1. Would you please make a brief introduction of Trade & Technology Center, Embassy of Finland? Its mission, its responsibility and structure.
Counselor: We are a consulting organization focusing in accelerating internationalization process of Finnish enterprises, helping them to avoid and minimize risks involved. When we do that, we also help those companies and Finnish economy to grow too. We work closely with Finnish innovation and environment organizations on this common goal. Our organization worldwide has 300 people, among them, 200 people in Finland Trade Centers in 40 countries, and 100 persons in head office in Finland. In China, we have 4 offices, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. In total we are 23 staff of Trade Center working in China. We are organized in industry teams, which mean staff is divided into various industry teams having their responsibility to follow up and find opportunities for Finnish enterprises.
2.What are the main activities of business promotion conducted by the Trade & Technology Center in Beijing?
Counselor: We provide information, advisory and consulting services. In practice,
We organize match-making, we search partners, we do market surveys and organize seminars. And we also help Chinese companies to find partners in Finland. When a Finnish delegation is visiting China, we can organize the professional program for them.
3.Would you please make a brief introduction of Finnish investment in Beijing? What are the main industries have Finnish investors mainly focused on?
Counselor: First, a lot of different industries are involved in. About 200 Finnish enterprises have investment in China, and 70 of them are manufacturing enterprises. The total amount of Finnish investment in China is over Euro 5 billion. Up to now, there are about 60 Finnish enterprises in Beijing-Tianjin area. Among them, Nokia is the most well-known. Many smaller ICT companies have invested in Beijing as well. In total Finnish enterprises employ over 30000 staff in China. As you may know, Finland is the biggest trading partners for China in Nordic countries.
4. As far as you know£¬are those Finnish investors feeling satisfied with local investment climate? And what are their expectations and further requirement for their business operation in Beijing?
Counselor£º Finnish investors seem to be quite satisfied with the local infrastructures, platform and services for foreign investors. Businesses are conducted in a very professional manner and local partners are reliable. These are very important for in future development. Transparency of authorities is getting better. And investors are expecting to see the stability. It is easier to deal with all sectors of authorities.
5. Can you offer your personal prediction and vision about Finnish investment in Beijing?
Counselor: Big Finnish companies have already come to China with their investments. My prediction is that more and more small enterprises will come.
6.Attribute to the newly promulgated ¡°11th Five-Year-Plan¡±, there exist a great amount of business opportunities in Beijing, especially the build-up of the three new towns. Have Finnish investors known about that? If so, are they interested in such field? What services will your organization going to offer to Finnish Enterprises£¬ in order to make them participant in the build-up of those three new towns and then to achieve a win-win success with Beijing Municipal?
Counselor: We know the basics about this plan. Certainly, we will communicate with relevant authorities for detailed information. Finnish companies are interested, no doubt about that. There is information available, which must be analyzed and presented to companies. This is where cooperation between organizations like Invest Beijing and Finland Trade Center can also be fruitful.
7. Can you offer your comments and suggestions on invest climate improvement in Beijing? That is to say, on the stand of a foreign investor, what is the most needed improvement in Beijing?
Counselor: Basically, transparency of functions and with authorities is good and improving. In practical side, environment, like clear air, is a challenge to Beijing Authorities. Both foreign and Chinese people like to see blue sky in Beijing, therefore Beijing Authority should continue investing in keeping the city clean. This would have positive impact in attracting more investments too. We know that traffic is also a challenge to Beijing Municipalities. It is difficult to build enough roads to satisfy the growing traffic demands, but the new public transportation systems will hopefully improve the traffic situation in Beijing.
8. As a Government official, a diplomat, what do you do to protect and safeguard interests of Finnish Enterprises in China? And what are your suggestions on entering and investing in Beijing?
Counselor: We work very closely with Chinese authorities and European Union organizations in helping companies for their problems in customs, trade matters, and intellectual property issues. It is a common interest that criminal companies which violate regulations and laws should be eliminated and prevents them from doing damage to serious and good companies.
For new-comers who want to come to Beijing, they have to do their homework very well. Prepare market surveys and necessary information on Beijing. Only based on correct and updated information, they can make a good entry strategy for China. I still feel that, too many people in Finland and Europe don¡¯t really know how Beijing or China looks like. I encourage them to come to China first to experience and get the feeling of how China works, and only then to make strategy. Then it is also important to have sufficient resources and team to back-up the strategy.
9£®Can you make a briefing of investment climate of Finland? And are there any investment opportunities available now in Finland?
Counselor: There are a number of industries for foreign investors to invest. Finland is ranked as the most competitive country in the world by OECD, 2004 and 2005 consecutively. The unique innovation environment makes Finland attractive. Transparency and efficiency of authorities in Finland are very good, and formalities are easy. Companies are investing significantly in R&D, and there are systems to support this in Finland. Also small company can get support in their R&D work and also in their internationalization actions to bring their innovation worldwide. Finland Trade Center is playing a key role in that game, too.
Finland has a good geographic location. It is a gateway to enter Europe, Scandinavian and Baltic countries, and also western Russia. Finnish companies are very active in their foreign trade, and have had good relations and connections in Europe and growing Russian market.
10£®Anything more you would like to tell our us?
Counselor: I would like to encourage Chinese people to visit Finland. It is a beautiful country with 5 million people and a lot of innovative people and companies in a clean environment. It is a good place to see. Welcome.
