Agefi Luxembourg - octobre 2025

AGEFI Luxembourg 36 Octobre 2025 Droit / Emploi L e jeudi 2 octobre 2025, la Chambre de Commerce a accueilli la 6ᵉ édition de l’E-FORUM, organisée en colla- boration avec sa House of Entrepreneurship et ses Affaires Internationales, avec le soutien de la Luxembourg Retail Federation, et conçue par Retis. Placée sous le thème “Think Global, Sell Digital”, cette édition a mis à l’honneur l’e-commerce comme levier stratégique d’internationalisationpourlesentreprises luxembourgeoises. Dans un monde où les opportunités commerciales évoluent rapidement, 140entrepreneurs et acteurs de l’écosystème se sont réunis pour explorer des outils pertinents, partager des bonnes pratiques, et écouter les témoignages inspirants, qui permettent de penser global et vendre en ligne. L’événement a rassemblé des acteurs clés du secteur autour d’unobjectif com- mun : partager des connaissances, créer des synergies et sensibiliser les entre- prises à l’importance du digital comme moteur de croissance. Dans un contexte économique en constantemutation, le e- commerce s’impose comme un levier stratégique pour diversifier ses marchés et élargir sa clientèle. Lors de son discours d’ouverture, Carlo Thelen, Directeur général de la Chambre deCommerce,asoulignélerôledudigital dans la croissance des entreprises, tout en évoquant les défis liés à la logistique, à la réglementation et à l’adaptation auxmar- chésétrangers.Leministredel’Économie, Lex Delles, a adressé un message vidéo encourageant les entreprises à intégrer le e-commerce dans leur stratégie de déve- loppement à l’international, en insistant surl’importanced’uneapprochesécurisée et résiliente. Il a aussi mis en avant le rôle de Letzshop - la plateforme de commerce en ligne dédiée aux commerçants luxem- bourgeois - dans ladigitalisationdu com- merce local. Avecune infrastructurenumériqueavan- céeetdesdispositifsdesoutienadaptés,le Luxembourg offre un cadre propice à cette transformation. En 2024, 44,4 % des commerces luxembourgeois disposaient déjà d’une boutique en ligne, illustrant le potentieldudigitalpouraccroîtreleurvisi- bilité. Jean-Charles Bernacconi, Co- Founder et CEO de Nutribay, a partagé son expérience d’e-commerce internatio- nal, montrant comment sa plateforme a su évoluer pour répondre aux attentes de la communauté sportive. Deux tables rondes ont permis d’explorer les enjeux clés du e-commerce : la pre- mièreaportésurlesparticularitésdumar- ché luxembourgeois, tandis que la seconde s’est concentrée sur les aspects pratiques liés à l’internationalisation, notamment la logistique, les solutions de paiementetl’intégrationauxplateformes. Des entreprises locales ont partagé leur expérience, illustrant le dynamisme et l’évolutiondusecteur.Pouraccompagner les entreprises luxembourgeoises dans leur transition digitale, notamment le e- commerce, laHouse of Entrepreneurship est un acteur clé. Elle propose un guide pratique, des workshops thématiques et un accompagnement personnalisé à tra- vers les SME Packages, pour gagner en visibilité et compétitivité. En parallèle, l’équipe des Affaires Inter- nationales soutient les entreprises dési- reusesdesedévelopperàl’étranger,enles aidantàstructurerleurprojetd’expansion grâceàunaccompagnementpersonnalisé etdesconseilsadaptésauxmarchéscibles. Cette6ᵉéditiondel’E-FORUMaconfirmé une fois de plus l’importance du digital comme moteur de croissance pour les entreprisesluxembourgeoises.Enmettant l’accent sur l’e-commerce comme levier d’expansion, l’événement a permis aux participants de repartir avec des outils concrets, des idéesnouvelles et unevision élargie de leur potentiel à l’international. LaChambredeCommerce,avecsaHouse of Entrepreneurship et ses Affaires Internationales,continueraàaccompagner les entreprises dans cette dynamique, en leur offrant les ressources et les conseils nécessaires pour réussir leur transforma- tion digitale et leur développement à l’étranger.Desmasterclassessurcomment développer son e-commerce dans des marchés cibles seront proposés courant 2026-2027. Source : Chambre de Commerce E-FORUM 2025 : Think Global, Sell Digital L’e-commerce, moteur d’expansion internationale ©HouseofEntrepreneurship ByRégis BONNAN &Alain GREC , Profile Investment * (A)What isanexternal litigationassessment andwhy does itmatter? F or a claimant, a disputemay give rise to a right to compensation that needs to be properly valued and supported. or a respondent, the disputemay trigger the need tomake a provi- sion in the accounts. In each case, decision-makers, auditors, shareholders, and regulators ex- pect reliable, fact-based infor- mation. The financial exposure needs to be assessed carefully, not only for compliance purposes but also to guide