More than nine in every ten companies have assessed the general economic landscape at the end of the first half of 2021 as good or satisfactory. No fundamental changes to the situation are expected during the current quarter.

At just under 30 million Swiss francs, the VP Bank Group has doubled its Group net income in the first half of 2021. The cost-income ratio improved to 79.4 percent. Client assets under management also rose significantly during the reporting period.

An environmentally friendly heating system has been installed on the roof of the health center in Dielsdorf. This should result in savings of 29 tons of CO2 per year. The system was installed by the Liechtenstein firm Hoval.

The Liechtenstein Cryptoassets Exchange (LCX) is joining forces with the company Hedera Hashgraph. This partnership will aim to develop a new infrastructure for security tokens and tokenized digital assets.

INFICON recorded significant increases in sales, operating profit, and gross profit in the first half of 2021 year on year. Furthermore, the measurement technology company with a site in Balzers in Liechtenstein saw growth in Q2 2021 versus Q1 2021.

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Students from the University of Liechtenstein have developed innovative business concepts in tandem with start-ups and small firms that aim to convey normal shopping experiences. These experiences from physical retail were transferred over to online channels.

Liechtenstein’s international trade has grown strongly in both directions in the second quarter of 2021. Growth of exports was twice as strong as imports. Germany remains the most important trade partner in both directions.

Hilcona now also supplies to Swedish school caterers. The fit@school concept, which has already seen success in Switzerland, England, Germany, Austria, and France, will now be implemented there with a large logistics company.

LGT, the bank owned by the royal family of Liechtenstein, is acquiring a stake in the German digital asset manager LIQID. The partners also agreed on a collaboration, which will see LGT jointly shaping LIQID’s investment strategy for its asset management offering in future.

Amnesty International, Swiss Section is now accepting cryptocurrency donations. These are being processed by Bank Frick of Liechtenstein. It has developed a model that can be used to check the origin of these transactions.

LGT Private Banking launched its impact investment fund in May. After oversubscription five times the target size, the Lightrock Evergreen Fund has now closed fundraising with a volume of 900 million US dollars. LGT clients and staff were able to invest in it.

The economy of Liechtenstein has not suffered greater losses from the pandemic than other developed countries. In particular, the country’s finance sector showed a high level of resilience.

Hilcona has been able to steadily increase the organic share within its pasta products in recent years. Currently, organic pasta makes up a share of 30 percent. Organic is a key market for the food manufacturer from Schaan.

NSF is launching its first product in the field of digital lending. A new investment fund from the asset management and trust company NSF is to make diversified investments in Swiss and Liechtenstein SME loans. For this, NSF will use the software developed by i2 invest.

Hilcona farms have harvested more than 1,800 tons of spinach over the past few weeks. The pandemic boosted demand for organic vegetables and regional produce. Hilcona farms in Rheintal are now also ready to harvest baby carrots and peas.

The hunt is on again for innovative projects in the 12th round of the Ideenkanal initiative. For the first time, the Ideenkanal foundation opted to focus on specific topics and has clubbed together with partner organizations. Applications can be submitted up to September 5.

The hunt is on again for innovative projects in the 12th round of the Ideenkanal initiative. For the first time, the Ideenkanal foundation opted to focus on specific topics and has clubbed together with partner organizations. Applications can be submitted up to September 5.

MTU Aero Engines has agreed a long-term contract with Oerlikon Balzers. The German engine manufacturer is to use a plant operated by the Liechtenstein coating specialists for component coating processes. Moreover, the two partners intend to explore mutually beneficial development opportunities.

An innovation competition launched by the University of Liechtenstein this year sought ideas for products that would be useful in the era of coronavirus. Four groups of schoolchildren were selected as prizewinners. The winning team came up with an idea for choosing the right clothing size when shopping online.