The Site of Belgium i the Heart of the European Union's

The two regions have develop nearly entirely sepa straddlely in terms of bureaucracies and day-after-day operations; Brussels, which is French-speaking, is yet a third, smaller region touch by Flanders.

Because Belgium itself is a relatively small commercialise comp bed to its neighbors (Ger many an(prenominal), France and Britain), it has capacious depended on trade for its economic strength. Belgian companies long agone developed experience in dealing with foreigners and trade markets, and close of its citizens are multi-lingual. The government has also fostered both(prenominal) import/export trade as well as foreign convey investing. The country historically has fostered growth in small to mediocre sized companies (in 1989, only four Belgian companies were listed on the Forbes transnational 500; Switzerland, with half of Belgium's population, had three times as many companies listed) (Tigner, 1990, p. 56). This tendency toward small companies has both advantages and disadvantages for the country. On the one hand, companies are able to keep production runs short and offer riotous turnaround times. On the other hand, companies may lack the fiscal resources necessary to prosper in high technology handle that may require significant capital investment.

Smaller companies and Belgium companies in particular can also be vulnerable to takeovers. both holding companies (SBG and GBL) dominated the Belgium economy

The mid-1980s were characterized by a lackluster economy in Belgium, further the country began to recover by 1988, a trend which continue into 1989. Real growth in GDP increased by 2.2 part in 1989 fol junior-gradeing 2.2 percent growth in 1988, performance which exceeded analysts' expectations by a full percentage point. have components of GDP were all on an upward trend at this time and private consumption was moving steadily upward, as well. The nation had a current account surplus of 1.8 percent of GDP coupled with a low inflation rate and strong competitiveness in the international market. However, the government had non yet succeeded in substantially reducing its budget deficit, which remained at 8.

3 percent of GDP for 1988 with a total cumulative debt of cxxx percent of GDP. Between 1988 and 1989, the nation saw a 10 percent reduction in the number of unemployed, and a low inflation rate of only 1.2 percent. Investment prospects were good for both domestic and international investors as capacity utilization was estimated at 85 percent (meaning that the nation would need additional investment in order to increase its capacity) ("Belgium: A Period," 1989, p. 20).

in the new-made 1980s and 1990. SBG controlled Belgium's largest bank; GBL controlled the second largest. SBG exerted influence on the nonferrous metals sector, cement, engineering, chemicals, and amends industries. GBL's influence extended primarily toward finance and investment services. two groups share control of the nation's three private utility companies. afterwards a failed takeover attempt by Italian enterpriser Carlo De Benedetti, SGB was acquired by Suez of France. At this point also, the Brussels stock market was inactive, as it has been historically, the result of tight government regulation have with corporal conservatism. The market specialized in government bonds and corporate debt (Tigner, 1990, p. 57).

The Belgian economy recovered from its 1993 recession fairly quickly,
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