november-december 2011 1in san marino

in san marino

Start doing what is necessary, then what is possi-ble. And all of a sudden you will fi nd yourself doing the impossible

Saint Francis of Assisi

The San Marino economy is passing through a period of transition. An economy whereby the banking and fi nancial system amply sup-ported the country’s GDP is today on the road to reorganization. Luckily, thanks to sector diversifi cation and the fact we had not staked everything on the banking-fi nancial system, our country has been able to withstand the double crisis it is passing through, the inter-national crisis and that caused by the reduc-tion in exports (due to the incentive decree) towards Italy, our number one trading partner.Another change is also under way however. The number of companies operating in our country is falling. This has resulted on the one

hand in a contraction in related economic ac-tivities for the real-estate sector (less need for business premises) and as regards legal and administrative services, while on the other, it does not appear to have had any serious ef-fect on the reduction of value added for the State budget.It is true to say, in fact, that since 2009, nu-merous companies have shut shop, but many of these did not have fi rm roots in the coun-try, with a labour cost/production value below 3%.We must however keep our guard up because the fi rst signs of a loss of sound companies with high value added are beginning to ap-pear and this is clear from the loss of 12 mil-lion euro in value added deriving from the recent closure of these companies.Three priorities therefore exist for the future of our economy: to monitor the sound compa-

nies and ensure they have a competitive edge by being located in San Marino (we are in fact experiencing a gradual drop in the perception of the benefi ts of remaining in San Marino); to unblock relations with Italy to recover the drop in exports which followed the incentive decree; to promote the internationalisation of companies with respect to foreign markets, with special focus on the emerging markets that will follow Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC), i.e., Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey (MIKT).A big effort on the part of companies, but also of the institutions, to create conditions favour-able to internationalisation, but also for the reconversion of those companies with types of business strictly tied to local markets.Together with priorities, also two challenges therefore: that of looking outwards and that of improving and changing ourselves inwards.

EDITORIAL Massimo Ghiotti - General Manager

CONTENTS

Year IIINovember-December 2011 n. 6

INFORMATION MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE

REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO

Promotion: Matching and meetings

Economy Day

Foreign Club

Ministry for Foreign Affairs: transparencyand international cooperation

Joint stamp issue: San Marino - ItaliaAuthor/Autore: Nicoletta Ceccoli

2 november-december 2011in san marinoin san marino

The Chamber of Commerce successfully took part in Matching 2011, the trade-fair event of the Compagnia delle Opere staged in Milan at the end of November.A chance to meet people and make yourself known. A yearly ap-pointment whose winning formula lies in the early planning of meet-ings. Federica Tonelli and Marianna Bucci, head of the Legal De-partment and of the Marketing and Foreign Department re-spectively of the San Marino Chamber of Commerce, successfully grasped the opportunities offered by the three trade-fair days: on the one hand by promoting the Republic of San Marino, its eco-nomic activities and the Club Estero, and on the other by trying to gather information and make interesting contacts for the develop-

ment of internationalisation.

TRADE-FAIR ACTIVITIESIn the last few weeks, contacts have continued with foreign and Italian-foreign Chambers of Commerce in Germany, Spain, Serbia, Russia, Brazil, Slovenia and with the representatives of foreign insti-tutions encountered at Matching.Thanks to participation in the workshops furthermore, it has been possible to acquire a better knowledge of the Russian market and its potential and discover the advantages and different ways of in-teraction between companies offered by network contracts.

PROMOTING SAN MARINOAND ITS COMPANIESAT MATCHING FAIR

OPPORTUNITIES

PHILIPPINES, MALAYSIA, GABON:MEETINGS CONTINUE WITH THEDIPLOMATIC CORPS

Trade, cooperation in the economic fi eld and business op-

portunities were at the centre of discussions between the

executives of the San Marino Chamber of Commerce and

the Ambassadors of Malaysia and the Philippines, dur-

ing the meeting with the Minister for Industry.

Also interesting was the meeting with the Minister of

Small and medium industry of Gabon who, in the offi ces

of the San Marino Chamber of Commerce, also met mem-

bers of the Chamber of Commerce Club Estero, as well as

Director Ghiotti and the representatives of the WUSME.

