Swedish Ambassador to Malaysia Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt said Malaysia is considered a prime gateway to the Asean market by Nordic countries, due to its favourable business environment, good logistics, facilities and access to resources. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — Malaysia is considered a prime gateway to the Asean market by Nordic countries, due to its favourable business environment, good logistics, facilities and access to resources.

Investments from the Nordic countries, namely Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have indeed grown over the years, with some of the big global names such as Nokia from Finland, Ikea (Sweden), Lego (Denmark) and Jotun Paints (Norway) having long established their brands in Malaysia.

Swedish Ambassador to Malaysia, Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt said several Swedish brands have a long presence in Malaysia due to its attractive business climate.

“We do our best to promote trade but at the end it is the companies which make the decision whether this country is good for business or not. So far, Malaysia has been living up to that standard and there are many Swedish business presence here,” he told Bernama after appearing on Bernama News Channel’s talk programme, Bernama Today, at the Malaysian National News Agency’s head office here recently.

Besides the popular home furniture and appliances company IKEA, other renowned Swedish brands in Malaysia include home appliances company Electrolux, clothing retail H&M, Scania (commercial vehicles producer specifically heavy trucks and buses) and multinational networking and telecommunications company Ericsson.

Also present at the BNC interview, were Denmark’s Ambassador to Malaysia, Jesper Vahr, Norwegian Ambassador to Malaysia, Gunn Jorid Roset and the deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Finland in Malaysia, Teemu Laakkonen.

As for Norway’s investments, Roset said there were close to 50 Norwegian companies operating in Malaysia.

She said the country was considered a reputable market with good logistics that enabled them to operate from here and also with the rest of the ASEAN region.

“Energy sector has been always the strongest foothold for us here, as well as oil and gas. There is also increasing interest in renewable and solar energy. The big players are around here because they see Malaysia as a good market and base for them,” she added.

Notable Norwegian companies operating in Malaysia include Scatec Solar, Aker Solutions, DNV GL, Jotun, Telenor (known locally by the name of their subsidiary DiGi) and shipping company Wilhelmsen.

Vahr said there were various Danish investments in Malaysia, but the most significant was in the pharmaceutical sector.

One of the leading names is Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company in diabetes care, which made Malaysia as its regional hub and clinical centre. It entered the Malaysian market in 1992 and moved its South-East Asia headquarters from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in 2010.

For Finland, Laakkonen said there were many Finnish firms looking at Malaysia as their regional hub for Southeast Asia due to several bullish factors including logistics and talents.

“We have our own strengths like Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector, while education is one thing that we are engaging (with Malaysia) right now,” he added.

On the Nordic countries’ focus of cooperation with the new Malaysian government, Swedish ambassador Juhlin-Dannfelt said they will continue to push for areas of priorities such as climate change and sustainability.

Danish ambassador Vahr also added that a key factor for Malaysia’s attractiveness as an investment destination was their predictability for their business partners regardless of who governed the country.

He said the continuity in terms of business rules remained in tandem with the business environment and that was an important factor in sustaining their commercial activities in the country.

Roset said it will be also crucial for the Malaysian business community to seek cooperation based on the respective strengths and expertise offered by businesses from the Nordic countries.

She said businesses would have to look into what were the priorities of the new government and match that with what the countries had to offer as a region or an individual country. The focus for example could be on renewable energy, environment, sustainability and palm oil industry, she said.

The Nordic countries form a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and North Atlantic, with a combined population of around 27 million people. — Bernama