Investment potential in the European High North will continue to rise 

The combined investment potential for the northern parts of Finland, Sweden and Norway as well as Murmansk and Arkhangelsk in Russia, is over 195 billion euros, according to Lapland Chamber of Commerce. New possibilities in the field of bioenergy are emerging, alongside traditional offshore industries.

The investment potential will continue to rise over the next five years, reports news agency Arctic-info. 

New business possibilities are opening through bioeconomy and China’s strategic investments, shows estimates provided in connection with the 7th Arctic Business Forum in Rovaniemi, Finland.

- Green economy opens tremendous amounts of new business opportunities. New business models have a positive impact not only on the business environment, but also for the employment level and even traffic infrastructure of the whole region, says Hannele Pokka, undersecretary at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.

The investment potential of Lapland has been further increased by the major investment project, worth a billion euro, planned by the Chinese-owned company Kaidi Finland in the city of Kemi in the Finnish Lapland. The company is planning to build a new generation biodiesel refinery, which would use wood-based biomass as raw material. 

For the first time, risks concerning arctic business are presented in Arctic Business Forum. One of the  main risks seems to be the fading interest towards the whole region which may lead to decrease in the interest to invest after the tremendous arctic hype, economic crisis and decline in the prices of raw materials.

- The investment potential of the region still exists, even though many of the projects are at standstill. We now need perseverance, resilience and adaptability, Timo Rautajoki, President and CEO of Lapland Chamber of Commerce, is quoted as saying.