Although the Chinese economy has taken a slight downward turn, Finnish companies say they are doing reasonably well on the Chinese market, according to Regional Manager Mika Relander at Finnvera. The outlook for the cleantech and ICT sectors is good. … Read more

In a competitive situation, export financing offers tangible benefits to both exporters and buyers. Financing is a way for the export company to protect against risks and improve its competitiveness by being able to offer better payment terms to the b… Read more

The year 2018 was very positive for the availability of SME financing. In Finland, economy grew briskly, and during the first months of the year, enterprises’ investments and the financing we granted for them were increasing slightly. Competition amon… Read more

China is firmly at centre stage in world politics and the world economy as well as an important export destination for Finland. However, this is hardly reflected in the demand for export credit guarantees thus far. Now the demand for export credit gua… Read more

Uncertainty, the threat of protectionism and trade policy crises characterised the world economy in 2018. Nevertheless, from the perspective of our business operations, the year was as successful as expected. We still granted more than EUR 3 billion i… Read more

SMEs that have plans for internationalisation usually enter the global business arena by using a route that turns south after Sweden: towards Great Britain, Germany or other Central European countries – or directly to the Chinese or American markets. … Read more

SMEs are too stuck in old operating models in their export activities. Payment methods that enterprises find safe diminish SMEs’ courage to expand trading to foreign countries or to seek new clients. The main problems are the use of certain payment me… Read more

Port operations, the forest industry and the energy sector form a close-knit union in Kymenlaakso. In the coming years, the clusters’ investments will rise to even hundreds of millions of euros. The EUR 100 million LNG terminal being built in Hamina i… Read more

Finns are entrepreneurial in nature – maybe even unknowingly. Many are cautiously interested in entrepreneurship but do not know how to get started or how, for example, funding of EUR 1.5 million could be arranged for a business acquisition. Finding l… Read more

An SME needs to identify and manage export-related risks. Risks increase when no less than 95 per cent of turnover comes from export trade. Pivatic’s General Manager Mika Virtanen wants to ensure two things: the high quality of products and fund repat… Read more

When talking about export financing, the topics that often come up include the total exposure related to export credit guarantees that has increased during the past few years as well as the concentration of financing in a couple of sectors. In Finland… Read more

Exports to Indonesia by Finnish enterprises are increasing, but the figures are still well short of the highs seen during the peak years. South-East Asian countries are investing billions in improving their infrastructure.Last year, Finnish enterprise… Read more

SMEs that are considering entry into the export trade or that are expanding into new markets need more information about the benefits of credit insurance. Timo Nisumaa from Finnrisk, an enterprise specialising in corporate credit management, lists thr… Read more

For enterprises getting into the field of the export trade, the crucial obstacle may be the fear of credit losses. It is often believed that risks are associated with new clients. However, credit insurers’ experiences indicate that the most usual cred… Read more

Denmark is Finland’s 15th largest export country and the 10th biggest import trading partner. Compared to Finland’s trade with Sweden and Norway, Denmark is clearly a smaller trading partner. However, there are plenty of opportunities for enterprises … Read more

Finnvera’s number of clients is over 27,000 of which approximately 100 are large corporates. However, measured in euros, the highest volume comes from the large corporates’ export trade financing. The total exposure of Finnvera’s export credit guarant… Read more

There is strong demand for Finnish health technology around the world: last year, the sector’s exports grew to EUR 2.2 billion. One of the newcomers is Elers Medical Finland, led by CEO Niklas Elers, who is determined to defeat hospital-acquired infec… Read more

Arranging financing for a foreign buyer is often an important element of export trade negotiations, in both small and large transactions. Buyer financing increases the competitiveness of the offer and improves the opportunities of closing the deal in … Read more

Companies in the midcap category have the highest potential for boosting Finnish exports. The fastest road to growth is through acquisitions. This has been the path taken by Aulis Asikainen’s Comatec, which has an impressive 28 acquisitions under its … Read more

Export trade involves credit risks arising from the buyers themselves as well as from the buyer’s bank and country. The more customised and significant the export trade transaction is, the higher the significance of risk mitigation.The realisation of … Read more

When a Finnish company is preparing a sales contract with a foreign buyer, one of the first decisions it makes is the payment method to be used in the transaction. Payment methods differ from each other in many ways but, from the exporter’s perspectiv… Read more

The platform economy has become a phenomenon. While the space is currently dominated by companies from the United States and Asia, the opportunities presented by the platform economy are also starting to be widely recognised in Europe. The Finnish com… Read more

There are an estimated 200–300 Finnish companies operating in Norway, but this number may increase quickly. Norway is regularly ranked among the 3–4 most interesting export markets in surveys. Kokkola-based Mesmec is one example of a company seeking g… Read more

When financing exports, Finnvera considers environmental and social impacts as part of the overall risk assessment of the projects financed. The assessment of the environmental and social risks plays an important role in financing projects carried out… Read more

When talking with SMEs that export goods and services, it sometimes turns out that exporters have anything but a clear idea of the various risks and hedging options related to payment transactions and the financing of export trade. Therefore, we made … Read more

Sometimes opinions change swiftly. Some were already prepared to write off the entire Finnish forestry industry as a thing of the past, despite the fact that the investments of forestry companies – even during the darkest years of financial crisis – w… Read more

