We know from the ‘Finland as a Business Location – Barometer 2018’ that companies headquartered outside of Finland move more manufacturing, R&D, and management functions from other countries to Finland, compared with their Finnish counterparts. Based on our daily conversations with country managers of these companies, many of them also plan to continue growing their investments to Finland and their employee headcount here.

As the CEO of Amcham Finland, a non-profit organization representing companies headquartered in 16 different countries, I can say that we speak to country managers every week. And while a portion of our conversation is about their own operations for positive and sustainable growth, we also spend a lot of time talking about how to contribute and grow Finland’s economy. They care about their company’s footprint in Finnish society.

Many of these foreign affiliates have been here for decades. They are registered OYs, they are staffed by Finns, they conduct research here, they buy and sell products here, they participate in the Finnish supply chain, they use local service providers, and their employees live, work, and thrive here. The economic term might be ‘foreign affiliates,’ but when you look at the data it’s plain to see; these are Finnish companies with global heritage.

Now more than ever, these multinational companies looking to invest outside of their home market have many options. Governments around the world offer countless incentives, warm and welcoming words, and clear strategies for how companies will succeed in their country. If we are to compete in securing foreign direct investment (FDI), we cannot passively assume that companies will choose us because we’re at the top of global rankings for transparency, education, women’s wellbeing, and metal bands per capita. These rankings do not make companies and business leaders feel especially welcome or valued, and they don’t present clear USPs (unique selling propositions) for leaders making decisions.

Why is this important?

Foreign-owned enterprises represent only 1.2 % of all companies Finland, yet their share of total turnover of all firms operating in Finland is 22.4%. Almost one in five Finns works for a foreign-owned company (17.5%).

When foreign-owned enterprises earn a profit, they reinvest their Finnish and European revenue into research and development, and other activities that support high-paying jobs, global innovations, and partnerships. All of these activities contribute to Finland’s country brand and GDP. Additionally, foreign affiliates contribute to Finland’s sustainability efforts, global networking, exporting, and support for SMEs through their supply chain that contributed 96 billion euros to our economy last year.

So how do we help them?

As a country, we must be welcoming. We must avoid protectionist policies that are proven to repel investment, and we must embrace a constructive approach that makes us competitive. This means proactive discussions and collaboration between the public and private sector. We need to have dialogue that explores different ideas to make us stronger together. Sometimes these conversations are difficult, but we must keep them going.

Partners like Business Finland and community platforms like Amcham Finland are happy to host these discussions. Time spent working together will yield positive long-term results. Meeting with business leaders should be a priority for Finland’s government so that we can work together to grow our common well-being.