Chamber’s staff with the Ministers for Industry, for Finance and CDO

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november-december 2011 3in san marinoin san marino

That is why, once again this year, the Chamber of Commerce organised the Economy Day: to discuss in detail with the Institutions the data

contained in the Report on San Marino companies in 2010 and in the Analysis of the Economic Situation published in October 2011.

Speakers did in fact include the President and the Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Simona Michelotti and Massimo Ghiotti, the Minister of

Labour, Francesco Mussoni, the Industrial Economist, Luigi Bidoia and the Statistical Area Manager of the Chamber of Commerce, Nicola Michi.

The Minister of Labour emphasized the importance of statistical data for obtaining an overall

view. The data do in fact show that the crisis continues but that it can be reversed

by working well and facing a number of what are crucial challenges for the

Republic of San Marino such as debureaucratization, the single labour

market, and investment policies, to mention just some.

WHAT THE REPORT SAYS

Wholesale: it would appear to be able to successfully tackle the crisis. There was a slight drop in turnover, both in 2009 and 2010, but busi-ness has picked up somewhat since 2009.

Retail: turnover fi gures have even risen slightly, to the detriment of profi t margins which have dropped considerably and in some cases disappeared.

Construction sector: this has been hit hard by both the effects of the global crisis and by internal diffi culties due to the saturation of the property market and building in general which, in 2010, made the situ-ation even more critical, with a constant downward production trend. An exemplary fi gure is profi tability which has halved over the past three years and now stands at 4.2% compared to the 8% of 2007.

Transport sector: this has not undergone any particular changes over the years, having remained substantially tied to low turnover fi gures and profi tability similar to 2007.

Services to companies: this is the largest and perhaps most strate-gic sector for the future growth of San Marino’s economy. It does how-ever show several signs of crisis. It involves real-estate, information technology, research and development, rental and telecommunication

activities, many of which have left or are leaving the market, fi rst and foremost the weaker ones, perhaps less tied to the area context.

Services to people: they apparently managed to withstand the crisis of previous years, but began to feel the pinch in 2010.

Hotels and restaurants: they have increased sales volumes by maintaining low profi t margins – around 0.4%.

STATISTICS

: they have increased sales volumes by have increased sales volumes by maintaining low profi t margins –

INTERNATIONALIZATION - President Simona Michelotti

“A very important signal is reaching us from companies, and one that is decisive for their growth: business expansion onto foreign mar-kets. Finally, attempts are being made to move beyond our borders, beyond the markets closest to us in terms of logistics and culture and therefore more convenient. We are starting to feel ready to organise ourselves differently and tackle new and global situations – the global economy. In October 2010, the companies which had relations with countries other than Italy totalled 25%, in May 2011, 30% and in October 2011, 33%. An important and constant growth trend, which clearly indicates the road to be followed”.

PLAN THE FUTUREanalyzing the present

The publications are avail-able online on the website www.cc.sm and can be ob-tained free of charge from the Chamber of Commerce offi ces.

4 november-december 2011in san marinoin san marino

INSTRUMENTS

To best perform activities tied to internationalisation, providing your company with suitable in-

struments is crucial: dedicated-language material, multi-language website, professional organi-

sation for business trips and welcoming foreign customers…

for this reason, specifi c SPECIAL RATES have been granted to Club Estero members

IS EXPANDING YOUR ENTERPRISE… REALLY AN ENTERPRISE?

ENTER A NEW AGE!

With the Club Estero the worldis within your reach!

TRAINING AND INFORMATION

Being acquainted with new markets and the opportunities they offer, having qualifi ed and pro-

fessional contacts in the various Countries, being able to rely on constantly updated information

is crucial when choosing a foreign business partner…

…that is why free and priority participation is contemplated for Club Estero members in SEMI-

NARS and MEETINGS WITH DELEGATIONS

november-december 2011 5in san marino

…and that’s not all!

Direct line - The Chamber of Commerce will contact you every time requests or cooperation proposals of interest to your sector are received, or news from foreign markets, or regarding initiatives and specifi c events.

Stay connected! In the Foreign area of the website www.cc.sm you can access confi dential material and information and take a look at coopera-tion proposals and business opportunities notifi ed by our foreign contacts.

Help us to help you! Let us know about any problems affecting your sector and we’ll make sure these are brought to the attention of San Marino Institutions.

Strength lies in unity! Stay in contact with other Club Estero members, recount your experiences and benefi t from those of others.

