Jump in naturalisations means fewer foreign nationals live in the Grand Duchy Foreigners accounted for a lower proportion of Luxembourg's population at the start of 2019, after the country brought in reforms to make it easier to gain its nationality. The percentage of foreign residents dropped by 0.4% over the course of 2018 to reach 47.5% of the population, according to the country's statistics bureau. Statec put the decrease down to a rise in naturalisations in 2018, with 6,950 residents choosing to gain Luxembourgish nationality. The statistics office said this was due to different legislative steps, such as allowing minors to gain nationality through one Luxembourgish parent. The government lowered the bar to gain Luxembourgish nationality in 2017, specifying only five years residency instead of seven and relaxing language requirements. However, the number of foreign nationals living in Luxembourg rose …
A recent Statec study has revealed that Luxembourgers work a total of 1,701 hours per year - just at the European average of 1,700. Whilst the number of hours worked by the average Luxembourg resident did fall after the recession, they have now returned to the 2008 level. The study calculated the average of hours worked by a full-time employee. The results reveal that whilst Luxembourgers are wholly within the European average, they do work more than the average of the Eurozone (1,649). Most interestingly, Luxembourg's residents worked more than each of their neighbouring counterparts - the average amount of working hours is 1,677 in Germany, 1,544 in France, and 1,495 in Belgium. As examined by Statec, Luxembourg's long working hours compared to its Belgian and French neighbours hold true in all sectors, especially in the administration and support sector, …
Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) recognises Luxembourg Stock Exchange’s efforts in promoting sustainable finance The Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE), with its sustainability-focused Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), wins in the Green Bond Listing Venue category The CBI awards recognise global leadership in green bond issuance and green finance development The Green Bond Pioneer Awards (GBPA) are the premier annual recognition of achievement by organisations, financial institutions, governments and individuals who have demonstrated leadership through pioneering initiatives and green issuance, and have provided positive examples of climate-resilient and low-carbon investments. The CBI, who grants the awards, is an investor-focused not-for-profit, promoting large-scale investment in the low-carbon economy. The awards’ jury is composed of a buy-side advisory committee. “To reach the vital goal of the first trillion in annual global green finance will need an increased focus on capital flows to emerging economies into …
The success story of STREFF is intricately linked to the leadership of the Chorus family who has owned the company since 1970. Three generations have since been involved in its development, with the children of director Stefan Chorus already participating in its activities. LACC is therefore proud to be introduced to the family business and to conduct an interview with co-director Stefan Chorus who talks about the company history and the balance between tradition and innovation.
The tight labour market, hard to find IT, audit, Horeca staff The number of people living in Luxembourg without a job has decreased by more than 8% in the space of one year, the country's unemployment agency Adem said on Wednesday. The director of Adem, Isabelle Schlesser, told the Luxembourg Times last month that companies are struggling to find enough candidates in sectors such as IT, audit, the horeca sector and accounting for investment funds. At the end of January, just over 15,100 people were unemployed and registered with the agency. At the same time in 2018, an additional 1,442 people were on the list. Luxembourg's unemployment rate now stands at 5.1% – lower than the European Union average of 6.6%. People under 30 years of age saw the biggest drop in unemployment numbers. There were 9.5% fewer women registered …
The UK Prime Minister survived a vote of no confidence but is left with a divided cabinet and no parliamentary support. The UK Parliament will hold the historic vote on the Brexit agreement during the week of 14 January 2019. The vote was initially scheduled for 11 December but was postponed by Theresa May, provoking Conservative MPs to trigger a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister.
US active investment house to launch one or two funds a year for the next three years. US investment house Capital Group is planning on doubling its headcount in Luxembourg this year as it plots an expansion in Europe and Asia. The company, which has $1.6 trillion (€1.4 trillion) in assets under management globally, was one of the first US asset managers to introduce a Luxembourg-domiciled fund, back in 1969. The launch 50 years ago pre-dated the growth of the fund centre in the 1980s when EU-wide rules on retail funds were introduced. The US active investment house is now planning on gearing up its presence in Luxembourg with one or two new fund launches a year over the next three years. "It's really a question of getting serious about the distribution of the Luxembourg funds," Hamish Forsyth, president of …
Luxembourg's banks hired more than 200 extra employees last year, according to data from the country's central bank. However, compared to the third quarter, the number of bank employees decreased by 65 people. The Banque centrale du Luxembourg (BCL) found banks employed in the Grand Duchy 26,317 people as of 31 December 2018. Of the total, 14,444 were men, and 11,873 women.
The Luxembourg government announced on 30 January the creation of an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory with Nvidia, the first collaboration in Europe with the renowned American technology company. “Luxembourg is nurturing a pan-European innovation ecosystem,” prime minister Xavier Bettel (DP) said in the press release by the department of media, telecommunications and digital policy. He further called the cooperation “big news for our local innovators”. The collaboration, which has its origins in a 5 July 2018 MoU, will initially have a team of six people from the University of Luxembourg’s high-performance computing team, its Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), its Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (List). The founders of the AI lab--kickstarted by Digital Luxembourg--plan on eventually opening it up to the startup community and industry partners, given …
Alipay, part of Alibaba group, has been granted with an electronic money license in Luxembourg. Alipay is China’s leading mobile and online payment solution, with more than one billion users globally. The launch of the new Luxembourg licensed entity, Alipay (Europe) Limited S.A., was officially announced by Luxembourg Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna on 14 January during his visit in Hong Kong, in the presence of Chen Leiming, General Counsel of Ant Financial Services Group. Already present with a licensed entity in London, Alipay’s new PSD2 license in Luxembourg will allow the group to leverage the EU passport to serve its customers across Europe in the future and connect Chinese users with merchants in EU countries. Minister Gramegna comments: “Alipay’s presence is a welcome addition to Luxembourg’s financial ecosystem and will further consolidate its position as a leading European hub …