The Swedish American Chamber of Commerce has access to contacts in Sweden that can help expand your markets.

Sweden has a position as one of the top investment destinations in the world. While interests are spread over many sectors, life sciences, IT/telecommunications, automotive, forestry, and service sectors are among the most crucial.

Why Invest in Sweden?
The numbers of reasons are infinite, but to put it simply: Sweden offers a business friendly climate with a long tradition of industrial and technical cutting-edge knowledge. Sweden is a gateway to the European Union, Scandinavia, the Baltic countries and the rest of Europe.

1. Advantages of the Swedish tax system includes: unrestricted deductibility of interest expense regardless of tax liability on investment, no Swedish tax-liability on outbound interest payments, no debt/equity limitations, no foreign exchange controls, dividend participation exemption and an efficient and accessible tax administration.
2. As a member of the EU, Sweden has access to the world's largest free trade zone of almost 500 million consumers.
3. As one of the most deregulated countries within the European Union, Sweden offers an efficient, no-nonsense administrative apparatus.
4. An excellent command of English as well as numerous other foreign languages are found within the highly educated workforce. Sweden also has the most advanced and widespread Information Technology knowledge in Europe.
5. Due to the deregulation of the electrical energy market and the industry electrical tax exemption, the electricity prices are among the lowest in Europe. The extremely liberal telecommunications market helps to create an infrastructure that is not only well developed but also cost-efficient.

Do you want more information about investing in Sweden? Visit www.isa.se Invest In Sweden Agency.

Sweden and its geography
Sweden, located in the north of Europe by the Baltic Sea, is the third largest country in Europe. The population however, is only about 9 million people, leaving the inhabitants a magnificent, undestroyed and sparsely populated landscape. The capital, Stockholm on the east coast, has been the dominant trading center throughout the years. Other major cities, such as Gothenburg and Malmo in the south are also important business centers.

Water, wood, ore and mental power are the major natural resources of Sweden. Historically, the Swedish exports have been based on raw materials and energy from the mountains, the forests and the waterways. This, in combination with the tradition of inventions, innovations and entrepreneurship has made Sweden a famous and well-respected trading partner throughout the world.

Swedish Trade
By 800 AD, the Vikings were very good traders, not just raiders. They traveled to the Roman Empire trading for weapons and other useful tools. Since then, the Swedes have become friendlier and provide a wider spectrum of goods and services.

Today, Sweden is a world leader in state-of-the-art technology. Mechanical engineering products make up about one half of Swedish exports. Machinery, electronics and motor vehicles make up the main categories while forest products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and minerals make up another large part.

Swedish companies and products are global and known all over the world. IKEA - furniture; Ericsson - telecommunications equipment and services; Volvo - cars and trucks, Saab - cars and airplanes, AstraZeneca and PharmaciaUpJohn - pharmaceuticals; Hennes & Mauritz(H&M) - clothing; Electrolux - appliances; Tetra Pak - packages and processing equipment, Sandvik - machinery equipment and tools; Atlas Copco - rock drills and power tools; the world's oldest company ABB - electrical engineering and numerous other engineering and forest products. These companies are an important part of the Swedish economy. Sweden has always been a leading country in technology and engineering.

Sweden - a world leader in Information Technology
Sweden and its population are world leading in using the Internet and wireless communications. That's one of the reasons Motorola and Sun Microsystems are among the foreign investors that have placed their Northern European head offices in Sweden.

The Swedish Constitution
Sweden is a Constitutional Monarchy with a single-chamber parliamentary government. The King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, has as head of state only ceremonial duties. The royal family will later pass the duties on to the eldest daughter, Crown Princess Victoria.

The ruling Government is elected every fourth year and next election will be in September 2010. Currently the Conservatives, allied with the Center Party, the Liberals and the Christian-Democrats rules. The Socialist block includes the Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party, and the Social Democrats have been in power almost continuously since the 1930s.

On January 1, 1995 Sweden became a member of the European Union. This membership made Sweden a part of the world's largest free trade area with almost 500 million consumers. As the largest economy in Scandinavia and with a location at the crossroads of the emerging Baltic markets and the EU, Sweden is strategically well placed for companies wishing to expand their business in this area. This, in combination with the business friendly Swedish environment, has led an increasing number of well-known companies, such as Motorola, Bausch & Lomb, Sun Microsystems to establish regional headquarters in Sweden.

Links about Sweden
Tourism and travel in Sweden - www.visitsweden.com
CityGuide Sweden - www.cityguide.se
Stockholm Information Service - Stockholm's visitor's guide - www.stockholmtown.com

Government resources
Sweden Direct - This web page will take you to all governmental web sites in Sweden -www.sverigedirekt.se
ITPS - Policy intelligence, evaluation and statistics from the Institute for Growth Policy Studies - www.itps.se
Vinnova - Information about innovation policy anlysis - www.vinnova.se

Work and live
Dep. of Immigration - Information about what permits you need to live and work in Sweden - www.migrationsverket.se
Consulate General - When you are looking for information on how to apply for a visa to Sweden - www.swedeninfo.com
National Labour Market - National Labour Market Administration on unemployment, working, recruting - www.ams.se

Find a company
Swedish Chambers of Commerce - www.cci.se
Yellow Pages - Gula Sidorna - www.gulasidorna.se
Confederation of Swedish Enterprise - Svenskt Näringsliv - www.svensktnaringsliv.se
Stockholmsbörsen - The merger between OM and the Stockholm Stock Exchange - www.stockholmsborsen.se
Gateway to Sweden - www.wwlink.se/gateway/english/

Swedish newspapers
Dagens Nyheter - www.dn.se
Svenska Dagbladet - www.svd.se
Aftonbladet - www.aftonbladet.se
Expressen - www.expressen.se