SEMINARS 2012Free for Club Estero members

Price for non-members € 150,00 (per person, per seminar)

Commercial credit: management, reminders, recovery

Warehouse management: indices, stocks and inventories

Foreign sales plan

Internationalisation check-up

Organizing hospitality in modern accommodation facilities

Country Seminar: Russia

Country Seminar: Brazil

MEETINGS WITHDELEGATIONS(selective entry)

Free and priority participation for Club Estero membersPrice for non-members: € 30,00 per meeting (according to availability)

SPECIAL AGREEMENTS

• Web: specifi c Internet services for abroad

• Translations: discounts on translations

• Advertising: discount on the purchase of advertising space on San Marino information website with excellent positioning on search engines

• Flights: BlueBiz special agreements in conjunction with Alita-lia, Air France, Delta, KLM

• Business trips: discount voucher for the purchase of busi-ness services, concierge services, Bologna airport parking discounts and everything else you need for your business trips

• Do you have guests? Have them stay at a participating San Marino hotel

• Consultancy: business plan and management control for in-ternationalisation

• Chamber of Commerce: discount on the purchase of pub-lishing-product advertising spaces (website, magazine, news-letter, event sponsoring)

SEMINARS 2012Free for Club Estero members

Price for non-members Price for non-members Price f € 150,00 (per person, per seminar)

Commercial credit: management, reminders, recovery

Warehouse management: indices, stocks and inventories

Foreign sales plan

Internationalisation check-up

Organizing hospitality in modern accommodation facilities

Country Seminar: Russia

Country Seminar: Brazil

MEETINGS WITHMEETINGS WITHDELEGATIONSDELEGATIONS(selective entry)

Free and priority participation for Club Estero membersPrice for non-members: € 30,00 per meeting (according to availability)

SPECIAL AGREEMENTS

• Web: specifi c Internet services for abroad

• Translations: discounts on translations

• Advertising: discount on the purchase of advertising space on San Marino information website with excellent positioning on search engines

• Flights: BlueBiz special agreements in conjunction with Alita-lia, Air France, Delta, KLM

• Business trips: discount voucher for the purchase of busi-ness services, concierge services, Bologna airport parking discounts and everything else you need for your business trips

• Do you have guests? Have them stay at a participating San Marino hotel

• Consultancy: business plan and management control for in-ternationalisation

• Chamber of Commerce: discount on the purchase of pub-lishing-product advertising spaces (website, magazine, news-letter, event sponsoring)

2012 AFFILIATIONNew members € 750.00

Young company € 550.00if your company has benefi tted from Youth Entrepreneur Commission contributions oris among the winners of the Nuove Idee Nuove Imprese competition.

Loyalty rate € 550.00 – if your company has been a member of the Club Esterofor at least two years (even if not consecutive)

CHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBER OF COMMERCECHAMBER OF COMMERCELOYALTY PRIZE! LOYALTY PRIZE! LOYALTY PRIZE! LOYALTY PRIZE! LOYALTY PRIZE! LOYALTY PRIZE!

If you renew your Club Estero membership for If you renew your Club Estero membership for If you renew your Club Estero membership for If you renew your Club Estero membership for If you renew your Club Estero membership for If you renew your Club Estero membership for two years, as and from the third year,

two years, as and from the third year,two years, as and from the third year,two years, as and from the third year,two years, as and from the third year,two years, as and from the third year,the fee the fee the fee drops todrops todrops to €€€ 550,00 550,00 550,00 550,00 550,00 550,00

www.cc.sm

PROMOTION

Promote your company through the channels provided by the Chamber of Commerce! Your logo and

corporate profi le on our offi cial website and on the promotion material to be:

- distributed during meetings, trade-fairs, missions and visits

- distributed to foreign contacts for fi nding partners

…to always be there on important occasions, the Chamber of Commerce takes you along!

Stay in contact with other Club Estero members, recount your experiences and benefi t from those of others.

6 november-december 2011in san marinoin san marino

M INISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

TRANSPARENCYAND INTERNATIONALCOOPERATION:THE PROGRESS MADEBY SAN MARINOWITHIN THE OECDSince December 2008, San Marino has been treading a path towards greater and greater transparency and has signed a number of major agreements relating to the ex-change of information (TIEA) e and to the Elimination of Double Taxation (DTA), according to the 2005 standard of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Develop-ment (OECD), with numerous Countries and jurisdictions.

