Helsinki Business Hub and Finpro have signed a contract to transfer CFGB China-Finland Innovation Center Oy (Golden Bridge) – the team and the operating model – from Helsinki Business Hub to Finpro. Helsinki Business Hub continues to attract Chinese investments in cooperation with Finpro.
Golden Bridge has operated since 2011 and has so far brought to Finland Chinese investments worth 120 million euros, including Huawei setting up an R&D centre in Helsinki and one of China’s leading hi-tech parks Zhong Guan Cun’s new office in the region. Although the Golden Bridge operating model has been developed By Helsinki Business Hub, the regional investment promotion and development agency, it has always had a national mandate.
– The flow of Chinese investments into Finland is increasing fast. Before Golden Bridge started its operations in 2011, the total amount of Chinese investments to Finland was 10 M€. Golden Bridge has attracted to Finland some ten companies and match-made several Finnish companies with Chinese investors. At the moment, Golden Bridge has in their pipeline tens of active customers and the investment potential is more than 500 M€, according to head of operations, Mr. Marko Vänskä.
Finpro will strengthen it’s invest in activities and resources in China with the Golden Bridge operating model. – Our goal is to increase the number of foreign investment to Finland and reach the average EU level in FDI volumes. Chines investments have a big role in reaching this goal, says Markus Suomi, CEO of Finpro.
Helsinki Business Hub has actively built its China operations since 2008 when the cities of the region anticipated the growth of Chinese investments into Finland and started to build the operating model. The activity has had a national level support from both countries. In March 2010, China Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and Finnish Ministry of Employment and Economy signed an MOU to foster cooperation in innovation and high tech. Establishing Golden Bridge was a concrete output of the MOU.
– The Helsinki region cities saw already in 2008 that the investment flow from China will increase significantly. Therefore we decided to make China a focus area in the invest in work and start building the operational model. We are happy to see the national invest in agency taking the model we developed into use. We’ll now continue developing activities and operating models in other geographical focus areas and domains, says Marja-Leena Rinkineva, chairman of the board of Helsinki Business Hub and economic development director of Helsinki.
