Basel AgroChem Giant Syngenta in Mega Merger Talks; Basel Zoo Offspring Overrun; Customs Control Problems on Tram Extension; Online Dog Training Invalidated

News on 12 May 2015

Last week, American Agro Chemicals giant Monsanto made an offer to buy its Basel based competitor the Syngenta corporation.  The offer which valued Syngenta at 45 Billion US dollars was swiftly rejected.  According to Spokesmen for the company "the offer did not reflect the outstanding growth prospects Syngenta has, and underestimates significant merger execution risks, including regulatory and public scrutiny."  The financial markets however are undeterred, with shares trading at their all time highs on the expectation that monsanto will counter their rebuffed offer with a higher one.  The takeover bid represents the culmination of long rumored talks between the two firms.  Apparently managements had met once last year to hold preliminary and exploratory discussions about the possibility of a merger, but the meetings ended inconclusively.  Syngenta, a major employer in the Basel region was formed in the year 2000 as the merger of the Agribusiness unit spun out of Novartis and Zeneca Agro Chemicals.

***********************************

Basel Zoo, affectionately known to Baslers as the Zolli, is bursting with baby animals this spring.  Three weeks ago, a male baby Zebra was born and a few days later the monkey house welcomed the birth of a baby Saki Monkey.  Over in the Children's Zoo area there are five new Pygmy goats, two peacocks and a baby dwarf zebu (a type of goat) to delight young and old visitors alike.  The storks have also been busy, and zookeepers have noticed baby chicks peeking out from their perches in the zoo.  Finally, you can always drop in to see the growth of the one month old African Giraffe named Majengo which was 56 kg and 1.8 meters tall at birth.  In an update on the progress for the plans for the construction of the Oceanarium planned for opening in 2018, a single private donor pledged 30 million francs last month toward the funds required to build the Zoo feature.  It was a major boost towards successfully starting the project which had a projected budget of 100 million francs.

*********************************

Patrick Gantenbein a representative of the Swiss Border Customs office lamented the challenges his organization now faces due to the boom in Shopping Tourism - where Swiss residents go over the borders to shop to take advantage of favorable prices, often without regard for swiss import limits and customs duties.  The combination of the extension of the 8 tram into weil am rhein, and the appreciation of the swiss currency since the Swiss National Bank abandoned the exchange rate cap in January has proven to be a huge incentive to shop over the borders.  Although the authorities had made extensive plans to patrol the trams for undeclared and contraband goods, they have proven to be unenforceable.  There is simply not enough manpower according to Gantenbein to check every tram crossing the border from Germany to Switzerland, and even if the appropriate number of officers were available the trams would not be able to operate in according to schedule to accommodate the customs control.  Would-be smugglers have taken notice and the incidence of outrageous undeclared goods seizures have become commonplace, with one man recently caught with 40 Kilos of meat stuffed into paper shopping bags.  Adding to the difficulties, when smugglers fear they'll be caught, they've been abandoning their bags, causing delays as the bags must then be inspected to ensure they don't pose a threat to public safety.  

********************************

Since 2008 all dog owners must obtain a valid competence certificate or SKN from the city in order to avoid a fine.  The certificate is meant to ensure that dog and owner alike are in compliance with animal welfare and health codes that are strictly enforced.  Last year unfortunately, 71 people ended up getting fined because an online course offered in Basel to demonstrate proof of owner and animal competence was deemed invalid for compliance purposes.  Unfortunately for those fined, they are also out the 144 francs they paid for what they thought would be adequate training.  The city, in an about face however, has now changed the rules and insists that since the start of 2015 online training is possible and officially recognized, requiring only a follow-up, in-person visit to the city's veterinary office to certify the training.