Swedish Companies -- World Leading in Innovation, Seek to Invest in Southeast Asia, the New Global Growth Engine

          Co-hosted by Embassy of Sweden, Singapore, the "Sweden - Southeast Asia Business Summit" starts today. Around 600 Swedish companies across business sectors ranging from service to manufacturing and retail are present in Southeast Asia and inventing tomorrow's world.
         

Mr Mikael Damberg, Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation

          Mr. Mikael Damberg, Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, says: "The opportunities for trade between Sweden and Southeast Asia are immense. With a rapidly growing middle class and a population of 650 million people, the growth of the region is one of the highest in the world. Southeast Asia has the third largest labour force, and it's the fourth largest exporter in the world. The countries in the region plan to make significant investments in infrastructure in the near future opening up interesting business opportunities."

          Swedish Innovations:
          Millions of hearts around the world beat with the help of a pacemaker. Candles are lit with the help of safety matches. Innumerable lives have been saved with the help of the threepoint seatbelt. These are just a few examples of Swedish innovations that have made a difference. Communicating with Skype, listening to Spotify and playing Minecraft are other examples.

          The Innovation Union Scoreboard 2016, an index published by the European Commission, ranks Sweden as the leading country for innovation among EU member states. The reasons for this include a historic tradition of inventors, a social environment that encourages creativity, a commitment to gender equality and a strong belief in the individual. Close collaboration between research institutes and the private and public sectors is another key factor, setting the foundation for Swedish global companies like Ericsson, Scania and Volvo.

          INSEAD Business School's Global Innovation Index 2016 ranks Sweden in second place once again. The index measures the degree to which countries have an infrastructure that enhances a creative environment and allows for innovation, as well as actual output. Sweden has strengths in terms of both output and input.

          "The purpose of the Sweden - Southeast Asia Business Summit is to provide a platform for Swedish businesses to get insights into the potential that the markets of Southeast Asia have to offer and to identify synergies between companies and across markets," continues Mr. Mikael Damberg, Swedish Minister for Enterprise and Innovation.

          The summit will feature key political and business representatives from Sweden and Southeast Asia, including Mr. Mikael Damberg, Minister for Enterprise and Innovation, Sweden, Mr. Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore; Mrs. Ylva Berg, CEO, Business Sweden -- the Swedish Trade and Invest Council; Mr. Marcus Wallenberg, Chairman of the Board, SEB; Mr. Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive Officer and Director of DBS Group; and many more.

          The "Sweden - Southeast Asia Business Summit" is a joint effort by "Team Sweden" in Southeast Asia which includes the Swedish Embassies, Business Sweden and the Business Associations and Chambers of Commerce in the respective countries.

          For more information, please contact Catharina Jevrell, Head of Media Relations. catharina@jevrell.se, +65-85024237, www.sweden-sea.com/press .