NEWS COVERAGE - FRANCE

ECONOMY AND BUSINESS NEWS FROM THE PAST WEEK

March 20th, 2015
Business Sweden in Paris

FRANCE: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON THE RISE

AFTER THREE YEARS OF DECLINE
The French exporting agency Business France,
published a report on Monday 16/03, showing that
foreign direct investment increased in 2014, breaking a
three year negative trend
740 new projects were initiated, increasing the FDI by
8 % compared to 2013
According the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurent
Fabius, the French bashing looses ground thanks to
2014s boost of foreign investment on French territory

Swedish investments in France increased by 40 % in

2014
30 new Swedish companies decided to develop their
business in France, creating or preserving 896 job
opportunities
A third of these investments consisted in creating
French subsidiaries

Number of initiated foreign projects in

France

Paris now ranks 3rd internationally, concerning its ability

to attract foreign investors
The question is whether the rise in foreign investment
will create job opportunities on the French labour market
R&D increased by 19 % in 2014, generating highly
qualified job opportunities in in the short run, which
could on the other hand lead to new job opportunities
in the medium and long run

782

698 693 685 740

'10

'11

650 665 624 641 639

548 583

'03

'04

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

'12

'13

'14

SOURCES: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5
BUSINESS SWEDEN

20 MARCH, 2015

FRANCE: ORANGE INVESTS EUR15BN, DEVELOPING ITS

4G AND FIBRE NETWORK
The French telecom company will focus on high speed broadband by accelerating the replacement of copper cables by
fibre
Change in consumer behaviour:
During the first quarter of 2014, Orange registered more new fibre clients than regular copper ADSL clients
An increase in connected items will require extensions of todays networks

Investing EUR4.5bn, Orange has set the objective of connecting 12 million clients with fibre by 2017 and 15 million by
2020
Orange fibre networks currently connect to 3.6 million households, compared with Numericable-SFR connecting 6.4
million households

EUR5bn will in addition be invested to reach a 4G coverage rate of 95 %

SNCF will benefit from these investments, which has set the objective of connecting its major train connections with
the 4G network (see News Coverage 13/02/2015)

SOURCE: 6
BUSINESS SWEDEN

20 MARCH, 2015

FRANCE: THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP MIND-SET

STRUGGLES TO GET A GRIP IN FRANCE
According to a recent study, France struggles in promoting entrepreneurship
Approximately a third of Frenchmen see themselves having the capacity of starting a business
The fear of failure is one of the highest among the European biggest economies

France on the other hand disposes demographic assets in favourable for entrepreneurship

43 % of people between the age of 25-34, are holding a university diploma, which is higher than the OECD average
of 38 %
France also disposes a large body of researchers, favouring strong R&D, with on average 9 researcher posts per
1000 job opportunities, compared to 8.1 in Germany

Project financing backed-up by public investments funds, through La Banque Publique dInvestissement (BPI), is by
far the most important fundraiser in the French economy
55 % of investments in venture capital was funded by the BPI in 2013, compared to 20.8 % in Great Britain ranking
2nd
The question is whether a public investor invests with the same objectives compared to a private investor

SOURCE: 7
BUSINESS SWEDEN

20 MARCH, 2015

SWEDEN: THE RIKSBANK LOWERS ITS INTEREST

RATE TO A RECORD LOW TO BOOST INFLATION
The Swedish Riskbank lowered its repo rate from -0.1 %
to -0.25 % on Wednesday 18/03, in order to further boost
inflation
The lowering of the interest rate occurred more than a
month before the scheduled decision
An appreciating of the Swedish Krona against the
euro could lead to a fall in inflation, which was slightly
positive in February, at a rate of 0.1 %
Purchasing of governmental bonds at a cost of SKr30bn
to keep the interest rate at -0.25 % until the second half
of 2016
Small independent European economies currencies are
put under pressure as the ECB has started its own
quantitative easing programme
The Riksbanks expansive monetary move will likely
impact the decision of neighbouring Nordics countries
central banks

SOURCES: 8 & 9
BUSINESS SWEDEN

20 MARCH, 2015

SOURCES
1. Les Echos 16/03/2015, Les investissements trangers en France en hausse de 8 % lan pass,
http://www.lesechos.fr/journal20150316/lec1_france/0204225132934-les-investissements-etrangers-en-france-en-hausse-de-8-lan-passe-1102347.php
2. Business France 16/03/2015, rapport sur linternationalisation de lconomie franaise,
http://sayouitofrance-innovation.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/1-2.pdf
3. Lambassade de France en Sude 18/03/2015, Uppt fr svenska investeringar i Frankrike 2014 (18 mars 2015),
http://www.ambafrance-se.org/Uppat-for-svenska-investeringar-i
4. Les Echos 16/03/2015, Laurent Fabius : Le "French bashing" a perdu du terrain depuis la mi-2014
http://www.lesechos.fr/journal20150316/lec1_france/0204226300127-laurent-fabius-le-french-bashing-a-perdu-du-terrain-depuis-la-mi-20141102259.php
5. Paris 06/03/2015, Paris ranked as 3rd most attractive city in the world for foreign investment,
http://www.paris.fr/english/english/paris-ranked-as-3rd-most-attractive-city-in-the-world-for-foreign-investment/rub_8118_actu_154179_port_19237
6. Les Echos 18/03/2015, Orange va investir 15 milliards d'euros dans le trs haut dbit,
http://www.lesechos.fr/journal20150318/lec1_une/0204232518166-orange-va-investir-15-milliards-deuros-dans-le-tres-haut-debit-1103017.php
7. Usine Nouvelle 18/03/2015, Infographie : La France n'est pas (encore) le paradis des start-up,
http://www.usinenouvelle.com/editorial/infographie-la-france-n-est-pas-encore-le-paradis-des-start-up.N319352
8. Financial Times 18/03/2015, Swedens central bank cuts rates deeper into negative territory,
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/9b3436ba-cd72-11e4-a15a-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz3Uj2vnGDe
9. The Swedish Riksbank 11/03/2015, Current inflation rate,
http://www.riksbank.se/en/Monetary-policy/Inflation/Current-inflation-rate/

BUSINESS SWEDEN

20 MARCH, 2015