The Luxembourg-American Chamber of Commerce

Carnegie Hall: Performance of Luxembourg Soprano Claudia Galli and French Pianist Gregory Moulin

tatjana — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 19:08:50 +0000

Luxembourg-born soprano Claudia Galli accompanied by French-born pianist Gregory Moulin performed at the Weill Recital Hall/Carnegie Hall on March 11th. The program: “Richard Strauss – des racines et des ailes” comprised works by Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, Alexander Zemlinsky, and Alban Berg.

The event was hosted by Consul General Jean-Claude Knebeler and his spouse Ms. Anna Balkhaeva and graced by the presence of H.E. Minister of Equal Opportunities, Lydie Mutsch and Mme. Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Listed among the events scheduled during the “2014 Month of la Francophonie”, this recital marked the New York debut and kick off performance of the artists’ first USA tour.

Photo – left to right: H.E. Minister Lydie Mutsch, Consul General Jean-Claude Knebeler, Gregory Moulin and Claudia Galli

NY Times on Luxembourg’s Technoport

tatjana — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:21:31 +0000

In its March 9th issue the NY Times reports on Luxembourg’s Technoport and developments to establish the Grand Duchy as hub for technological innovation. Please see: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/03/10/technology/out-of-the-shadows-a-tech-hub-in-luxembourg.html?_r=1&referrer=

Find out more about the Technoport at: www.technoport.lu

Juncker Secures European People’s Party Top Spot for EU Elections

tatjana — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 14:46:15 +0000

European conservatives on Friday chose their candidate to be the next European Commission president, with former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker beating French candidate Michel Barnier.

The decision was made at the European People’s Party (EPP) congress, hosted in Dublin on March 6 and 7.

After former Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis withdrew from the race on Wednesday, delegates were left to chose between Juncker and French EU Commissioner Barnier.

Juncker was considered a favourite ahead of the vote on Friday, with his long experience as a political leader in the Grand Duchy and a staunch defender of the EU since he began his political career. The CSV politician chaired the eurozone group of finance ministers through the worst of the eurozone crisis and emphasised before the election that there should be more social fairness with the bloc.

“It is important for me that Europe is coming closer to the people. The European Union doesn’t have to look after things which can be managed better by the people themselves than by the Commission in Brussels,” he said.

His rival, EU Commissioner Michel Barnier, meanwhile, also came with strong European credentials, as well as a public service career spanning 40 years which has seen him serve three times as a minister in the French government.

The EPP is the largest political grouping in Europe with 74 parties from 39 countries and is the largest group in the European parliament with 273 members. It currently leads the European Commission with José Manuel Barroso and the European Council with Herman Van Rompuy.

Source: www.wort.lu/en

Oscar for Luxembourg Film Production “Mr. Hublot”

tatjana — Mon, 03 Mar 2014 20:31:37 +0000

Luxembourg Prime Minister congratulates Mr Hublot filmmakers
Mr Hublot won the Oscar for best animated short film on March 2

The Grand Duchy’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has congratulated filmmakers Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares on their first Oscar for animated short film and Luxembourg coproduction Mr Hublot.

In an official statement Bettel said that the award is an honour not only for the directors, but also their production company and the “talent of our animation artists and technicians.”

The film was produced fully in Luxembourg by Witz, who studied in Metz before founding his production company Zeilt in the Grand Duchy. Fellow director Espigares meanwhile is a former student of the Luxembourg City “Lycée Technique des Arts et Métiers”.

Nearly three quarters of the film’s funds were provided by Zeilt Productions, while 27 percent were financed by French company Watt Frame.

Mr Hublot was also supported by the Film Fund Luxembourg.

The Academy Award is only the latest in a series of awards and nominations, which the film has garnered over the past months.

Bettel meanwhile commented that the Oscar is “also an international recognition of the high level of creativity and quality of the whole Luxembourg audiovisual sector.”

The Premier also congratulated Stéphane Roelants, as well as Melusine Productions and Studio 352 for their films Ernest & Célestine, which was nominated in the best animated feature category at this year’s Academy Awards.

While the film lost against Disney’s Frozen, Bettel said the film had made an incredible journey.

Source: www.wort.lu/en

Photo: Zeilt
PLEASE WATCH THE ANIMATED SHORT FILM AT: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT3C2kdMHOs

Don’t Miss Steichen Award Exhibition at MUDAM!

tatjana — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 21:57:06 +0000

Mudam is hosting an exhibition of recent works by seven winners of the prestigious Edward Steichen Award.

Recently awarded to Luxembourg artists Sophie Jung and Jeff Desom, the Edward Steichen Award Luxembourg was established in 2004, in honor of Luxembourg-born American photographer and curator Edward Steichen.

The award aims to contribute to the dialogue between the art scenes in Europe and the United States, of which Steichen was one of the main instigators in the early twentieth century.

Awarded every two years to a young artist from the Greater Region, the award offers the winner a residency of six months in New York as part of the renowned ISCP program (International Studio and Curatorial Program).

Since 2011, a second prize, the Edward Steichen Luxembourg Resident in New York, offering a four-month residency at ISCP, has been added for a young Luxembourg artist.

The exhibition brings together recent works by the seven winners since 2005 including Bertille Bak, Étienne Boulanger, Desom, Jung, Maria Loboda, Claudia Passeri and Su-Mei Tse (whose Many Spoken Words ink fountain is a permanent exhibit at Mudam).

The exhibition’s vernissage took place on Thursday, February 13. The show runs until June 9.

