Why Sweden

In consideration of which country would provide the optimal choice for our series of investment opportunities, Táin’s selection was based on many of the following considerations:

• Sweden is well prepared for the present GlobalFinancial Crisis.
• Sweden is Scandinavia’s largest economy.
• Sweden’s economy is widely diversified and forecast to be one of the best performing economies In Europe over the coming years.
• Sweden has a facilitative, reliable legal and business environment.
• High market transparency, which in turn allows for higher gearing for real estate.
• Sweden enjoys one of the most socially and politically stable societies in theWorld.
• In Sweden there are low total transaction costs for real estate - a fraction of the costs endured by investing in Irish property transactions.
• Sweden enjoys attractive fiscal and legal structures that facilitate property transactions.
• Swedish property investors have enjoyed realistic high returns in a fundamentally strong property market.
• Sweden was the 4th largest European Real Estate Investment Market in 2007, with almost SEK 140 billion (€15 billion) in real estate transactions.
• Foreign investment accounted for almost 50% of acquisitions, highlighting the growing international interest in Sweden as a property market.

Swedish Economy - Star Performer in Europe
The consensus from leading institutions and economic & business commentators is that Sweden’s economic outlook is bright. A report published on the 11th of August 2008 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded that ‘Swedish banks have been resilient to global financial turmoil’ and went on to state that the ‘IMF Executive Directors commended Sweden for its strong economic performance with high output and employment growth, moderate inflation, a well-functioning financial system, solid public finances and a favourable external position.’ Sweden is poised to remain one of the best performing economies in Europe in the coming years with real GDP projected at 2.2% for the period 2010 - 2019.

As competition between countries and regions for cross-border investment intensifies, Sweden remains one of the world’s most attractive locations for foreign investment (fourth largest in Europe in Real Estate terms in 2007 or €8.8Bn www.isa.se. Strategically located in Northern Europe and endowed with a generous supply of technologies, know-how and natural resources, the country is strongly positioned to meet future investor demands.

Swedish Policies -
Why they were Prepared for the Present Global Financial Crisis
Sweden’s achievements today are very much the result of dealing with past difficulties. After the golden era of the 1950s and 1960s, the economy stagnated in the 1970s and was burdened by large imbalances in the 1980s. A financial crisis and subsequent recession in the first half of the 1990s precipitated a number of institutional changes. A major step forward was the introduction of a framework for budgetary prudence, with a declared goal to maintain a surplus in the public finances over time. Together with newfound independence of the central bank, this laid the foundation for Sweden’s convincing macroeconomic performance of the last decade. Since the mid-1990’s, Swedish fiscal and monetary policies have succeeded in maintaining a macroeconomic environment conducive to solid and sustainable growth. The Central Bank’s independence has been strengthened and strict government spending limits have been imposed under parliamentary control. The current account surplus runs at 7% of GDP. Economic growth has outpaced the OECD average for the last ten year period. Inflation rates over the past five years have been among the lowest of all EU countries. Population is forecast to grow from the present 9.1 million to 10.55 million in 2050.

Sweden is Recognised for Global Competitiveness
Global competitiveness surveys regularly give Sweden top rankings. In its Global Competitiveness Report 2007, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Sweden as the fourth most competitive country in the world. WEF’s Growth Competitiveness Index aims to gauge the ability of the world’s economies to achieve sustained economic growth over the medium to long term. Sweden’s competitiveness has been confirmed in other studies by many other relevant bodies, such as the OECD and the World Bank.

The EU Boost
Sweden’s entry to the European Union in 1995 was equally instrumental to the turn-around. It brought full integration in the European marketplace of Sweden’s trade-oriented economy. It also strengthened investor confidence and triggered a wave of foreign investment into Sweden. Stringent macro-economic policies and implementation of important structural reforms help to explain Sweden’s lead over its European peers. In 2003, Sweden decided not to become a member of the monetary union (EMU), allowing itself to keep control of its own fiscal policy.

Staying on Track
Most economists agree that Sweden’s economic outlook is bright in the near term. The country hosts one of the world’s most internationally integrated economies, where high levels of trade, foreign investment and internationalisation of business and society have contributed to an environment conducive to growth. Sweden is home to global brand names across many sectors, ranging from automotive and telecommunications to paper and pulp, engineering, and financial services. One of the consequences of this is that Sweden has become a relatively open economy, with exports accounting for approximately 45% of GDP versus 20% for the Euro area. Government expenditure, meanwhile, is restrained.

Western Sweden - The Goteborg Region
The promoters are focused on property transactions in Sweden’s manufacturing and technology centre known as ‘the Goteborg region’. Approximately half way between Copenhagen (Danish Capital) and Oslo (Norwegian Capital), the Goteborg region has a population of 1.9 million inhabitants, 150,000 companies and 60,000 students across five universities. The Goteborg Region has shown continued economic growth over time, where global brand names such as Volvo and AstraZeneca co-exist with Scandinavia’s most prolific company start up area. Natural clusters have developed in industries linked to information technology, automotive, biotechnology and biomedicines, textiles and logistics.

The Baltic Sea Region
The integration of the emerging markets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the more developed Scandinavian markets of Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway has created a new, rapidly growing Baltic Sea Region. Of these seven countries, Sweden is the main hub, accounting for a major share of both the consumers and economic activity. Allowing for northern Poland and Germany and parts of western Russia, there is a Baltic Sea Region catchment population of circa 100 million people. Sweden acts as home in the region for the majority of the large international Company’s including Canon, Goodyear Dunlop, Honda, Philips and Toyota for their financial and logistical headquarters.