Survey report by Pohjola and the Aalto University School of Business: Large corporations already see brighter prospects on the horizon
According to recent survey results, large corporations are more optimistic than
a year ago and investments on new businesses are on the increase. They also see
Finland as a future operating environment although the low predictability of
policy-making is regarded as a risk.
Large Finnish corporations have almost one million employees on their payroll,
or 60% of all those employed in the private sector. Moreover, the role of large
corporations in the Finnish economy is much greater through supply chains. Large
corporations still make most of their fixed investments in Finland although
expansion investments will increasingly go abroad. The top 250 companies account
for over 80% of the combined net sales of the companies registered in Finland.
The survey of large Finnish corporations and their prospects was carried out for
the second time by Pohjola and the Nordic Institute of Business and Society
(NIBS), a think tank set up by professors of the Aalto University School of
Business. The survey involved the largest 250 Finnish companies as in the
previous survey.
- Large corporations play a vital role in terms of jobs. Finland must create an
environment where large businesses will continue to invest in Finland. In public
debate, the importance of large corporations is often overshadowed by negative
news, says Hannu Jaatinen, acting Executive Vice President, Banking, Pohjola
Bank plc.
Large Finnish corporations are this year making more investments in the
development of brand new products and services. Finland is again starting to be
an appealing country of manufacture although the use of offshore subcontractors
is anticipated to increase. Russia is again seen as a key potential country for
offshoring.
- Although there are signs of recovery, it is alarming that almost all the
increase in purchases and subcontracting would seem to go offshore. Large
corporations have typically had a key role in buttressing mid-size
subcontractors and even small service firms. The weakening of this leverage
would be dangerous, explains Professor Pekka Mattila, one of the two directors
of the survey project.
The effectiveness of Finnish capital markets - a field studied for the first
time in the survey - is considered important among the companies. Up to 90% of
the large Finnish corporations consider that a well-functioning, domestic stock
exchange is important. More than half of the large corporations do not regard
the current availability of finance as challenging. Â When it comes to risks
associated with the operating environment - the other field studied for the
first time in the survey - large corporations regard the weak predictability of
policy-making and corporate taxation as the most significant threat.
- Around 60% of the respondents consider the weak predictability of policy-
making to be a risk. The companies' view of the poor quality of policy-making is
worrisome. A stable and predictable operating environment is the key to fixed
investments and job creation, continues Jaatinen
The basic statistics were collected from the top 250 Finnish companies in the
autumn of 2013. In addition, the survey covered an extensive electronic
questionnaire sent to key executives and their interviews. The survey
respondents totalled 127 executives representing 99 companies. More than half of
the respondent companies were the same as a year ago. The created research data
is unequalled in Finland in terms of its extent and nature.
For more information, please contact:
Hannu Jaatinen, acting Executive Vice President, Banking, Pohjola Bank plc, tel.
+358 (0)10 252 2874
Pekka Mattila, Professor, Aalto University School of Business, and Group
Managing Director of Aalto University Executive Education, tel. +358 (0)40
738 7221
Pohjola is a Finnish financial services group which provides its customers with
banking, non-life insurance and asset management services. Our mission is to
promote the sustainable prosperity, security and wellbeing of our customers.
Profitable growth and an increase in company value form our key objectives.
Pohjola Group serves corporate customers in Finland and abroad by providing an
extensive range of financial, investment, cash- management and non-life
insurance services. We offer non-life insurance and private banking services to
private customers. Pohjola Series A shares have been listed on the Large Cap
List of the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki since 1989. The number of shareholders totals
around 32,000. Pohjola is part of OP-Pohjola Group, the leading financial
services group in Finland with over four million customers.
www.pohjola.com
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Source: Pohjola Pankki Oyj via GlobeNewswire
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