Mudam, Park Drai Eechelen, Luxembourg-Kirchberg: www.mudam.lu/

Serge Ecker at 3D Printshow New York 2014

tatjana — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 21:41:38 +0000

Luxembourg artist Serge Ecker in group exhibition at the premiere of “3D PRINTSHOW NEW YORK 2014” at the METROPOLITAN PAVILION in New York.

Serge Ecker’s projects are often based on ideas developed in the course of his involvement in urbanistic, architectural and artistic projects. The pieces shown reflect on lost spaces and are based on the devastation caused by the Tsunami which hit Japan in 2011.

2013 GDP growth “highly likely” to exceed 2%

tatjana — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 18:50:24 +0000

Luxembourg’s road to recovery continues, according to national statistics office Statec, which predicts a 2 percent GDP growth for 2013.

While the third quarter of 2013 saw growth slow down compared to the second quarter, the country’s economy did well, with a year-on-year improvement of 2.8 percent.

This “strengthening of economic momentum” was accompanied by higher consumer confidence and an increase in household consumption of 0.7 percent between the second and third quarter of last year.

Financial services & construction suffer

The export of goods saw a positive development through an increase in industrial output. Overall, however, output is expected to have decreased by 3.5 percent over the course of the year, with final quarter figures still being finalised.

Construction, too, experienced a difficult year, mainly because of the long winter causing delays at the start of 2013. Statec expects year-end figures to show a 5 percent drop in output, “making it the worst year since 1996.”

The mild weather in early 2014, however, promises a more positive development in the sector.

Unemployment continued to be an issue towards the end of 2013. While the growth of unemployment slowed, Statec said that the number of new jobs is not sufficient compared to the increase in jobseeker numbers.

In the services sector, financial services experienced lower trade level, with a “negative contribution to GDP growth in the third quarter.” Most non-financial services meanwhile saw an increase in added value.

No reason to fear deflation

In the area of consumption, car sales suffered significantly in 2013. Despite recovering towards the end of the year, registrations of new cars fell by 7.5 percent, below the 5.5 percent EU average.

According to Statec, car sales could see a boost in 2014, however, with a VAT hike on the horizon for next year.

Inflation meanwhile slowed down, largely due to a drop in oil prices. However, deflationary trends, as they are feared in other EU member states, should not be am issue for the Grand Duchy, according to the statistics office.

Price levels developed unevenly over the past year. For example, while prices for seafood and fish rose strongly, cereals and oil-seed crops fell sharply.

On the whole, however, the GDP improvement for 2013 comes as a good start to 2014.

Read the full economic development report (in English) on statec.lu

Source: www.wort.lu/en

ALFI Impact & Microfinance Conference 27th May 2014 – Save the date!

tatjana — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 18:09:53 +0000

ALFI cordially invites you to:

Impact & Microfinance Conference
that will take place on
Tuesday, 27^th May 2014 in Luxembourg
Webpage click here

Is a good project also a good investment?

Project stakeholders, industry experts and investors will discuss:

what makes a microfinance or impact project attractive for investors?
how is it best to structure them?
what are the operational requirements?

The conference offers keynote speeches, case studies and panel discussions.

Bringing together investors, practitioners and researchers from around the world, the conference is designed to offer the impact financing and microfinance community a unique platform to foster knowledge sharing and exchange experiences.

Program and registration coming soon.

Do not hesitate to contact the ALFI events team at events@alfi.lu for further information.

Cargolux is First GDP Certified Airline

tatjana — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 18:36:59 +0000

Cargolux Airlines is the first company to be granted Good Distribution Practice (GDP) status, for its handling of pharmaceutical freight products in-flight and at the LuxairCARGO Pharma & Healthcare Center.

The Luxembourg-based air cargo company was awarded the label by Bureau Veritas Certification Germany GmbH, signalling that the company meets EU directive ‘Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use’ as well as World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.

Pharmaceutical GDP regulations demand that companies handling and transporting pharmaceutical products align their operations with the defined standards. An independent attestation of compliance with EU GDP/WHO requirements has confirmed Cargolux’s dedication to operate a consistent quality management system across the transportation process.

The accreditation comes largely thanks to the LuxairCARGO’s Pharma & Healthcare Center, a purpose-built temperature-controlled pharmaceutical storage facility at Cargolux’s Luxembourg hub.

The GDP certification also recognizes Cargolux’s specialized fleet of Boeing 747 freighters with four independently-controlled temperature zones and its qualified team of cool chain experts which ensure an end-to-end temperature controlled process.

Source: www.wort.lu/en

Photo: Cargolux – Viktor Laszlo

Member News: Alter Domus – First Professional Depositary Approved by CSSF

tatjana — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 14:57:53 +0000

ALTER DOMUS: FIRST PROFESSIONAL DEPOSITARY APPROVED BY THE CSSF IN LUXEMBOURG

Alter Domus has announced that it is the first service provider to be authorized by the Luxembourg Financial Regulator (CSSF) to act as a Professional Depositary. Alter Domus has launched a depositary service to support its clients in meeting a new requirement for funds captured under the AIFM Directive to appoint an independent depositary.

Alter Domus is the pioneer in providing professional depositary services in Luxembourg. This approval demonstrates the quality and ability of Alter Domus in being able to provide this service, meeting the high level of professionalism expected by the Luxembourg Financial Regulator and the new requirements set by the Directive.

Subject to regulatory approval from the FCA Alter Domus is soon to launch Depositary Services in the United Kingdom. Alter Domus will continue to monitor the evolution of the AIFMD regulation and, as needs and opportunities arise, will leverage its experience to provide such services in other relevant countries.