India growth story charms Nokia-land

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The sixth happiest nation in the world -- Finland -- is trying to make the most of the India growth story by hard-selling itself as an investor and an investment destination.

Though the current volume of trade between the two countries at 490 million euros hardly sounds happy, Finland --

from which the markets of Nordic and Baltic countries as well as Russia can be accessed -- is showcasing itself as the land of business opportunity. Or "India's gateway to Europe", as the Finns love to point out.

"Starting a business is easy in Finland. Non-Finnish companies are treated at par with local companies -- the company registration process is rapid and there's a minimum of red tape," Tuomo Airaksinen, CEO of Invest in Finland, funded by Finland's ministry of trade and industry, told a group of visiting Indian journalists.

"This not only saves time and money, but can also be an absolute necessity in cases where time to market is of crucial

importance.

"Finland offers world-class infrastructure, communications technologies and human resources," he added, listing the other pluses.

The exports of India -- Finaland's fifth largest trading partner in Asia -- are concentrated in the textiles and clothing sector (50.4 per cent) and chemicals (15.8 per cent).

Finland's exports, accounting for 330 million euros, are concentrated in electrical equipment, machinery, forest industry and telecom equipment.

Driven by the success of companies like Nokia, Finland is at the forefront of technological development in information and communications technology, forestry, metals and other key industries.

Giving an insight into growing Indo-Finnish economic ties, Rauli Suikkanen, deputy director of the foreign ministry's unit for Asia and Oceania, said, "About 70 Finnish companies -- including Nokia, Wartsila, Metso, Kone, UPM, Stora Enso, M-Real -- have established themselves in India.

The investments are growing. Between 1991 and 2006 Finnish FDI to India was USD 50 million.

"There's untapped potential in several fields like ICT, environmental technology, energy, health, infrastructure, research and development and forest industry."

On Indian investments in Finland, he said, "There are 18 Indian companies here. They are mostly ICT companies. There's Wipro, Sasken, Infosys and Tata. Seeing India's potential, Invest in Finland has selected India as a target country."

India's growth has Finnish companies like Wartsila Corporation and Kone planning major expansions.

Wartsila, which began operations in India in the early 1980s and has interests in shipping and power plants, will invest five million euros to manufacture controllable pitch propellers for ships in Khopoli in Maharashtra.