Newly started companies and swedish and danish owned companies
Newly started companies
Newly started companies are an important driving force for renewal of the economy. Both Sweden and Denmark have a relatively low number of newly started companies compared to the rest of Europe and it is a nationally prioritised task for both countries to increase the number of newly started enterprises. The Swedish as well as the Danish part of the Öresund region each have a greater amount of newly started companies than the average of their respective countries. There are somewhat more newly started companies in Denmark than in Sweden. The number of newly started companies in the Capital Region of Denmark and Stockholm County is at the same level. In Region Skåne and Region Zealand there are somewhat fewer newly started companies.
In 2006 there were 24 000 new companies started in the Öresund region, which corresponds to 31 percent of all new companies in Denmark and Sweden. 74 percent of the new companies were started up on the Danish side of Öresund.
- Number of newly started companies per 1 000 inhabitants (aged 16-64)
Source: Örestat and the Swedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies.
Most of the new companies in the Öresund region were in the business services sector (33%), trade, hotels and restaurants (29%) and construction (15%). The distribution of new companies in Öresund SE is by and large the same as for the rest of Sweden, but slightly over-represented in wholesale/retail trade. The Danish part of Öresund mainly differs from the rest of Denmark, by having a larger share within financial operations and business services and a smaller share of newly started companies within wholesale/retail trade. The differences in industry structure are larger between the Danish and Swedish part of the Öresund region than with either of the respective countries.
- Industrial distribution of newly started companies in 2006
Source: Örestat
More and more companies in Öresund SE have Danish owners
An increased Danish or Swedish ownership on either side of Öresund reflects the growing internationalisation, but can also be a sign of increased structural integration of industry in both parts of the region. Different studies show that the most common reason for a company to invest in another country is to gain access to larger and growing markets. Proximity to customers is especially important for companies in the service sector.
- Danish owned workplaces in Öresund SE 1990-2008
Source: ITPS
Statistics from The Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis (Growth Analysis) show that Denmark has strengthened its position as an owner country in Öresund SE. Before the opening of the Öresund Bridge there were about 200 Danish owned workplaces (production units) in Öresund SE. In 2008 that number increased to nearly 700. In total about 80 000 persons are employed at foreign owned workplaces in Skåne; about 11 000 of these persons are employed in Danish owned workplaces. According to statistics from The Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis, the increase occurred mainly just during the time the bridge was being completed. In recent years the increase has been more moderate.
The majority of workplaces with Danish owners are in the service sector. More than 40 percent work in the industrial group of trade, hotels and restaurants. Within this industrial group the companies involved in trade are dominant. Roughly 25 percent belong to the industrial group of finance, real estate and business services. This is a very differentiated industrial group that includes consultancy and advertising companies as well as cleaning companies and security firms.
Swedish owned workplaces in the Danish part of Öresund
Sweden is the single largest owner country in Denmark measured by the percentage of employees at foreign owned workplaces with Sweden as country of origin for the parent company. In 2007 nearly 29 percent of all employees at foreign owned workplaces in Denmark and in the Danish part of the Öresund region worked at Swedish owned workplaces. In Demark a total of 258 000 persons were employed at foreign owned workplaces, of which nearly 72 000 persons, or 28 percent, were at Swedish owned workplaces. In the Danish part of the Öresund region, 146 000 persons were employed at foreign owned workplaces, of whom 42 000 or 29 percent worked at Swedish owned workplaces. The foreign owned workplaces in Denmark had a total turnover of EUR 101 billion, of which Swedish owned workplaces accounted for EUR 24 billion, or 23 percent. Foreign owned companies in Öresund DK had a turnover of EUR 62 billion, of which the Swedish owned workplaces amounted to roughly EUR 14 billion, or 22 percent.
Swedish ownership is greatest in trade and business services, followed by the manufacturing industry and the construction industry. The fact that trade and business services dominate also indicates that decisions to establish a business are highly influenced by the proximity to customers.
- Foreign owned workplaces in Denmark by country of origin and number of employees in 2007.
Source: Statistics Denmark
