2023-06-11 08:00:00
Posted
Economy in LuxembourgRelocations? “That they stop scaring people”
LUXEMBOURG – While the Chamber of Commerce warns of Luxembourg’s loss of competitiveness, other players draw up a less alarmist assessment.
- par
- Thomas Holzer
According to the Chamber of Commerce, the sky is darkening over the Luxembourg economy.
Vincent Lescaut
Should Luxembourg prepare for a disillusioned tomorrow economically? The president of the Chamber of Commerce, Carlo Thelen, threw a stone into the pond, Wednesday, during a press conference by detailing the threats of relocations which weigh on certain sectors – wealth management in particular – and the “ slow continuous decline” which has weighed on the business community for a year and a half.
The result of an economic context – prices of materials and energy, inflation, shortages – which does not only concern the Grand Duchy, but also… the cost of labour, one of the battle horses of employers opposed to indexation in series.
“An attack on wage indexation”
“It is typically a management position to put pressure on wages. They do it by all means”, reacts Nora Back, who notes “no sign of relocations. On the contrary”. For the president of the OGBL, the presentation of the Chamber of Commerce is “nothing other than an attack once morest the index system and a way of acting on the electoral programs (…) Let them stop scaring people is counterproductive for the economy,” she continues.
Nora Back, president of the OGBL.
Also asked to comment on the exit of the Chamber of Commerce, the Ministry of the Economy is not as alarmist either, emphasizing “the many advantages in terms of economic competitiveness which work in favor of Luxembourg”. The ministry of Franz Fayot (LSAP) cites in particular “the existence of quality infrastructure – 3.8 billion in public investment in 2023 – political stability or even low public debt”.
Luxembourg still attracts, assures the government
The government recognizes, however, “a permanent challenge, especially in the context of polycrises”, but advances the successes rather than the fears: “Prospecting activities have made it possible to attract 55 technology companies from North America (United States ), Southeast Asia (South Korea and Japan), Israel and other EU countries (…) All priority development sectors are represented such as smart and green mobility, space , health technologies or fintech”.
Finally, on the figures side, the Chamber of Commerce’s warning has not yet been verified. Mr. Thelen did not provide any to support his statement. According to two international “benchmarks” relayed by the Observatory of Competitiveness, Luxembourg was at the gates of the top 10 for “territorial competitiveness”, ahead of most EU countries with an excellent score of 87.8/ 100.
As for the unemployment rate, it remains below 5%, despite a slight increase over one year (+7%).
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