The agreements on information exchange (TIEA)

- 23 agreements signed, 21 of which already effective, (Andorra, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Guernsey, Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Lux-embourg, Malaysia, Malta, Monaco, Norway, UK, Romania, Spain, Sweden and Hungary);

- the agreement with the Czech Republic, signed on 25 No-vember 2011, and still to be ratifi ed by the San Marino Par-liament;

- agreements with Indonesia and Poland already initialled and waiting to be signed.

The agreements on the eliminationof double taxation (DTA)

- 5 DTA signed according to OECD 2005 standard (Liechten-stein, Malaysia, Portugal, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Hungary);

- 5 Protocols aimed at the updating of the DTA previously stipulated to OECD 2005 standard (Austria, Belgium, Lux-embourg, Malta and Romania);

- Amendment Protocol agreed with Croatia suitable for updat-ing the DTA in effect (stipulated in 2005) to the new OECD standards on information exchange;

- Similar Protocol proposed to Cyprus as that agreed with Croatia;

- Agreements with Greece, Libya and Vietnam already ini-tialled and waiting to be signed;

- A DTA was signed with Italy in 2002; in 2009, an Amend-ment Protocol to this agreement was initialled, aimed in par-ticular at updating the article on the exchange of information to the OECD 2005 model.

On 23 September 2009, San Marino was included on the OECD white list. The San Marino Government has contin-ued to tread the path of transparency and negotiations are in progress with numerous other jurisdictions.

november-december 2011 7in san marinoin san marino

GLOBAL FORUM ontransparency andinformation exchangefor tax purposes

In the Supplementary Report on San Marino, published by the OECD’s Global Forum on 26 October 2011, the progress was acknowledged made in the context of transparency and information exchange. These measures have brought San Ma-rino legislation into line with international standards. The Re-port marked the end of the fi rst assessment stage (relating to the analysis of the regulatory framework). The second stage, scheduled for the second half of 2012, will assess the actual implementation of the law in question. The progress made by San Marino was expounded by the Glo-bal Forum in its Report to the Finance Ministers of the G20, which indicated the “need for improvement” as regards just three elements, due mainly to Italy’s delay in signing the Protocol initialled on 25 June 2009 and aimed at updating the 2002 DTA to the most recent standards concerning informa-tion exchange.

GLOSSARYDTA: Double Taxation AgreementINITIALLING: in international law, the signing of a document by initialling – initials affi xed to the wording of an agreement on which a basis of consensus already exists between the parties.TIEA: Tax Information Exchange Agreement.

AS REGARDS MONEYVAL AND FATFMONEYVAL

In this legislative period, San Marino has undertaken decisive action within the Moneyval and has provided adequate and prompt answers to the requests made by the international organisation in order to update regulations to international standards as regards combating money laundering and the funding of terrorism. In September 2011, Moneyval approved the legislative measures adopted by San Marino with regard to anti-lau-ndering and the fi ght against the funding of terrorism, defi ning them to a large extent in compliance with standards. It also adopted the report on San Marino (published on the website www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/moneyval), the conclusions of which confi rm the substantial progress made by our country.

FATF

The choices made by the San Marino authorities have also been rightly acknowledged by the International Financial Task Force, which has not included San Marino on the updated list, distributed on 25 June 2010, of the countries subject to close monitoring.

continued on page 8…

8 november-december 2011in san marinoin san marino

MEMBERS’ AREA

Ever since the spring of 2009, the San Marino Government has been negotiating with the Italian Government in order to update the DTA

signed in 2002 to the OECD 2005 model. The text of a Protocol in this sense was initialled in Rome on 25 June 2009.

In that same year, the Agreement on eco-nomic cooperation and the Agreement

on fi nancial collaboration were signed. Nevertheless, the ratifi cation procedure for both treaties has come to a

halt while waiting for the sign-ing of the amendment Protocol of the Agreement against dou-

ble taxation. It must be emphasized that in this legislative period, the Great and General Council (San Marino Parliament) has also passed a series of laws in line with anti money-laundering and funding of terrorism, transparency and international cooperation standards.These include:

• amendment to the law on bank secrecy;

• elimination of S.A. companies;

• introduction of the offence of invoicing for non-existent opera-tions and the offence of conspiracy to commit crimes;

• amendment to the law on letters rogatory and legal assistance in criminal offences in order to facilitate cooperation with the au-thorities of other countries;

• amendment to the law on information exchange;• strengthening of communication obligations for fi duciary and

trust companies;• strengthening of monitoring authority and independence of the

Central Bank, in line with the recommendations of the Interna-tional Monetary Fund.

