Urdorf, 22nd September 2009: The credit agency Dun & Bradstreet (Schweiz) AG and the Moscowbased news agency Interfax have signed a strategic memorandum of cooperation on the occasion of the state visit and in the presence of President Dmitri Medwedew in Switzerland. The two companies aim to facilitate and promote business relations between Russian and Swiss companies by providing detailed and reliable background information about companies in Russia and Switzerland. The primary objective of the intensified cooperation between D&B and Interfax is to increase transparency with regard to Russian companies for the benefit of Swiss businesspersons. Access to the largest Russian company database makes it possible to identify new business partners in Russia and also to source background information about them, such as proprietorship data, registration details and financial figures. Both D&B Switzerland and Interfax are members of the D&B Worldwide Network, the largest global company information network, currently encompassing more than 150 million company entries from over 200 countries.
The agreement between D&B and Interfax was signed yesterday evening in the presence of the Russian head of state Dmitri Medwedew and the President of the Swiss Federal Council Hans-Rudolf Merz on the occasion of the Russian state visit to Berne. The Russian company database encompasses entries pertaining to over 6 million companies in Russia, covering 100% of the commercially active company universe in the country. The company entries contain commercial, marketing-relevant and financial information about Russian companies, such as company size, legal structure, registration details, proprietorship data and financial figures. The D&B Worldwide Network database permits searches for new customers or suppliers in Russia according to business type and location, and subsequent individual searches for company background information.
"Company information that is reliable and insightful assumes even greater importance in economically challenging times. Moreover, for us in Switzerland, Russia is still a relatively new, intransparent and inscrutable market. I am convinced that access to our expanded database of Russian companies will afford greater transparency about Russian business partners to many Swiss businesspersons and that, in this manner, we will facilitate and promote business contacts and trade between the two countries.", said Macario Juan, Managing Director of D&B in Switzerland yesterday in Berne.
"We are witnessing a rise in the number of enquiries pertaining to Russian companies, which could indicate that the crisis is coming to an end. Switzerland is one of Russia’s largest partners in terms of investment; by signing this agreement, we intend to create the most favourable conditions for facilitating even more enquiries from Switzerland about companies in Russia and vice-versa", said Mikhail Komissar, Director-General of Interfax in Berne yesterday.
D&B and Interfax intend to facilitate cooperation between the countries in the following sectors: energy, financial services, investment, trade, tourism and electronics. The two companies have agreed to organise seminars and round tables with existing and potential customers in Geneva, Zurich, Moscow and St. Petersburg with the objective of promoting these collective services.
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Interfax
Interfax is Russia‘s leading news agency and has many years of experience in the collation, processing and delivery of qualitatively superior information about Russia and Russian companies. Over the past few years, Interfax has developed the largest Russian company database, with more than 6 million company entries. Interfax is a member of The D&B Worldwide Network, offering thereby access to the Russian company database.
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B)
D&B is a Bisnode Group company and belongs to the D&B Worldwide Network, market leader in business information and corporate assessment. Companies in all business sectors use D&B’s data and solutions for purposes of credit assessment, for customer acquisition and in strategic purchasing. The basis for this is D&B’s database, containing information about 600,000 Swiss companies and more than 150 million companies worldwide. Companies‘ credit rating is determined, in part, by their payment behaviour. In Switzerland alone, D&B carries out approximately 9 million invoice-analyses in this regard. D&B is also Switzerland’s leading credit agency valuator for both Swiss and global companies. Company information is clearly mapped using a D-U-N-S® number assigned by D&B. The D-U-N-S® number system is deployed and endorsed by the European Commission and the ISO as an industry standard and is used by well-known corporate majors and banks in Switzerland to identify customers and suppliers for purposes of risk management.