Speech by the Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto at the Annual Meeting of Heads of Mission 27 August 2025
Finland needs more exports, investments and ambitious R&D activities to boost our economy.
As regards investments, the Government aims to make Finland’s investment environment more attractive and to increase foreign investments into Finland. We need more investments in both tangible and intangible capital and, in particular, investments in competence-driven business with high value added.
To achieve this goal, several measures have already been implemented during the government term or are currently being implemented.
These measures include streamlining permit procedures on investments and the so-called one-stop-shop model (the new Finnish Supervisory Agency will begin operations and the one-stop-shop legislation will enter into force on 1 January 2026); an investment taskforce operating across ministries led by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, focusing on the promotion of significant investment projects; and funding for infrastructure investments related to certain high-priority projects.
A key measure has been the establishment of Finnish Industry Investment (Tesi) with a new industrial policy task that focuses more strongly on economic growth, renewal and the promotion of investments, as well as the additional capital required for this task.
Many investments related to the clean transition of the economy are pending in Finland, both in energy production and industry, with several projects already in the implementation phase.
While Finland’s investment environment boasts many strengths, a more intense state aid competition in recent years both internationally and within the EU presents a challenge to a small economy like Finland, especially in the current situation where public finances are tight.
Competing on state aid is not our priority, but we may selectively resort to promoting investments and to reducing private risk by, for example, granting aid and tax credits for significant clean transition investments this year and by introducing an aid scheme for the capture of bio-based carbon dioxide in future.
The Government has decided that the tax credit for clean transition investments will continue, and the Ministry of Finance has begun the preparation of the aid scheme.
The Government will also ensure that Fingrid and Gasgrid have the necessary investment capacity to support new industrial investments in Finland.
The reduction in corporation tax (by two percentage points to 18 per cent), which was decided in the Government’s spring session on spending limits, will speed up investments and entrepreneurship on a broad front.
Entities in the government branch of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment will focus their efforts more systematically on selected strategic areas – sectors, clusters of competence, and growth areas. These include the manufacturing industry, scalable services with high value added, data and intangible value creation, as well as the clean and digital transition.
There are many strategic areas, such as
- disruptive technologies (e.g. cyber security, space, quantum technology, artificial intelligence, semiconductors including chips),
- energy and low carbon technologies,
- dual-use items,
- bio-based solutions,
- new materials,
- minerals and circular economy,
- food technology,
- health and biotechnology, pharmaceutical development,
- communication technology,
- scalable services with high value added, and
- creative industries.
The success of Finnish companies in the long term is based on their ability to apply new technology at an early stage. With this method, new success stories can be born in the previously mentioned sectors.
However, we have things to learn as regards scalable service business at least. The importance of increasing value added should also be emphasised even more.
The current international geopolitical and trade environment is a challenge to both investments into Finland and our exports.
Global uncertainty is likely to continue but, on the other hand, we can also think that as a small, dynamic and agile economy, Finland can benefit from the redistribution of market shares.
To support our exports, the Government submitted to Parliament in June a proposal for a comprehensive legislative reform of Finnvera. If it is approved, the new legislation will make it possible to develop a more efficient and agile system for domestic and export financing.
It is important that public enterprise financing forms a clear path for the client by complementing private funding, offers diverse financing solutions and relies on seamless cooperation between operators. In this way, we will fare well compared with the finance providers in our competitor countries.
It is very important that the ambassadors and experts in the foreign network are familiar with our export financing services.
The Team Finland reform outlined in the Government Programme will transfer Business Finland’s foreign network to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the turn of the year.
In addition, the Economic Development Centres, which will begin operations in the regions soon, will take over the international services of the ELY Centres and be in charge of managing regional Team Finland work in the future.
We are also finalising an update of the Team Finland strategy, where we will make necessary strategic sector and country choices in time of scarce resources and commit to developing the service network in a client-oriented manner according to the common objectives.
I would like to emphasise that, despite these major administrative changes, everyone in the network – from the regions to the world – must commit to a seamless customer service of companies.
This will be ensured by the top skills of the network’s experts, a clear division of labour and effective cooperation based on the roles of the Team Finland service path.
Even though the interface between the domestic and foreign network changes, the link to the client must not be broken.
It is important that companies with export potential receive the best possible service and value added to support their exports and to increase their export capabilities.
The Government and my ministry are confident that Finland’s path will be founded on innovation-based growth, which requires an ongoing reform and development of the economy and business.
For its part, the Government is committed to supporting companies’ research and development activities in the long term, so that public and private R&D investments together will account for four per cent of GDP.
This will increase the amount of domestic and international RDI investments in Finland and make Finland a more attractive destination for R&D organisations. Although the general government finances in Finland are challenging at the moment, the State’s investments to encourage R&D are essential for future renewal and growth.
Private investment growth will be crucial if we want to achieve the four per cent R&D expenditure target. The funding provided by the State will encourage companies to take on more risk and to increase R&D activities so that private R&D expenditure would cover two-thirds of the growth target set for R&D funding by 2030.
The growth of research and development activities requires both a more active role of small and medium-sized businesses and considerable investments by large companies.
Cooperation between companies and research organisations is also a priority for R&D funding. An active, well-functioning operating environment, interesting cooperation partners and a world-class research infrastructure are factors that can help Finland attract foreign R&D investments.
However, increasing research and development funding alone is not enough.
It will be necessary to scale and commercialise the new solutions and innovations into international business so that they will generate the growth the Finnish economy badly needs.
In order to promote commercialisation and scaling, we will strengthen cooperation between the companies and agencies in the government branch of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, including Business Finland, Finnish Industry Investment, Finnvera, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Geological Survey of Finland, the Finnish Drug Discovery Center and the ELY Centres (which will become Economic Development Centres at the start of 2026) towards the common objectives, renewal of business and industry, and sustainable growth.
Seamless cooperation of the government branch of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the key ministries for internationalisation of companies with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and embassies must be improved further to promote both exports and investments.
It is important that we make joint strategic choices and work together for a common goal.
All of you ambassadors are salesmen and saleswomen of Finnish skills and competence abroad and you are committed to the long-term work to develop Finland’s trade partnerships.
In conclusion, I would like to thank you for your valuable work and commitment to Finland’s growth and wellbeing.