Explore Geneva's bonded warehouse business strategy Wealthy industry in Switzerland (4)

Switzerland is the world's top class with personal assets.It is attractive to attract the wealthy asset management of the world, and has developed an industry that handles various wealthy services (see the area and analysis report dated June 9, 2021).This article describes free ports (bonded warehouses) and their related businesses that use high -priced assets as a business model.

High -price collection in bonded status

Switzerland is located in the center of Europe and is a politically stable area.For this reason, many engineers have been trading from neighboring countries for a long time.It led to the development of trade (see the area / analysis report dyed on June 17, 2019), the development of industries related to jewelry and dyeing.In Geneva, the bonded warehouse industry, which takes advantage of the convenience of trade, has been developed for a long time.Recently, businesses that store expensive items such as paintings, gold, and wine for the wealthy are expanding.

The bonded warehouse / region refers to a warehouse and region that can be stored from foreign countries with a reservation of tariffs. The resale to the third country and the artworks that participate in international exhibitions will eventually be in that country. Such goods cannot be performed after the import procedure is performed. Therefore, tax exemption procedures using bonded warehouses are useful. For example, by conducting (imported) (import) (imported) (imported) (re -export) once in Switzerland, it is possible to save customs tax added in Switzerland by performing inspections in bonded warehouses. In the case of art to exhibit at Art Basel, the owner's country of the work is carried to Switzerland a few weeks before the event, conducting an accepted inspection in the bonded warehouse, and re -inspection at the free port after the exhibition. It is returned to the owner's country. This system is important for the promotion of art because the art of art borrowed from foreign countries can be exhibited and appreciated in Japan without tax. By the way, in Japan, there is a system in which the exhibition hall is designated as a bonded exhibition hall in order to exempt the exhibits for international exhibitions.

The Geneva Free Port (Ports Francs et ENTREPôTS de Genève, "Geneva Bary Port and Warehouse") is the world's oldest and largest bonded warehouse founded in 1889. Based on the Geneva Airport side and the Etoile area on the eastern city of the city, the warehouse is more than 150,000 square meters. The main task is to maintain the conservation management of customer property, and in recent years it has been specialized in managing high -tangible assets such as clocks, wine, artwork, and gold bullion. According to Geneva Freeport's Secretary -General Anne Claire Bisch, "6-8 % of the world's personal collectors' property are stored in Geneva." According to news, many museums, wealthy and galleries have stored artworks such as paintings and sculptures in this freeport. In addition, about 2.5 million wine stored. It is also the world's largest wine cellar. Currently, 98 % of the floor is filled, and there is effectively there is no space.

Geneva Free Port has changed business models in its long history.The Tribune de Geneva newspaper, on November 22, 2020, reported the transition as an interview with Alan Declassus (then).

In this way, Geneva Free Port has met the wealthy needs to keep art in a safe and appropriate state.It is reported that the Salvator Mundi, a Leonardo da Vinci, which was awarded a record of about $ 45 billion in the highest price in New York in 2017, was a free port.。The number of artworks stored in the free port is said to be 1.2 million.There seems to be a case where a gallery has been opened in the bonded warehouse.According to the Le Monde newspaper on June 12, 2020, the total amount of art and antiques stored in free ports is said to be $ 100 billion.

At Geneva Free Port, apart from the free port (bonded warehouse) zone, the Swiss Zone is adjacent to customers who mainly aim for preserving useful assets.It provides strict access management and security, temperature and humidity control.Geneva Free Port, along with the Swiss Zone, is also called the world's largest safe room with customers around the world, such as museums, auction houses, and participating dealers in art fair.

Since Switzerland was a depository of international financial assets, bonded warehouses have stored gold and diamonds held by wealthy and banks.Until 2001, Diamond's mining and sales giant Debias (Headquarters: Britain) placed a major activity base in Lucerne.It is said that almost all of the diamonds of diamonds distributed in Switzerland passed Geneva Free Port at the time.However, transactions produced in the conflict areas and diamond roughs may be used for money laundering and weapons.Geneva Freeport was criticized for its high confidentiality in transactions.

Under such circumstances, the "Kimberry Process", which discusses diamond international origin authentication systems, was agreed in Switzerland in 2002.The Geneva Free Port has not yet accepted diamonds.

