Vanhanen in China calls for more Finnish investments

FinChi Centre opens to help Finnish companies entering Chinese market

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Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) said during his visit to China on Monday that it is beneficial for Finland for Finnish companies to operate in China.
      Speaking in Shanghai on Monday, Vanhanen said that doing business in China helps bring employment to Finland as well.
      "If we stay on the home market and shut doors, the result will be a fall in the standard of living", Vanhanen said.
     
On Monday Vanhanen officially opened the Finland-China Innovation Centre, or FinChi, aimed at establishing links between Finnish and Chinese companies.
      Set up by public funding, FinChi is a joint venture of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the National Technology Agency of Finland (TEKES), and Finpro, an organisation that seeks to help Finnish companies enter the international market.
      About 200 Finnish companies have operations in China. Many companies in the Finnish electronics and engineering industries have moved production to China , bringing some of their subcontractors as well. In the past couple of years. Larger numbers of small and medium-sized companies from many specialist fields have landed in China.
      One of the newest arrivals is the environmental technology company Samill, whose new office in Shanghai was opened by Prime Minister Vanhanen.
     
FinChi's new "company hotel" has room for 20 offices. About half of them already have occupants, and there are reservations for the rest. At the centre, the companies get support and advice from TEKES and Finpro experts.
      China currently attracts more foreign investment than any other country, but international firms have many worries. According to a recent report by the EU Chamber of Commerce, companies say that their most serious problem is that their high-tech products and brands tend to fall into the wrong hands.
      "China copies all foreign technology. Whether it takes one week or half a year depends on the field", says one businessman who has been involved with China for more than 20 years.
      FinChi offers small companies a safer environment for creating new inventions, because it has the support of both the Chinese and Finnish governments, says Finpro President Tapani Kaskela.
     
FinChi also offers Chinese companies a way to enter the Finnish market. The issue was of interest to the group of more than 20 Chinese journalists. However, no Chinese companies have yet indicated an interest in investing in Finland.
      Some of the companies which have launched their Chinese operations with FinChi have found clients in unexpected places. The Finnish consultancy company Sunocus, which employs 30 people, has been hired to train the Communist officials of the city of Huan to help the city become more international, and to capitalise on its large salt deposits.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Perlos expanding in China (17.5.2005)
  Finnish technology companies experience strong growth abroad (29.4.2005)

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