DKCO acted as a Private Professional contributor in the World Bank’s assessment of the subnational investment climate in Finland
DKCO has acted as a Private Professional contributor in the World Bank’s assessment of the subnational investment climate in Finland. The assessment analyses and compares legislative and administrative frameworks applied to small to medium sized companies in six Finnish cities (Helsinki, Mariehamn, Vaasa, Pori, Turku and Tampere).
As a result of having offices in Helsinki, Mariehamn and Vaasa, DKCO could provide data, insights and valuable contacts for three of the six assessed cities in Finland.
We are happy to see that Finland did very well in the assessment and placed above the EU averages in all categories except for the category business start-up, where Finland’s lackluster performance in part can be attributed to long processing queues at the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) and a comparatively cumbersome establishment procedure. Finland also had noticeably large degree of regional variation, which, by and large, is a result of the autonomous regional administration of the Åland Islands (where Mariehamn is located). A significant amount of variation could also be found on the regional level of the Åland Islands, where Mariehamn ranked close to the top within the EU in the categories of building permits and electricity, but fared considerably worse in the business start-up and property transfer categories as a result of its business permit and real estate acquisition permit requirements.
Despite a comparatively good result, the assessment shows that Finland still has areas with a lot of room for improvement. Particularly the cumbersome and lengthy business start-up process is something that we at DKCO come across on a regular basis, and which is something that has a noticeable negative impact on especially transaction schedules. We strongly agree with the World Bank’s conclusions that there is considerable potential in increased digitalization of the Finnish Patent and Registration Office’s areas of responsibility.
Finally, we would like to thank all or our partners and colleagues that contributed with data and invaluable insights.