SwissCham ASIA Marks AGM with a Two-Year Record of Rapid Growth Bridging Switzerland and Asia
- SwissCham ASIA
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Barely eighteen months after its launch, the reborn chamber reports 58 events, seven partnership agreements in motion across Asia and the Middle East, a rebuilt network spanning 31 countries, and a first-year operating surplus — with the Ambassador of the Philippines (the Chair of ASEAN Association) headlining as guest of honour.
ZURICH, 30 June 2026 — SwissCham ASIA held its first formal Annual General Meeting on 30 June at the KV Business School Zurich, capping one of the most striking turnarounds in Switzerland’s international business community. A chamber that was rebuilt from the ground up in November 2024, following a governance crisis that split its predecessor organisation, has in under two years delivered 58 events and activities, signed five memoranda of understanding across five countries — with a sixth and seventh already in the pipeline — and rebuilt an engaged network of 476 contacts and members across 31 countries.
“We started again from scratch, and in less than two years we have built something that many established chambers would envy,” the meeting heard. The chamber’s mission — “building trusted bridges between Switzerland and Asia” — now runs through 15-plus regional committees spanning six macro-regions: Greater China, Korea, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East.
A record of impact in record time
Over 2024–2025 the chamber produced 58 events and activities, 23 monthly “Asia Brief” intelligence reports and numerous articles and reports now cited by politicians and embassies; grew its contact base from roughly 200 to 476 — including 53 diplomatic and government-level contacts, 87 senior business leaders and 15 academic and thought leaders; and expanded its LinkedIn following to 910, with monthly increasing rate in May at 70 percent. Its network stretches from Greater China region, UAE, Uzbekistan and Vietnam to Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan — where the chamber’s support for a Swiss investor culminated in recognition at the royal level.
Recent milestones include an MOU concluded in Geneva with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan; an MOU with Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore, developed with SwissCham Singapore and the Swiss Embassy; and three visits within six months by senior Da Nang (Vietnam) government representatives. A sixth MOU with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment (MISA) and a seventh via Malaysia’s KSI and the World Business Chamber are in preparation.
ASEAN in Focus
The AGM’s guest of honour, H.E. Bernard Dy, Ambassador of the Philippines to Switzerland — whose country currently chairs ASEAN — delivered a keynote on Southeast Asia as a trade and investment destination. He highlighted an ASEAN economy approaching US$4 trillion, growth of 4.9% in 2025, and Philippines–Switzerland bilateral trade exceeding US$1 billion in 2025, its highest level in a decade under the EFTA free-trade agreement. The exchange underscored a theme running through the meeting: as global supply chains are reconfigured, the Switzerland–ASEAN corridor is gaining strategic weight.
Scaling Ambition
Looking ahead, SwissCham ASIA will continue to upgrade, including moving from its monthly Asia Brief into a higher level of quarterly Europe–Asia Report; expanding its Flagship Davos Dialogue with a high-profile event on the Davos promenade; supporting investment and business collaborations between Switzerland and focused Asian countries, and exploring a new Italian-speaking chapter in Lugano.
The chamber also intends to position itself increasingly as a high level think-tank, a primium business club, with a country-chair model to deepen individual bilateral relationships between Switzerland and Asian countries/regions.
“Our ambition is simple,” the President, Dr. Urs Lustenberger, told members. “Turn dialogue into action, stay a step ahead of the curve through our research and effort, and keep opening real doors between Switzerland and Asia.”
About SwissCham ASIA
SwissCham ASIA is a Zurich-based, non-profit Swiss institution advancing Switzerland's strategic, economic, legal, technological and cultural engagement across Asia.
It evolved from the former Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce (SACC) (before April 2024) and — under the same governance board — re-registered in Canton Zurich on 3 October 2024.
Mission: to build trusted bridges between Switzerland and Asia, driving long-term cooperation in trade and investment, legal and institutional development, technology and AI innovation, sustainability, education, research and talent mobility.
Media contact:
Office of SwissCham ASIA | info@swisscham.asia | www.swisscham.asia
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