Sweden provides every opportunity to do great business. Ideas thrive, expertise is plentiful, and strikes are rare.
Sweden and the Nordic Region in general have a low level of corruption. Swedes are well-educated, hard-working, and self-motivated. The tax system is efficient and predictable. In the Swedish labour market, flat organisations and personal responsibility prevail. The legal system is competent, evolved, and predictable, both in the courts and in arbitration institutes. Compared to the rest of the world, the Swedish system for entrepreneurship is remarkably robust and designed for long-term business.
Inventiveness
Sweden has long produced innovations in a variety of areas. Famous Swedish inventions range from wrenches and disposable diapers to geothermal heat and lighthouses. Dynamite, respirators, zippers and Spotify, as well as Bluetooth, pacemakers, walkers, and parental leave, are all Swedish innovations that have changed the world. Well-known brands to come out of Sweden include Volvo, IKEA, Ericsson, H&M, Absolut, etc.
Green Technology
In the north of Sweden, millions will be invested to reach a fossil-free society when industry, government and universities cooperate closely. Several of the world’s IT giants have invested heavily in Sweden’s north to build server halls. An international working group within the technical university in Luleå is developing batteries for the future, and the whole city of Kiruna is being moved to make it possible to develop mining of precious materials that will contribute heavily to the green revolution in Europe.
Innovation and Business Presence
Since 2007, the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been assessing the innovation capacity of countries. Results are presented annually in The Global Innovation Index. This year, out of 132 countries, Sweden ranked third.
Despite Sweden being a small country, its exports are significant, giving Sweden a major presence in many different markets. Sweden also has a great business climate, with a high level of trust in government services and a low level of bureaucracy and corruption.
Knowledge
Sweden also stands out in the ranking as a knowledge-intensive country. In terms of investment per capita in research and development, Sweden ranks third in the world. In combination with many high-ranking universities, this provides great conditions for innovation. According to the British research company QS, both Lund University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology are ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. Sweden not only has top universities, but also a breadth of universities in many different locations across the country. This is a strength that enables Sweden to translate its innovations into new products and services.
Low Corruption
A low level of corruption is crucial for the development of healthy businesses and for focus to be placed on the issues that are important for good business. The Nordic countries can all be found in the top five in the 2022 Corruption Perception Index.
A Stable Labour Market
Through a long-established system, with strong worker and employer organisations that negotiate and, by tradition, resolve issues regarding wages, working hours, leave, etc. by consensus, conflicts are avoided, and social partners take great responsibility for avoiding strikes and other things that interfere with production and working life.
Through social partner agreements, new rules have recently come into law that satisfy both employers’ needs for flexibility and employees’ needs for security.
“Social partners take great responsibility for avoiding strikes and other things that interfere with production and working life.”
Taxation
Sweden’s corporate tax rate and tax levies are in line with those of other countries, which means that Sweden has a relatively high total tax levy compared to many other countries. However, the difference between Sweden and the OECD and the EU averages has been decreasing since the 2000s.
Since the late 1990s, Sweden has lowered taxes on labour by nearly 5% of GDP, although from an international perspective, taxes on labour remain high. Another area in which Sweden stands out, although in the other direction, is the comparatively low property tax. Inheritance and gift tax as well as wealth tax have been abolished, and the real estate tax has been reduced. This makes the current property taxation in Sweden around 1% of GDP, compared to 2.3% in EU-15.
SCC Arbitration Institute
The SCC Arbitration Institute has provided a neutral, independent, and impartial forum for prompt and efficient commercial dispute resolution around the world since 1917. The SCC is a pioneer when it comes to making changes to meet the growing needs of businesses, with a variety of solutions that safeguard procedural interests as well as different solutions to keep costs down. The SCC has long been known for providing a neutral platform between East and West and North and South for dispute resolution between states and state-owned businesses. For a closer review of the Swedish court system, we have compiled an overview.
Independia Law
At Independia Law, we focus on helping our clients manage their businesses and any disputes in an efficient manner. With our strong and extensive network, we can handle all issues relating to setting up businesses in Sweden, be it incorporation, premises, visas, administration, taxes, intellectual property protection, regulatory compliance, etc., and can help our clients build a strong structure for their Swedish operation. Independia Law is a natural hub for anyone wanting to start a business in Sweden.
When a business conflict arises, or when there’s a potential dispute in the air, there may be a need for concrete advice or representation in court or through arbitration. At Independia Law, we have been handling these types of cases with great success for the past 30 years.
Thanks to our long and broad experience, regularly representing states, state companies, and businesses in most sectors, we can quickly grasp new circumstances, whether they pertain to real estate, B2B, intellectual property law, labour law, or other fields. Within the framework of our organization, we serve clients who speak English, French, Arabic and Swedish.
As members of IR Global and a range of other national and international connections, we have valuable insight into other cultures and can handle complex international issues with great efficiency.