On 22 July 2011, the San Marino Parliament approved a law for the unilateral implementation of international tax assistance through the exchange of information regarding both civil and criminal cases. This law is effective with States and jurisdictions with which a TIEA or DTA has been negotiated and initialled, including in the case of these not having been signed or become effective.Following the positive reports of the OECD and the MONEYVAL, on 14 November 2011 a technical meeting was staged in Rome be-tween the representatives of the Ministries and Institutes of the two countries. The Italian delegation promised to recommend to the new Government, as soon as this had taken offi ce, the prompt signing of the Protocol amending the Double Taxation Agreement and the start of the ratifi cation process of the Protocol itself and of the Agreements on economic cooperation and collaboration with regard to fi nancial matters.

RELATIONSWITH ITALY

negotiating with the Italian Government in order to update the DTA signed in 2002 to the OECD 2005 model. The text of a Protocol in this sense was initialled in Rome on 25 June 2009.

In that same year, the Agreement on eco-nomic cooperationand the

on fi nancial collaborationwere signed. Nevertheless, the ratifi cation procedure for both treaties has come to a

halt while waiting for the sign-ing of the amendment Protocol of the Agreement against dou-

ble taxation. It must be emphasized that in this legislative period, the Great and

signed in 2002 to the OECD 2005 model. The text of a Protocol in this sense was initialled in Rome on 25 June 2009.

In that same year, the Agreement on eco-nomic cooperationand the

on fi nancial collaborationwere signed. Nevertheless, the ratifi cation procedure for both treaties has come to a

halt while waiting for the sign-ing of the amendment Protocol of the Agreement against dou-

ble taxation.

…continued from page 7

Year III - November - December 2011 - n. 6

Executive Editor: Massimo GhiottiEditorial Team: Marianna BucciCamera di Commercio di San Marino S.p.A.Str. di Paderna, 2 - 47895 Fiorina di Domagnano - RSMTel. 0549-980.380 - Fax. 0549-944.554 - Mail: info@cc.sm

Graphic Design: 3 STUDIOPrinted on: STUDIO STAMPACirculation 1500 copies

The San Marino Chamber of Commerce is a joint-stock company with mixed public and private capital, held for 51% by the state of San Marino and for 49% by trade associations (ANIS, OSLA , UNAS, USC and USOT), banks (Banca Agricola Commerciale, Banca di San Marino, Cassa di Risparmio and Credito Industriale Sammarinese) and the University of San Marino. It offers support services for companies and organizes promotional activities for the territory and the local economy. For enterprise, it provides a channel of access to the public administration, the meeting point between industry and the state.

The San Marino Chamber of Commerce is a joint-stock company with mixed public and private capital, held for 51% by the state of San Marino and for 49% by trade associations (ANIS, OSLA , UNAS, USC and USOT), banks (Banca Agricola Commerciale, Banca di San Marino, Cassa di Risparmio and Credito Industriale Sammarinese) and the University of San Marino. It offers support services for companies and organizes

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

BOARD OF DIRECTORSSimona Michelotti - President of the Chamber of CommerceSilvano AndreaniParide BugliRiccardo CervelliniEmanuel ColombiniGiorgia GasperoniGiorgio PetroniVladimiro RenziGian Franco Terenzi

STAFFMassimo Ghiotti - General Manager Evelina Guglielmi - Quality and Production Department - Foreign Trade Offi ce Roberto Bucci - Fairs and events organization consultantMarco Macina - Executive Assistant and IT Department Jessica Dell’Ominut - Accounting and Secretarial Offi ce Federica Tonelli - Legal Offi ceMassimo Zani - Buying and Sales Department - Foreign Trade Offi ceMarianna Bucci - Marketing Department and Foreign Trade Offi ceNicola Michi - Production and Planning Department

For the cover images, our thanks go to the State Philatelic and Numismatic Department