages in R&D, production and marketing of patent medicine, chemical and biological medicine, franchise operation of pharmacies, and standardized cultivation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Xiuzheng owns 130 subsidiaries, employs a workforce of over 100,000 and has more than 2,000 references of medicines and health foods.

Kinarus Therapeutics Holding AG (“Kinarus”) (SIX: KNRS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics to treat viral, respiratory and ophthalmic diseases, today announced the signing of a strategic convertible loan agreement for a CHF 1.5 million investment by ChaoDian (Hangzhou) Investment Management Co., Ltd., an investment company based in Hangzhou City, China (“CDIM”). Further, this agreement forms the basis for discussions on the introduction, development and commercialization of KIN001 for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) in China. Great Health Companion Group Ltd (GHCG), a subsidiary of Hakim Unique Group, introduced CDIM to Kinarus.

The International Institute for Management Development, a world-renowned Swiss business school, said its newly launched China Initiative aims at supporting multinational corporations in establishing their footprint and growing their impact in China. “We are very much looking forward to intensifying our activities in China and also aim to bring Chinese companies to the world in a bid to build a bridge between China and the rest of the world,” IMD President Jean-Francois Manzoni told Xinhua at the 52nd St. Gallen Symposium, the world’s leading platform for cross-generational dialogue and collaboration.

The Zurich-based startup company SynSense has raised a double-digit million amount from two Chinese venture capital firms, Maxvision and RunWoo, in a strategic investment round. The exact amount of the investment was not disclosed, according to an article from startupticker.ch. The new capital will be used to further develop the DYNAP-CNN2 chip. The chip is designed to provide low-power-consumption support for complex visual applications such as autonomous flying and obstacle avoidance. SynSense specializes in neuromorphic computing, which involves computing processes that are carried out using neuromorphic chips. The chips learn based on the model of the human brain.

In collaboration with Innosuisse, Swissnex in China invites Swiss startups to join our China Energy & Environment Launchpad in 2023. Take a deep dive into China’s dynamic innovation ecosystem where we help you build your local knowledge, foster your industry stakeholder relations, develop game-changing partnerships, and accelerate your global impact.

WinGD will supply 10X92DF-M methanol-fuelled engines to four 16,000 TEU container vessels to be built for COSCO SHIPPING Lines at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) Co. Ltd.These vessels will be delivered from 2025 and will feature WinGD’s first X92DF-M engines in China. This ground-breaking order was celebrated at a signing ceremony attended by the collaboration partners from COSCO and CSSC onsite at CMD on 23 March. The methanol engines will be delivered from engine builder CSSC CMD in Shanghai, which is jointly developing the engines with WinGD. The fourth vessel in the series will be the first to have methanol engines installed from the beginning. The earlier vessels will initially have methanol-ready X92-B engines installed and will be converted for methanol before entering service.