Do you have plans for a foreign establishment, but are not sure how everything works? Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers has specialists who cooperate in an active global network that can help you with all the different phases in a foreign establishment.
We talked with Lennart Svantesson from Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers to find out more about market issues and reflections on start-ups, since the financial crisis has affected many companies.
- It is hard to say exactly how much the financial crisis has affected but there are still companies that establish abroad, but we can hardly note a slowdown. But, even if it's bad times, companies rarely stop their expansion plans outside our borders, but instead see opportunities. Right now we have many customers who are actively looking and exploring other markets, which may seem a good positioning for the future as the economies and the demand increases.
Interesting countries for Swedish companies right now are China and India but also other parts of Asia are beginning to emerge as alternative locations.
- Many companies choose to locate in a neighbouring country, in order to minimize the distance and thus obtain a better control over the establishment’s different phases. For example, when foreign companies choose the Nordic countries they usually start in Sweden and then establish themselves in our neighbouring countries.
- Usually, we continue to be involved with the customer after the establishment is completed. This is a natural step in the process. Our customers often have follow-up questions that we answer e.g. tax and sales tax rules, which may differ substantially between different countries. We have the opportunity to help in various ways, e.g. how to finance a foreign establishment, which these days can be a significant difficulty. We are approximately 150 000 employees with offices in 150 countries, so we have a good coverage and representation on all continents.
Tony Harkén