Environmentally friendly financing, innovative products and services, online services and digitalisation are important themes for SMEs even at an international level. These themes were discussed in Helsinki in June 2017 as Finnvera hosted the annual m… Read more

Finnvera and TD Securities have closed a refinancing guarantee allowing the refinancing of around USD 85 million which is a part of a USD denominated buyer credit guarantee facility in the amount of USD 200 million arranged by Natixis to finance Nokia… Read more

Financial institutions are bound by the duty to know their customers – Finnvera’s KYC policyMany elements in financing operations are based on national and international laws and regulations, which Finnvera must also comply with. The obligation to kno… Read more

Sri Lanka, a relatively little-known country for Finnish companies, wants to become an important port of call for marine traffic. The impact of the Chinese Dream, the new Silk Road, reaches far and wide. A prime example of this is Sri Lanka, a miniatu… Read more

When a ship deal worth billions is concluded, you can hear the champagne corks popping also in places other than just Turku Shipyard. The design and construction of a giant cruise ship is a joint effort by several companies acting as drivers in the pr… Read more

Over the years, the Ostrobothnia region has become home to an exceptionally active hub of companies that promote one another’s growth. All the companies in the cluster work with energy in one way or another. Wärtsilä is one of the companies driving ex… Read more

Ensuring that profitable projects do not fail due to lack of financing, is an important part of Finnvera’s mandate as a state-backed risk financier. Katja Keitaanniemi, executive vice president responsible for SMEs at Finland’s Finnvera, explains what sp… Read more

Through reinsurance, Finnvera prepares for increased exposures and, in particular, strives to mitigate the concentration of risks in certain sectors.As part of the company’s risk management strategy, Finnvera has revised its portfolio reinsurance for … Read more

Finnish companies’ business deals with Brazil are traditionally very large. SMEs also have good export prospects.The tunes of the samba, Brazil’s national dance, are gradually turning from a minor key to a major key. The economy of the country with th… Read more

On the competitive international market, financing associated with export trade may give a decisive edge to a Finnish player. The guarantee granted by Finnvera and financing offered by Nordea helped Metso to secure a contract in Oman, where Metso will… Read more

Energy and telecommunications sector companies in particular are attracted to the country.Having overcome its debt problems, Argentina has aroused interest among more and more export companies. For a long time, the country was out of range for Western… Read more

Finnvera’s support enabled us to take risks abroad, says Roope Heinilä, CEO of Smarp.It has long been predicted that services will save Finland’s exports. Services related to information technology, in particular, are growing rapidly and account for o… Read more

International recognition to Finnvera for financing the world’s largest biomass-fired power plantThe arrangement of financing plays an increasingly important role in export trade negotiations, and this trend has gained strength in recent years. The mo… Read more

Norwegians don’t know all the things Finnish companies can do.Norway is seriously overshadowed by Sweden, if the indicator used is exports by Finnish companies. According to the statistics compiled by Finnish Customs, exports to Norway total about EUR… Read more

CEO of Parking Energy Ltd: Norwegians don’t have similar know-how in high technology.Norway’s heavy input into new technology, and especially into the development of electric vehicles, has also aroused the interest of Finnish companies working in this… Read more

India’s telecommunications sector is experiencing aggressive competition. Finnvera believes that export companies will set their sights this year on five countries, in particular.Among the new, opening markets, the greatest demand will focus on Argent… Read more

Stiff competition but almost endlessly opportunities on the marketDubai and Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) attract a growing number of Finnish enterprises. There is demand especially in the health and technology sectors.- The United Arab … Read more

A theme year may bring new opportunities for the cleantech sector. An upturn in the economy is anticipated.After the dismal past year, Finnish companies are anxiously awaiting positive signals from Russia.During this autumn, individual enterprises hav… Read more

Credit insurance and letters of credit help avert unnecessary credit losses, especially on exotic export markets.Most SMEs engaged in exports have rather weak protection against potential credit losses.According to the latest SME Barometer Survey, 15 … Read more

A review of environmental risks also benefits Finnish export enterprises.Finnvera conducts an environmental review of all export projects undertaken by Finnish enterprises where the financial institution’s liabilities exceed EUR 10 million and the rep… Read more

Different factors explain the success of small and large enterprises. According to studies, the company’s management is the most important factor for an SME. A large enterprise, in turn, has access to wider markets for management recruitment and, for … Read more

Next year Kazakhstan will also host the Specialised Expo 2017. Protection of sales receivables is important.Finland may have a long land border with Russia, but it cannot rival with Kazakhstan in Central Asia.The border shared by Kazakhstan and Russia… Read more

Recruiting the right people and the owners’ capacity to take risks are crucial for a company’s growth.Everyone makes mistakes, but you should learn from them, growth entrepreneur Lennu Keinänen urges.Keinänen says that he himself has stepped on all po… Read more

Marju Silander, Managing Director of the Women Entrepreneurs of Finland, sees many solutions for improving the state of the economy. One key factor is to seek growth through internationalisation and transfers of ownership.Finnish working life and ente… Read more

It often comes as a surprise when sales lag behind expectations. An entrepreneur’s advice is to seek local partners.Growth companies entering international markets badly underestimate their need for financing.There are many reasons for this.The most c… Read more

Interview of Joonas Mikkilä, Organization Manager at the Federation of Finnish EnterprisesFederation of Finnish Enterprises’ survey reveals: University students, in particular, have embraced entrepreneurship. One out of five students sees being an ent… Read more