strategic choices. However, measuring the financial exposure in this specific context would remain amisleading fiction in the absence of a prior and neces- sary legal assessment. The external independent assessment is not about predicting the future with certainty, but rather about building a conservative, structured assessment based on jurisdictional realities, legal merits, quantum, enforceability, timing, and other associated risks. The client may be a company facing a dispute, an investor assessing its exposure, an asset manager weighing its risks, an audit company seeking an external reference, a mergers & acquisitions team working on the due diligence of a target company involved in a litigation, or a board member with the responsibility to make decisions related to the resolution of a dispute. In all cases, an external lit- igation assessment delivers the clarity and deci- sion-making support needed. The assessment is grounded, actionable, and defensible. Let’s now explore how we, at Profile Investment, conduct an objective litigation assessment that provides tor claimants or respondents with prac- tical decision-making tools, as well as a reliable mapping of all the identified critical points. This will determine the risk associated discounting fac- tors that will, in turn, be used in the dynamic liti- gation valuation grid (i.e. the second step of the proposed approach). The key criteria of the external litigation assessment In order to objectively assess the dispute for the client (who could be either a claimant or a respon- dent), several key criteria are selected and exam- ined indepth.Missing ormisinterpreting even one of these criteria can significantly skew the overall analysis and outcome of the assessment, hence the need for experience, rigor and objectivity. These key cumulative criteria are as follows: (i) ju- risdiction; (ii) merits (factual and legal); (iii) quan- tum; (iv) duration and not least (v) enforcement, to which may be added elements of compliance/ ethics, or certain specificities of the stakeholders in- volved (judge, arbitrator, lawyer counsels, parties) which might prove important. Of course, not each externally assessed dispute will require the same level of attention or analysis for each of the criteria, but an assessment will be needed to reach any such conclusion. In this way, added value is already being provided by iden- tifying, in each of these areas, what proves cru- cial, or the extent to which an issue or hurdle has been legally ascertained and with what account- ing/business value if relevant The analysis is also valuable in providing a realistic outlook on the monetization potential (enforcement) and on the compatibility of the client’s interests and time constraints with the expected overall time hori- zon of the dispute. Jurisdiction: this essentially means verifying that the court seized of thematter has the power or au- thority to hear and rule on the dispute. In some cases, more than one court has or may have juris- diction, and this is especially true in disputes with international elements. The jurisdictional question can be very straightforward or extremely complex and uncertain. The important point is to be aware of the potential issue and to not necessarily assume that jurisdiction is not an issue. Making a wrong decision on where to litigate or arbitrate the case can lead to years of wasted costs and efforts. An external assessment will also help a client to pre- vent such a scenario. On the merits: the external assessment verifies the level of strength and weakness of the claim or de- fense, in light of the evidence andargumentswhich will evolvewith thepassageof time. The assessment canbe carriedout for a claimant and for adefendant alike. In either case, the assessment is carried out by examining the pertinent facts of the case, all the ap- plicable andrelevant rules, the evidence at handand the parties’ respective arguments. The consideration of any critical time bar is- sueswill alsobe systematically checked as this may nullify all of the other strengths of the client’s case. Simply reviewing the contract and the parties’ memorials will generally not provide a clear and objective view to the client: the contract may be ambiguous or at least open to very different interpretations, and the parties’ memorials are typically written subjectively, persua- sively, with a view to reaching a certain de- sired outcome. The external assessment, by contrast, looks at all of the case elements dispassionately, with a profes- sional skepticism exerted towards all arguments and assertions which are not supported by solid evidence. Once the key critical knots are identified, Profile Investment will assess how to