Foreign investments in Scandinavia Attorney-at-law Henrik Nilsson Advokatfirman Allians Stockholm, Sweden
Scandinavia in numbers The five countries make up the largest region in Europe (1.2 million square kilometres) Home to nearly 25 million people. Sweden has the largest population of the region. The 12 th largest economy in the world
Why should your clients invest in Scandinavia? Innovative and high-tech market with easy access to raw materials World-class research and development Open-minded and highly-educated workers with flexible work hours - High English proficiency Safe, stable and largely corruption-free area - Recent Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) rank three Scandinavian countries among the five least corrupted in the world Access to the EU the world s largest free trade market Attractive corporate taxation Easy business set-up - Much can be done online and in English
Global Innovation Index 2013 Ranks the innovation performance of 142 countries and economies around the world every year. Performed by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) The ranking is based on 84 indicators which fall under 7 pillars 1. Institutions, 2. Human capital and research, 3. Infrastructure, 4. Market sophistication, 5. Business sophistication, 6. Knowledge and technology outputs and 7. Creative outputs
Global Innovation Index 2013 Top Ten 2013 ranking 1. Switzerland (Number 1 in 2012) 2. Sweden (2) 3. United Kingdom (5) 4. Netherlands (6) 5. United States of America (10) 6. Finland (4) 7. Hong Kong (China) (8) 8. Singapore (3) 9. Denmark (7) 10. Ireland (9)
Highly reputable area The Reputation Institute has scored people s perceptions of different countries based on three main factors. Advanced Economy Produces high quality products and services Has many well-known brands Important contributor to global culture Technologically advanced Well-educated and reliable workforce Values education Appealing Environment Beautiful country Enjoyable country Offers an appealing lifestyle The people are friendly and welcoming Effective Government Offers a favorable environment for doing business Run by an effective government Has adopted progressive social and economic policies Responsible participant in the global community Is a safe place Operates efficiently
"Sweden offers an extremely competitive, largely corruption-free economy with access to new products, technologies, skills, and innovations." - US Departments of State's yearly Investment Climate Statements 2013 Denmark, the most business friendly climate in Europe" - World Bank, Doing Business Report 2013 "The Nordic countries are probably the best governed in the world" - The Economist, 2013
Legal considerations All five Scandinavian countries have largely similar legal systems. Sweden, Denmark and Finland members of the EU. Norway and Iceland highly integrated with the EU through EFTA (European Free Trade Association) and EEA (European Economic Area). The EU has harmonized rules regarding issues such as antitrust, environment, intellectual property, research & innovation, transportation and taxation. EU Single Market. EU-legislation appoints applicable law in cross-border lawsuits and provides that national court rulings be recognized throughout the EU.
Successful foreign investments in Scandinavia
In August 2010, the Chinese automotive company Geely Automobile completed its purchase of the Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Automobile Company. Since the acquisition, Geely has decided to establish an important Research and Development Centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Centre employs approximately 200 full-time engineers from Sweden and China. Geely has in total managed to create 1,500 new jobs in Sweden whilst raising employee satisfaction to its highest rating in 10 years. Geely has also managed to increase Volvo s revenue, much thanks to the largely increased market share in China. The Swedish Finance minister, Anders Borg has stated that GEELY s investment in Volvo could be rated as a model of the business cooperation between Sweden and China, which has gained credit for China.
In 2012, the American IT-company Intel opened two new Research & Development-sites in Finland with the aim to provide more advanced platform solutions, focusing on mobile hardware platforms and software solutions. After choosing Finland, Intel hailed Finland s engineering talent and the trendsetting Finnish customers in their demands for new technology solutions. We selected Finland for recent R&D investment because of the good availability of talented software developers and hardware engineers as well as the high levels of safety, stability, education and research here, - Brian Quinn, Director Business Strategy, Intel Labs Europe
SAAB + NEVS a Swedish/Chinese/Japanese collaboration In 2012, the well-known Swedish car manufacturer Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS) acquired the main assets of the Saab Automobile bankruptcy estates for development and manufacturing of electric vehicles. NEVS is owned by the National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd. (NME Holdings Ltd.), operated from Hong Kong. The research, development and manufacturing of the eletric vehicles are now a unification of Swedish know-how in manufacturing and design and Japanese advanced technology. The company operates a plant in Trollhättan, Sweden. This is also the main hub of Nevs, including head office, research and development as well as manufacturing. Beijing National Battery Technology, a Chinese sister company of Nevs, also operates a manufacturing plant for electric vehicle batteries in Beijing. Research and development is conducted by Swedish, Japanese, and Chinese engineers.
Here s where you come in Promote Scandinavia for investments in highly qualified business sectors, such as Life Sciences, Metals and Mining, Engineering, Energy & Environment and Bio Materials. Remember, the Scandinavian countries provide skilled workers in a safe, reputable environment with direct access to the European Union and its 507 million citizens.