Globalization and nearshoring what is the future? Nordic-Baltic outlook in engineering
The webinar was held on 18th August 2020 in cooperation with Business Finland, Finnish-Estonian Trade Association, Finnish-Latvian Trade Association, Finnish-Lithuanian Trade Association, Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania, Enterprise Estonia, Investment and Development Agency of Latvia.
The moderator of the event was Mr Timo Vuori, Executive Vice President, International Affairs, Finland Chamber of Commerce.
The webinar included the following presentations,
Wavteq – changes we see and how the future may look for FDI
Global FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) flows have been in decline since 2015. Wavteq forecasts that greenfield FDI will decrease by 50 per cent in 2020. FDI in Europe in medical devices, telecom, consumer electronics, renewable energy, and logistics has been most resilient to the crisis. IPAs (investment promotion agencies) around the world believe that life sciences, ICT, agribusiness, logistics, and clean tech have the best potential for FDI 2020-21.
Asia-Pasific will continue to lead world trade and investment – its basic economics driven by Asia’s growing share of the world economy as well as the specialised industries that Asia dominate. .In many sectors, companies already adopt local (e.g. building materials) or regional (e.g. most medium tech sectors) FDI strategies. it is in high tech manufacturing sectors where FDI is more concentrated. Sectors most prone to centralizing operations globally or in a few regional hubs are sectors most driven by access to talent.
After the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic Europe has opened more than countries in Northern or Latin America. Many companies are planning to leave the United Kingdom for Europe or North Africa because of Brexit. Companies are looking for transparent societies, skilled work force, technologies, good partners, and effective regulation. Changes in supply chain will not happen
quickly says Mr. Chris Knight, CCO & Co Founder, Wavteq.
Safe deliveries and quality valued by companies
According to Mr. Jukka Palokangas, Principal economist, Technology Industries of Finland Eurozone recovered from the first phase of the Covid-19 during May-July period. All developed countries including Western Europe and the Baltic States went through a shock in the Spring 2020. In Finland, the negative effects on the economy have remained rather weak, at least for the time being. The question is how short-time or long-time the recission followed by the pandemic will be. Companies are not looking for low-price countries, but countries which can provide quality and safe deliveries. It takes time to change global supply chains. Enterprises may consider looking for production facilities or sub-contracting partners in Europe or in Asia outside China.
Supply Chain Management with digital solutions
The Baltics can be a new powerhouse for manufacturing. When trade wars, Covid-19 and Global Warming are infecting traditional supply chains, the industry needs new, simple digital tools to handle all operations, and to help move production closer to end markets.
Airfaas is a Multi Party Supply Chain Management Ecosystem that offers these opportunities. Companies need to transform to a new era from old fashion operations to innovative smart solutions to survive. The Baltics can be a key player for this, states Mr. Edward Blomstedt, CEO, Airfaas.
Business Finland in the Baltics
Business Finland hub centre in Warsaw supports Finnish companies for internationalization in the Baltics. Business Finland provides wide variety of services from advice and coaching to Team Finland visits. Team Finland Market Opportunities and Expert Search help Finnish companies find new leads, consultants, and other experts to support international growth, explains Mr. Radek Kukula, Senior Advisor at Business Finland.