address and combine each of these with the more general case at stake, resulting in a realistic assessment of the strength and robustness of the client’s position. Quantum: this is the third criterion of the assess- ment. This can be addressed from two main an- gles: (1) to understand and review whether and how the lawand evidence justify the damages that are requested by one party or both of them, and (2) to cast a critical eye on the valuation of the dam- ages sought to be compensated, as well as to de- termine a reference amount based on prudent and substantiated elements, in compliancewith the ap- propriate methodologies. Only point (1) is part of the legal aspect of the as- sessment, whereas point (2) is elaborated and de- scribed in Part 2 of this sequenced article focused on the calculation of the reference amount, con- servatively assessed for the expected judgment or arbitration award. Damages figures and arguments are frequently exaggerated and/or contested items at different stages of the procedures. This is also true for the likely interest rate(s) to be applied, as well as for the legal and other costs which might be recov- erable or not, depending again on a number of specific factors that will be closely examined in the assessment. Duration: this is typically one of the first concerns (together with costs) at the back of the mind of the client impacted by a litigation, especially when the client is the claimant. There are indeed a number of situations and factors that may cause or increase the likelihood of a ‘drift’ in duration, to the benefit of the opposing party. This is a key parameter in the global assessment of any dis- pute under review. How long will the case last and when will the damages (if any) be recovered? Giving a solid, re- liable answer to these two questions will not be found in the contractual documents or legal argu- ments, and this oncemore increases the value pro- vided by Profile Investment owing to its long experience in multiple jurisdictions, its large pro- fessional network, its enforcement expertise and experience, and its lack of any interest – as an ex- ternal and objective assessor - in supporting long- duration scenarios or time-drifting probabilities without clear interests or advantages for the party at stake (the client). Additionally, providing an objective duration forecast will first require understanding the pro- cedural status, which at times may be very com- plicated or unclear, especially when there are a series of parallel proceedings. The external assess- ment thus also provides a practical clarification function to the client, which may then be very helpful internally to make decisions on a much clearer footing. But it is essential to understand that duration is not uniquely a matter of proce- dural development: it may also encompass all the time necessary from a final judgment/arbitration award until collection or a settlement. In certain situations, this can prove far longer than obtaining a favorable judgment or award. This leads us to the critical importance of assessing the case enforcement outlook: obtaining a favor- able court judgment or arbitral award does not necessarily mean that the client (for instance a claimant or a defendant with counterclaims) will obtain payment. Rather, the answer will often de- pend on the counterparty’s ability andwillingness to pay, on the identifiedvulnerabilities (reputation, commercial vital relationships, sensitive labeling among others) or assets within reach, as well as on a number of potential legal defenses – at the en- forcement stage – for which Profile Investment (as an authorized debt recovery company since 2009) is particularly well-experienced to examine. In fact, enforcement issues may also involve sev- eral jurisdictions, especially where the assets and enforcement procedures are in different countries, and these are situations in which the client and their national lawyers would welcome even more the benefit of external input. This specific analysis ismadewhen the client is the claimant or counter- claimant. If the analysis is made for a respondent, and if the legal assessment supports the probability of a negative outcome for the respondent, then the basic assumptionwill be compliance with the cor- responding liability. *AlainG REC isCo-foundingpartnerofProfileInvestmentandBoard member of regulated funds in Luxembourg Régis B ONNAN works as a Senior Counsel at Profile Invest- ment’s legal and enforcement analysis teams. He is a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and anAttorney-at-Law in New York. He teaches English business law and EU law in two business schools in Paris. Part 1: Legal Aspects of the External LitigationAssessment