Stockholm Business
| Quite simply, Stockholm is the financial, business and economic hub of Sweden, with most major business transactions and major Swedish companies (such as Ericsson, Electrolux, Ikea, Saab and Volvo) all based in the capital. Further afield, Stockholm is also a major regional player, principally in the merging Baltic markets and within the EU. Although Sweden has opted to stay out of the EMU (European Monetary Union) and thus not adopt the euro as its currency, the city’s major trading partners are all European. The offices around Sergels torg and Hamngatan manage one of the most powerful economies in Europe. Both Stockholm and the larger Swedish economy have adapted to the decline in their traditional engineering base by diversifying into telecommunications and other ideas- and design-based industries, especially mobile communications and information technology (IT). In 2000, an IDC survey put Sweden ahead of the US as the world’s leading IT nation. After a slow down in 2001, today it looks like the region’s economy is back on track. All indicators show a substantial increase in economic activity in Stockholm in 2004 and 2005. The IT industry, for example, which was severely hit by the global downturn in 2000, is recovering its earlier strength. There is already talk about a new boom in the IT sector. The banking and financial services sectors are also experiencing higher demand. The number of new companies being established is increasing while bankruptcies have declined, and employment levels are up as well, with some 8,000 new jobs expected to be created in Stockholm in 2005. Roughly 75% of the Swedish information and electronics industry is located in the Greater Stockholm area. Global companies with a presence in Stockholm include KPMG and Sheraton. Stockholm’s place in the top 10 of international congress and conference venues further reinforces its position in the global trade circuit. Translation services are available from Activator RW-Consult AB, Storhagsv 23 (tel (08) 749 0925; website: www.activator.se). The Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Västra Trädgårdsgatan (tel: (08) 5551 0056; fax (08) 5663 1675; e-mail: info@chamber.se; website: www.chamber.se), can provide information on many aspects of doing business in the city. |