The region Rhein-Main covers Hessen, Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland. Hessen is an area stretching northward from the Rhine-Main region and is marked by cities such as Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.

The automotive sector is strong with GM's Opel division having its international headquarters in the region and Mercedes with three plants in the state. High tech sectors of note include telecoms, software, medical technology and biotechnology.

Renowned telecom hardware companies are manufacturing and servicing their products in the state, including Bosch-Telenorma, Philips, Siemens and Motorola. The region is also home to Hoechst, Merck, Röhm, Abbott and Wella.

Corporate R&D is strong in Hessen with 35,000 people in the sector, of which 40 per cent are in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry. This dense network of private and public R&D results in a performance above German average and state expenditure on R&D is among the highest in the country.

Rheinland-Pfalz is one of Germany's best connected states, with its network of roads, railroads and waterways. Around 40 million people live within an hour's drive and Europe's biggest passenger and freight airport (Frankfurt) can be reached within 30 minutes.

Rheinland-Pfalz is the location of Europe's biggest chemical group BASF and of the Spezialglaswerke Schott. Other industrial companies have taken the opportunities and advantages in the area and they include IBM, Boehringer Ingelheim, ITT Automotive, TDK and Eaton Corporation. With the TV stations ZDF, SAT1, 3sat and SWR, Rheinland-Pfalz also plays host as an international media location.

Saarland has borders with France and Luxembourg which adds to the workforce in the region with 19,000 people crossing the French border into Saarland each day. The region is connected to the German and European railroad network by rapid rail lines and the Saarbruecken-Ensheim airport offers daily and direct flights to major German airports.

Regional German Co-Chairman:
	Prof. Dr. Ronald Moeder Bouchon & Hemmerich Rechtsanwälte Neue Mainzer Strasse 1 60311 Frankfurt Tel.  +49 (0)69 25 62 86 60 Fax: +49 (0)69 25 62 86 610 E-mail: r.moeder@bouchon-hemmerich.com www.bouchon-hemmerich.com
Regional British Co-Chairman:
	David Marsh CBE SCCO International Ltd. Mr. David Marsh CBE Chairman 2nd Floor Berkeley Square House Berkeley Square London W1J6BD UNITED KINGDOM