Between 1990 and 1997, the number of foreign-owned companies in Sweden increased more than 40%, from 2,600 to 3,700, and the number is still growing. Companies from Finland, the United States and Norway were behind most of these foreign investments.
Foreign companies have strong incentives to invest in Sweden. Sweden offers access to the European market through its membership in the European Union. Sweden has a strategic position in the Baltic Sea region; trade flows across the Baltic Sea increase more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. Sweden is also the home of state-of-the-art technology, industrial clusters in fast growing sectors and a highly competitive cost structure. Sweden also has a highly educated work-force, and it spends more on R&D (4%) than any other nation.
According to the World Competivenss Yearbook, published by the International Institute for Management Studies (IMD) Sweden is one of the world's ten most competitive nations (the United States is number one). Sweden is also at the forefront of the technological revolution. The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently found Sweden to be the most sophisticated nation as to information technology and internet adoption (United States is number two). It could be said that Sweden today is one large cluster within IT in general and wireless communication in particular. This cluster offers rich investment opportunities, something Microsoft, Intel, Oracle, Nortel, Nokia and several other world leaders in IT and wireless have realized.
The Invest in Sweden Agency, ISA, is a government agency, charged with a responsibility to attract and facilitate FDI. To read more, please visit the ISA website at http://www.isa.se.