Tokyo (SCCIJ)—The Japanese IT services provider NEC will establish its global headquarters for its digital government and digital finance activities in Zurich. President and CEO Takayuki Morita announced this decision at a meeting with Swiss Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis, who was on an official Japan visit.
“Quality of Swiss ecosystem”
Mr. Cassis called NEC’s decision a “testament to the quality of the Swiss ecosystem.” It “reflects the trust and future-oriented cooperation between Switzerland and Japan,” he added. Japan is one of Switzerland’s key Asian partners in economic, scientific, and technological terms. According to the official Swiss government press release, Japanese companies are now the main Asian investors in Switzerland.
Establishing a global headquarters for the Digital Finance and Digital Government areas in Zurich “positions Switzerland as a key player in expanding the NEC Group’s value proposition to society through digital technology,” President and CEO Takayuki Morita commented. Switzerland and NEC would also be advancing important initiatives in the fields of telecommunications and drug development through the use of AI. “Going forward, we aim to continue strengthening the relationship between Japan and Switzerland as we drive innovation progress,” Morita continued. NEC Executive Vice President Tomoki Kubo will be the CEO of the new global headquarters.
“Hub for digital finance innovation”
Patrik Wermelinger, Chief Investment Promotion Officer at Switzerland Global Enterprise, the Swiss consulting, promotion, and platform organization for export and investment promotion, posted on LinkedIn that NEC’s “strategic move” reflects Switzerland’s growing importance as a hub for digital finance innovation. According to Wermelinger, NEC selected Switzerland as the location for the new hub after extensive consultations in Tokyo with the Swiss Business Hub Japan, Switzerland Global Enterprise’s CEO Simone Wyss Fedele during World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos, and the Ambassador of Switzerland to Japan, Roger Dubach.
In October 2020, NEC acquired Avaloq Group AG, a leading Swiss financial software company specializing in digital banking solutions and wealth management software, for 2.05 billion Swiss francs. Before that, NEC partnered with Swiss scientific institutions, such as the Swiss Center for Scientific Computing (CSCS), indicating a collaborative relationship in scientific computing and technology development.
The Avaloq acquisition marked NEC’s significant entry into the global digital finance and digital government fields. The Japanese IT corporation said Avaloq’s expertise in Software-as-a-Service and Business-Process-as-a-Service models, along with its strong presence in Switzerland and over 30 countries, complements NEC’s strengths in biometric authentication, AI, and blockchain technologies.
Text: Martin Fritz for SCCIJ
