Finland

• Anthem: «Maamme» is Finland's national anthem.
• Official languages: Finnish, Swedish.
• Geographical location: it is a country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Norway to the north, Sweden to the northwest, and Russia to the east.
• Administrative divisions: Finland is divided into 19 regions.
• Capital: Helsinki.
• Governance: the politics of Finland take place within the framework of a parliamentary representative democracy. Finland is a republic whose head of state is President, who leads the nation's foreign policy and is the supreme commander of the Finnish Defence Forces. Finland's head of government is the Prime Minister, who leads the nation's executive branch, called the Finnish Government. Legislative power is vested in the Parliament of Finland, and the Government has limited rights to amend or extend legislation. Because the Constitution of Finland vests power to both the President and Government, the President has veto power over parliamentary decisions, although this power can be overruled by a majority vote in the Parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches.
• Population: 5.5 million.
• Currency: Euro.
• GDP: $231.95 billion.
• Time zone: GMT +2, GMT +3.
• Telephone code: +358.
• Barcode: 64.

Trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Finland

Over a few decades, Finland has become one of the richest and most stable countries in the world.

The advantages of Finland are political stability, open economy, highly developed infrastructure and telecommunications, as well as a high level of interaction between companies, scientific centers and universities. Mastery of new technologies, a high level of education and favorable business environment make the country more competitive. 

Finland has its restrictions, which companies may face.

The country has a number of economic advantages that make it attractive for exporters and investors:

• geography — the country's membership in the European Union provides an opportunity to export goods and services to other countries;
• a low level of bureaucracy and lack of corruption;
• an effective business and export support system;
• Finland is involved in the global economy;
• reliable infrastructure;
• highly professional employees;
• a stable financial system and availability of resources.

There are opportunities and challenges for doing business in Finland.

Challenges include:

• quite a long payback period for projects to set up new enterprises;
• a high level of costs by international standards;
• Belarusian companies have poor knowledge of Finnish legislation;
• cultural and linguistic differences;
• small and sophisticated market.

According to the data of the National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus, in 2018 the trade turnover between the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Finland amounted to $127.6 million and compared with 2017 ($122.4 million) increased by 4.3%. 

The export of goods amounted to $18.8 million and decreased by 3.45% (in 2017 — $19.5 million). Imports amounted to $108.8 million and grew by 5.7% (in 2017 — $102.8 million). The balance was negative — $89.9 million.

Commodity turnover of the Republic of Belarus with the Republic of Finland in 2018 (million US dollars)

In 2018, Belarusian exports to Finland totaled 117 commodity items. Compared to 2017, new types of goods amounted to 38 items; for 24 previously exported items, products were not supplied.

The main exports were:

• Insulated wires and cables (41.9% of the total);
• Timber (12.3%);
• Bars of unalloyed steel (10.9%). 

At the end of 2018, the volume of export deliveries for the following commodity items decreased:

• Non-alloy steel wire (34.3%);
• Pipes and profiles welded from ferrous metals (33%);
• Potash and nitrogen fertilizers, fur and fur raw materials, and passenger cars were not delivered.

Export of the most important goods from the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Finland in 2017 — 2018 (thousand US dollars)

The commodity range of imports from Finland in 2018 included 391 commodity items. Compared to 2017, deliveries on 61 items terminated, import of new goods amounted to 60 items.

Import of the most important goods from the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Finland in 2017 — 2018 (thousand US dollars)

Belarus's most valuable products, imported by Finland:

The following goods imported by Finland may be of potential interest to Belarusian exporters:

• Chemical industry products (HS codes 28 — 40);
• Metals and products from them (HS codes 72 — 83);
• Mineral products (HS codes 25 — 27);
• Machinery, equipment and vehicles (HS codes 84 — 90);
• Electrical machinery and equipment, their parts; sound recording and reproducing equipment, equipment for recording and reproducing television images and sound, their parts and accessories (HS code 85);
• Means of ground transport, except for railway or tram rolling stock, and their parts and accessories (HS code 87);
• Rubbers and products from them (HS code 40);
• Products from ferrous metals (HS code 73);
• Articles of stone, gypsum, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials (HS code 68);
• Other base metals; cermets; products from them (HS code 81).

In January — December 2018, the turnover of foreign trade in services of Belarus with Finland amounted to $28.9 million and increased by 127% compared to 2017. The surplus was positive in the amount of $21.2 million. 

The export of Belarusian services to Finland amounted to $25.1 million and increased by 128.3% compared to the same period in 2017. The total volume was dominated by computer, telecommunication and information services. 

Import of services from Finland in January — December 2018 amounted to $3.8 million and increased by 119%. 

In January — December 2018, the volume of Finnish investments on a net basis (excluding debt to the direct investor for goods and services) amounted to $2 429 thousand (in 2017 — «minus» $372.1). The volume of investments received from Finnish investors amounted to $10 804 thousand, including direct investments — $10 234 thousand (reinvestment amounted to $8 029 thousand). For the same period of 2017, these indicators amounted to $13 833 thousand and $13 662 thousand, respectively.

The total amount of investments from Finland accumulated in Belarus as of January 1, 2019 amounted to $81 769 thousand, including the amount of direct investments — $75 533 thousand. 

As of January 1, 2019, direct investments in the amount of $854 thousand were directed from the Republic of Belarus to the Republic of Finland. 

As of January 1, 2019, 24 organizations created with the participation of Finnish capital were registered in Belarus, of which 7 were joint ventures and 17 were foreign.

In 2018, the implementation of several large investment projects in Belarus continued with the participation of Finnish companies, in particular:

• reconstruction and modernization of Lidskoye Beer OJSC (96% of the company's shares are owned by the Finnish company Olvi);
• the construction in Belarus of a network of OMA hypermarkets specializing in the sale of goods for home and summer cottages (18% of the shares belong to the Finnish concern KESKO).

Two major investment projects are under development:

• Construction of four peak-reserve power plants in Belarus on the basis of the Berezovskaya and Lukomlskaya TPPs, Minsk TPP-5 and Novopolotsk TPP to regulate the loads of the power system during the operation of BelAES nuclear power station. The Finnish company Wärtsilä Oy, specializing in the production of power equipment for peak backup stations, participates in tenders for all facilities.
• Construction of waste processing plants in the Minsk region for the production of electricity using unsorted municipal waste as fuel. The participation of the Finnish company Fortum in the specified project is being worked out as the competition is announced.

This article has been prepared on the basis of information provided by the National Centre for Marketing and Price Study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Finland, and taken from public sources. The information presented herein is for informative purposes only. In this regard, it may be useful for the companies, which have been working in Finland for a long time, as well as for those, which are going to enter this market. Any questions, feedbacks and comments concerning this article are welcome. All of them will be fully considered and taken into account, if possible. If you have any information that may be interesting and useful for the visitors of this page, please write to us.

When using the materials of this article, the link to Export.by is obligatory.

Best wishes,

Administration of Export.by

Back to Country Guidebooks List