Important tasks are to improve transparency

Swiss tax warehouse business is a very important issue to improve transparency. This is because the secret of Geneva Free Port is misused and stolen goods have been confirmed. For example, in 2014, a monument was found to have been stolen in Egypt about 30 years ago. In 2016, there were cases in which paintings that seem to have looted Nazi from Jewish paintings during World War II have been reported. In 2016, the Customs Law was amended, and the number of microscopes regulated when stored in the bonded warehouse expanded. In addition to the name of the storage client, the owner's name and artwork were required to declare the title, size, and valuation value of the work. When exporting from Switzerland to abroad, a bonded warehouse has been set up in the storage period (six months). This is in contrast that foreign acceptance is indefinite. It was also required to submit all of the inventories of the tangible assets accepted by Geneva Free Port in electronic data. As a result, customs staff can grasp the contents of the assets by accessing these databases. The bonded warehouse is always checked, but Geneva Free Port is particularly focused on checking customers.

The form of the free port is a privately owned corporation (SA).However, Geneva has invested 87 %, and the government officials are also in management.The site is also owned by Geneva, and its management is extremely stable.

On March 11, 2021, Jetro interviewed Secretary -General Anne Claire Bisch on Geneva Free Port's business model.He has been working at Lloyd's Bank and has been involved in non -20 years of non -20 years of non -life insurance such as art works.He was appointed Secretary -General on November 1, 2020.

Looking at the status of bonded warehouses in each country, Singapore's bonded warehouses were completed in 2010 and the area was about 25,000 square meters.40 % of them are assigned to Christie's artwork.The Luxembourg bonded warehouse was opened in 2014 and the area is about 20,000 square meters.

Geneva Free Port has been rapidly expanding its business since 2000, handling art and wine.Singapore and Luxembourg can be said to incorporate their business models.Natural Le Coultre, an art management company owned by Geneva Freeport's largest art dealer, Yves Bouvier, opened a base in Singapore in 2010.In 2014, it was opened in Luxembourg.Later, in 2017, he sold the company to Andre Chenue, which also manages the French logistics and art.

On the other hand, North America is the largest art trading market.In North America, bonded warehouses that handle art are opened in Delaware in 2015.In 2018, ARCIS was opened in New York.ARCIS is a larger bonded warehouse and can handle art.

The bonded warehouse business is expanding in Asia.In 2014, a bonded warehouse that handled art was opened in Beijing.As Bish said, China is expected to grow rapidly in the future.

There is also an example of collaboration with artistic acceptance -related services

Geneva Free Port specializes in bonded and stored tangible assets.As a surrounding service, there are businesses that provide services that verify quality and identity when accepting and extracting paintings and artworks are developed using proprietary technology.Artmin is an example.The company will develop businesses such as high -precision scanning, analysis, and digital archives for paintings, tapestry, and coins that are in and out of Geneva's bonded warehouse.The Jetro Geneva office visited the company on March 12, 2021.

Artmin was established in 2016, a spin -off of the Federal University of Technology Losannu (EPFL).

According to Ocean Navinsni, Artmin's scanning machine can automatically shoot and record artworks within 2 meters, 2 meters wide, and 30 cm thick. 67 natural light, near -infrared light (NIF), and ultraviolet light (UV) lights are installed so that they head to the center from the circular dome. Cut in a parcel of 8 centimeters per place, each light emits light sequentially, and shoots an image with an ultra -high -definition camera (500 dpi, 3.5 billion pixels per square meter). From these images, the images of the unevenness and color of the art are recorded in the light source from various directions. In addition, you can record an image hidden under the surface, and the presence or absence of scratches under the brush, painted over the surface. By repeating this in the entire area of ​​art, you can create a record (digital twin) of arts in a digital space.

The service realized with this technology is the "5D Art Catalog".In other words, it is a digital version of the art catalog created by the auction house for each work.However, the print catalog so far only contained images for incident light from a specific direction.However, by synthesizing the digital data, the glove angle, direction, zoom, scrolling, tilt / rotation angle can be changed to interactive, and the condition of the painting can be seen.It is also a feature that images by natural light, infrared light, and ultraviolet light are shooting at the same time.As a result, you can also see the status of scars and sketches of the painting by overlapping.

"Digital passport" applied this technology to the appraisal.In the 5D art catalog, the status of images, scratches, etc. at that point can be accurately recorded for each painting like biological authentication.By comparing the records at various points, the original situation change can be detected.Specifically, once the status is recorded from the bonded warehouse before leaving the store, and the painting is re -photographed when it is returned after external use such as exhibition exhibition exhibition exhibition exhibition exhibition, there is no deterioration during the use of the exhibition.Taka can be verified.

Also, if customers want to shoot at their own hand, they also respond to paid loans (1st equipment 2,000 Switzerland Fran (about 240,000 yen, CHF, 1chf = about 120 yen)).By the way, if you outsource shooting in the bonded warehouse, the shooting fee per work is 99chF.