Swedish companies in India: Business opportunities in 2024

https://remunance.com/blog/swedish-companies-in-india-business-opportunities-in-2024/

Discover multiple business opportunities for Swedish companies in India. Swedish-India relations remain positive for business collaboration.

Currently, more than 280 Swedish companies have bases in India. Although most Swedish firms started entering in and after the 2000s, some had established branches in India before its independence. For instance, a Sweden-based global telecom giant, LM Ericsson popularly known as Ericsson, supplied manual switchboards for the Indian government since 1903. It was the first company that provided GSM equipment in India. SKF, ASEA (ABB Group), Swedish Match, and Sandvik were among the first Swedish companies to set foot in India.

With the widening scope for business investment in India and frequent bilateral visits from top leaders over the years, the relationship between New Delhi and Stockholm is closer than ever. Today, India stands as Sweden’s third-largest trading partner in Asia after China and Japan. 

Over the last decade, India has witnessed a significant rise in Swedish companies coming to India. As explained by the India Business Climate Survey, 2023, about 86% of Swedish companies found India’s business ecosystem encouraging and supportive. Also, several Indian government initiatives to ease the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) play a crucial role in creating enormous business opportunities for Swedish small & medium businesses (SMBs).

In 2023, India and Sweden marked their 75 years of diplomatic relations and both sides are looking to expand their existing business collaboration and partnership in the coming years. In February 2024, the Swedish Foreign Minister, Tobias Billström addressed over 100 industry executives in India’s biggest technology hub, Bengaluru. The meeting was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden.