The country offers superb R&D facilities, a highly educated workforce, and access to markets in northern Europe
When IT major Wipro Technologies acquired Finland-based Saraware Oy for Rs 146 crore in 2006, the deal helped Wipro break into high-growth segments such as secure communications.
It was also part of Wipro’s strategy to move closer to its clients in the Nordic region by getting local people to service its customers better. Saraware was an excellent fit. The 21-year-old Finnish company had competence in the areas of radio networks and secure mobile platforms and had 200 people working for it.
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Wipro is among a host of Indian companies that have landed in Finland for almost similar reasons. TCS has had its presence in Finland for the last 10 years. Infosys, Sasken, Tooltech and Zensar are among the other Indian companies. Although majority of the firms are from the IT sector, there are exceptions. MJ Biopharm acquired a Finnish firm Medipolis GMP in the middle of January 2007. While most Indian firms have preferred to take the M&A route, only a few have gone in for greenfield projects. “We have seen this quite a lot. Seventy percent of the deals that we are doing are M&As and only 30% are greenfield operations. Seems to be so that M&A is the easiest way into the market,” says Jari P. Ängeslevä, Investment Director, ICT Cluster, Invest in Finland.
| DARE/country facts | |
| Area | 338,000 Sq Km |
| Average Temperatures | 13°C (Summer) / -2°C (Winter) |
| Population | 5.3 Million |
| Population Density | 17.4 persons per sq km |
| Labor Force | 2.86 million |
| National Language | Finnish (91.2%) and (Swedish 5.46%), English spoken by 82% of the population |
| GDP per capita | 31,866 Euros |
| DARE/doing business | |||
| Ease of…. | 2008 Rank | 2007 Rank | Change in Rank |
| Doing Business | 13 | 14 | 1 |
| Starting a Business | 16 | 22 | 6 |
| Dealing with Licenses | 39 | 38 | -1 |
| Employing Workers | 127 | 128 | 1 |
| Registering Property | 17 | 16 | -1 |
| Getting Credit | 26 | 21 | -5 |
| Protecting Investors | 51 | 49 | -2 |
| Paying Taxes | 83 | 78 | -5 |
| Trading Across Borders | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Enforcing Contracts | 7 | 7 | 0 |
| Closing a Business | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Source: World Bank | |||
| DARE/opportunity areas |
| - Information and Communication Technology |
| - Clean Technology |
| - Biotechnology |
| - Agriculture |
| - Food Processing |
| - Waste Water Treatment |
| - Mining |
| - Paper and Forestry |
| - Pharmaceutical |
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written by fawd, June 11, 2011
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