GHP Newsletter 4/2009

Dear friends,

As the year nears its end I am happy to report a busy year. The European Investment Monitor has registered 10 FDI deals into the Helsinki region during Q1-Q3 this year (23 investments in Q1-Q3 in 2008). The number is not flattering, but it’s not zero either. The M&A deal flow, on the other hand, has increased to 37 deals during Q1-Q3 in 2009 (12 deals in Q1-Q3 in 2008). There is high interest for what Finnish companies have to offer, which is apparent in the M&A numbers.

Looking forward, the Shanghai 2010 World Expo is drawing closer really fast! The Invitation to Helsinki concept will kick in during the beginning of the year with Chinese professionals from the fields of travel, design&culture, innovation, clean tech and education visiting Helsinki, hosted by their counterparts here.

In the spirit of Finnish-Chinese co-operation we have decided to turn the money set aside for Christmas presents and cards into a donation of three computers to the Finnish Charity School in the Wenchuan 2008 earthquake area. The new school has just celebrated the completion of the main building and the computers will the seed of the school’s new computer lab.

On that note, I would like to wish everyone a happy end of the year, a peaceful holiday season and much prosperity for the coming year 2010.

Sincerely,

Tatu Laurila
CEO

>> Read more about the Finnish Charity School Project