Finland, always among the top 3 wealthiest and happiest countries in the world, has a thriving and flourishing economy.
In many areas, Finland has no competition, such as forestry, energy, cleantech, food security, etc. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Finland is on the rise since 2013 as newer plants to produce cleaner and renewable energy were initiated. Another area where the country has made leaps and bounds is Information Technology (ICT).
Let’s discuss what avenues lie open for international and local investors who wish to see their wealth grow in the most ideal country in the world.
Cleantech
To start with, cleantech (short for clean technology) is a direct result of a national paradigm shift. Finland leads the world in employing energy-efficient methods in almost all its production processes. Currently, the cleantech sector is estimated at US$ 25B, with more than 2000 companies and a workforce of 50000 plus. Cleantech is not limited to energy though, it spreads to every process that involves electricity, water, or generates waste or greenhouse gases.
There is room for new investors to implement innovative ideas to ensure a reduction in water wastage, uses less electricity, and produce lesser greenhouse gases.
Bioeconomy
Almost 73% of Finland is covered by forests. The country is a leading producer of timber-related products such as packaging material, paper, pulp, furniture, wooden products, etc. The revenue generated by this sector as of 2020 is EUR 50B per annum.
The decline in paper due to digitalization globally has somewhat reduced the demand for paper, hence the industry has shifted to producing fiber for garments, biofuels, and chemicals from the forest residual.
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
The Finnish ICT sector has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years. A significant number of FDI projects were initiated which brought the latest hardware and software to the country. Mobile manufacturing, telecommunications, healthcare, and life sciences are a few fields that were revolutionized by the ICT turnover in the country.
Nokia, the company that dominated the cellphone markets for two decades across the globe has left a generation of supremely talented, and highly skilled workforce in its wake. Men, Materials, and labor are available, one only needs the right kind of capital to start manufacturing, and this attracted global cellphone manufacturers to Finland after the shutdown of Nokia.
Manufacturing
The biggest concern of the floor manager at a manufacturing plant is productivity or output. Luckily, the Finnish workforce is not only highly skilled and talented but very dedicated and productive too. Studies have shown that Finnish is 5 times more productive than labor elsewhere in the world.
This is one reason why large Finnish manufacturers are capable of building ships and power plant engines, heavy-duty mining and drilling equipment, and agricultural machines and export worldwide.
Finnish equity market
If all the above sounds too much to you, and you plan to invest in something subtle and rewarding at the same time. Your best shot is investing in the Finnish equity market. Many local firms will invest your money in the pool of portfolios of your choice with a steady percentage profit. The losses are few, and that too is mitigated by the profit-making sectors in your chosen portfolio, hence the only loss is a reduction in your profits.
Health and medical equipment
Finland has undoubtedly the world’s best healthcare facilities that employ the most advanced machines and equipment. Millions of dollars are spent annually on R&D for developing newer and more sophisticated tools to assist medical care. Finland is one of the few countries in the world that is making any progress in life-lengthening sciences.
In this scenario, being part of this multi-billion market is surely a profitable way to invest your money.
