Inversió estrangera directa (IED) a Finlàndia

FDI in Figures

Due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Finland came to an abrupt halt in 2020. According to the World Investment Report 2021 published by UNCTAD, Finland's FDI inflows amounted to USD 13.6 billion in 2019 and decreased to USD 2.6 billion in 2020. In the same year, the total FDI stock amounted to USD 97 billion. According to recent data by OECD, the majority of the investment stock comes from Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and China. The combined share of the investment stock from the EU area is at 90%. Examined by industry, inward FDI to Finland are mainly directed towards enterprises engaged in manufacturing, financial and insurance activities, information and communication, real estate, wholesale and retail trade. Figures from Statistics Finland shows that during 2020, Finnish investors’ returns from foreign direct investments totalled EUR 11.3 billion; whereas returns generated by foreign owners on direct investments to Finland totalled EUR 5.5 billion. According to the latest data by OECD, in the first half of 2021 FDI inflows to the country totalled USD 0.6 billion, compared to a negative flow of USD 2.4 billion one year earlier.

The country’s strengths include a highly educated workforce, a knowledge-based and innovative economy, a reputation for stability and lack of corruption, competitiveness, a strategic position at the centre of a dynamic zone formed by Russia, Scandinavia and the Baltic countries and its orientation towards high technology, research and development. Finland’s weak points are the small size of its market, a high vulnerability to the international situation, substantial labour costs and a high degree of dependence of the country’s banking sector on the Swedish and Danish financial sectors. Significant amendments to the Monitoring of Foreign Corporate Acquisitions Law (172/2012) entered into force in 2020, widening the scope of acquisitions that are subject to mandatory pre-approval. Overall, Finland has a very friendly business environment, as shown by the fact that the country ranked 20th out of 190 countries in the latest edition of the World Bank's Doing Business report (although it lost three positions compared to the previous publication).

What to consider if you invest in Finland

Strong Points

The country's strong points:

• Political stability
• A strategic geographic location between Scandinavia, Russia and the Northern European expanding markets
• A multilingual population
• One of the least corrupt countries in the world
• Expertise in green technology, manufacturing, health and the ICT industry
• An extremely industrialised economy, based mainly on the free market and with a high work productivity 
• High spending in R&D
• High-end industries

Weak Points

Finland's main weak points:

• Geographic vulnerability
• A decrease in industrial competitiveness
• Fragility of the banking sector (regional exposure, especially to Russia)
• A small internal market
• Ageing population 
• Deterioration of the current account
• Large household debt

Government Measures to Motivate or Restrict FDI

Finland does not discriminate between foreign and national companies. As such, support in the form grants, loans, tax benefits, equity participation, guarantees, and employee training can be available to all firms. Subsidies for start-up companies are available for establishing and expanding business operations during the first two years of activity. Investment aid can be granted to companies in the regional development areas, especially SMEs (but also bigger companies in case of significant job creation).
In order to promote foreign investment, the government has created a Team Finland network that serves as a one-stop shop for businesses.

Bilateral investment conventions signed by Finland

Finland is a signatory to over 80 bilateral investment treaties. You can consult them on UNCTAD's International Investment Agreements Navigator.