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185 new foreign companies located in Finland last year

13/02/2009

A total of 185 foreign companies located in Finland in 2008, which is 40% less than the year before. It is worth remembering that 2007 was a record-breaking year, with 300 foreign companies establishing themselves in Finland.

Half of the new companies operate in the retail and service sectors. The ICT sector has also maintained its strong position with a 21% share of the new arrivals in 2008.
“A typical example of foreign direct investment in Finland is a Swedish retail chain that first invests in the Helsinki metropolitan area and later expands its operations to the other cities,” says Tuomo Airaksinen, CEO of Invest in Finland.

Sweden has been the most important source of foreign direct investment in Finland for many years. In 2008 about a third of the new arrivals came from Sweden. Other significant sources of investment in 2008 were the UK, Germany and United States. Chinese companies were also among the group of new investors in Finland.

From the new investments 60% were conducted as business acquisitions and the rest were greenfield investments. The Helsinki metropolitan area attracted 58% of the investments.

Globally, the total value of foreign direct investment was USD 1400 billion in 2008, according to UNCTAD. Compared to 2007, this represented a 21% decrease, including a fall of 30% in the EU.

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