Half of the world's population now live in this corner of Asia and a third of the global GDP is produced here. The economic growth of the world continues to move eastward and Swedish companies have to follow.
The last few years one or two companies per week have sought to establish business in China and today more than a thousand are settled there. The number of medium-sized and smaller companies stand out in the statistics, mainly service and companies that cater directly to Chinese consumers. In India a Swedish company is registered every second week and five Swedish companies are establishing relations with Indian companies every week. India has become an important market for Swedish engineering companies, for production as well as for knowledge-intensive development as India in recent years has opened up for direct foreign investments.
The big corporations were first, arriving with numerous staff and huge resources. Now smaller and medium sized companies are arriving in scores, companies that face the same challenges but with considerably less resources. These smaller companies do however find just as interesting opportunities. The explosive economic growth in Asia, with large numbers of new companies and entrepreneurs, offer every day new opportunities to find customers or new partners for business development
No company can today afford not to have an Asia perspective in their strategic planning. This bring new challenges to both board and management, whether the company is already somewhere in Asia or is considering opportunities there.
