Next wave of Finnish companies on way to India

NEW DELHI - More than 90 small and medium companies from Finland, employing about 30,000 people, have set up shop in India and another big wave from the Nordic nation is on the way, a Finnish diplomat said here Friday.

“In 2002, there were just 30 Finnish companies in India. Now small and medium Finnish companies are evincing keen interest in setting up their businesses in India,” said Keijo Norvanto, economic counsellor at the Finnish embassy in India.

The sectors that these companies having innovative products and technologies are interested in are infrastructure and machinery, pharmaceuticals and entertainment.

“India needs much higher technology in every field. Infrastructure and machinery industry are developing rapidly, so there is big market there,” said Yatinder Suri, India head of steel company Outokumpu.

Norvanto said software and technology companies have the biggest foothold in India. These include mobile phone company Nokia, data technology service company Tieto, the software company Basware, data security company F-Secure and gaming company Digital Chocolate.

Besides Outokumpu, engineering company Wärtsilä, elevator manufacturer Kone, engineering giant Metso and cargo handling equipment firm Cargotec are also in India already.

Currently, India has about 34 production facilities set up by Finnish companies and the largest one is the Nokia mobile telephone manufacturing plant in Chennai, said IlpoSarikka, regional manager of the finnish export promotion association, Finpro, in India.

He said factors making it easier to start business in India include good language skills and a high level of education among employees.

In 2009, Finland exported goods worth Euro 450 million to India, while India exported goods worth Euro 230 million to Finland. The total bilateral trade in that year accounted for Euro 680 million.