"The Swedish Government and the Invest in Sweden Agency hope that Chinese enterprises will use Sweden as a hub for their activities in the Baltic Sea region and Northern Europe," said Sven-Eric Soder, Sweden's vice-minister for industry and trade.

He was talking in Beijing at the Information Industry Showcase: Business Opportunities in the Swedish Information Technology, Telecom and Microelectronics Sectors, which is the first investment seminar held by Sweden in China.

The seminar will later move to Shanghai and Shenzhen.

The Invest in Sweden Agency, a foreign-investment promotion agency, yesterday announced it would establish an office in Shanghai to attract Chinese enterprises to the Scandinavian country.

Kai Hammerich, the agency's president and director-general, said Chinese enterprises in the information and communication technology sector will be the main target.

He said that Sweden, home of the mobile-phone vendor Ericsson and a leader in telecommunications technology and systems, has become an ideal place for Chinese companies to get first-hand cutting-edge technology.

Hammerich revealed that two Chinese firms - the Shenzhen-based telecom equipment manufacturers Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp - have established research and development centres in Sweden.

Mats Engelmark, senior manager with the Invest in Sweden Agency, also pointed out that Sweden's strength in designing computer hardware and semiconductors would also be very attractive to Chinese companies.

He also invited small and medium-sized Chinese enterprises to go to Sweden. The venture-capital system is well developed and will help small technology firms get financial aid, he said.

(China Daily December 3, 2002)