Indo-Swedish trade relations celebrated the centenary in 2003. In 1903, Ericsson sold its first switching systems to India. Later in 1923, Swedish Match (WIMCO) also established itself in India . Bilateral trade between India and Sweden continues to expand, with Sweden’s top leadership emphasizing need for strengthening relations with India. India has emerged as the 19th largest market for Sweden. Today, there are over 40 IT companies marketing their software and services in Sweden.
The ties between India and Sweden are close and friendly, based on a shared history of common perceptions on issues related to democracy, social and economic development, and even disarmament. There have been frequent high level contacts between the two countries beginning with the 1957 visit of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Sweden. Since then a number of bilateral Ministerial visits have taken place focusing on specific areas of cooperation. Recently Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt visited India in November, 2009 for India-EU Summit and bilateral talks. The first ever India Friendship Group was set up in Swedish Parliament in February 2006, with a membership of over 45 MPs drawn from parties across the political spectrum. The bilateral Foreign Office consultations provides the requisite forum for exchange of views on bilateral and global issues.
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Commensurate with desire for enhanced relations, a number of institutional Agreements/arrangements have been put in place for promoting trade, investments and other relations including (i) Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement, notified on 17 December 1997; (ii) Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement (BIPA), signed on July 4, 2000; (iii) Science & Technology Agreement signed in December, 2005; (iv) MoU between the Sweden India Business Council (SIBC) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) signed in June, 2005; (v) Indo-Swedish Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial, Technical and Scientific Cooperation; (vi) MoU on Air Services Agreement between India and the Scandinavian countries i.e., Sweden, Denmark and Norway signed on November 30, 2006; (vii) MoU for cooperation in the field of Healthcare and Public Health signed in February 2009; (viii) MoU between the Karolinska Institute and the Indian Council of Medical Research signed in June, 2009 ; (ix) MoU on Defence cooperation signed in November, 2009 and; (x) MoU on cooperation on Environment signed in November, 2009.
Economic & Commercial relations
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Economic interests have emerged as the driver of the relationship in the recent years with the bilateral trade at US$ 2.3 billion in 2009 and two-way investments. Areas identified for cooperation are IT, Telecommunications, Biotechnology, Environmental technologies and automotive industry. Trade-wise, the main Swedish exports to India are in the areas of pharmaceuticals, paper & pulp products, chemicals, engineering products and telecom equipment. The main items of Indian exports are chemical products, food products, and semi-manufactured and manufactured goods. As per trade data from India, bilateral trade stood at USD 2519 million in 2008-2009.
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India has emerged as Sweden’s 19th largest export market and third largest trade partner after China and Japan in Asia. Sweden is the 12th largest FDI investor in India according to Sweden Investment Agency (SIA) figures with investments of just under US$ 1 billion which does not reflect profits which have been ploughed back by Swedish MNCs.
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Sweden with its large number of MNCs has had a very long presence in India. Swedish Match had established its facility (WIMCO) as early as in 1926. Since then other Swedish companies like Ericsson, SKF, Atlas Copco, DeLaval, Volvo, ABB, Astra Zeneca, etc. have expanded their operations in India. At present there are over 106 Swedish joint ventures wholly owned subsidiaries in India. Recognising the booming trade and investment opportunities in India, the Swedish Trade Council, already having its offices in Delhi and Bangalore, opened its third office in Mumbai in March 2008. Invest in Sweden Agency (ISA) has also opened its office in Delhi in September 2009. A Swedish- India Business Council has been established to enhance trade and investment cooperation. It has a membership of over 127 Swedish companies including SMEs.
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Fifteen major Indian IT companies have their representative offices in Sweden and their cumulative exports are estimated at US $ 600 million. Indian pharma and biotech companies like Dr. Reddys, Biocon, Kemwell and Ranbaxy have also either formed collaborative relations or are looking to tie up or establish joint R&D facilities in Sweden. Bharat Forge, acquired the Swedish firm Imatra Kjilsta AB in 2005 with a workforce of over 500 employees. In 2006, Wipro acquired 100% equity of the Sweden-based Hydrauto Group AB which produces hydraulic cylinders for a consideration of USD 31 million. As of date, there are 30 Indian companies present in Sweden.
Cultural relations
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Despite the absence of the Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Sweden, the Embassy in coordination with ICCR and local NRIs has sponsored cultural performances several times in Sweden during the last few years. Every year ICCR offers two scholarships to Swedish nationals for studying dance and music. This has been utilised by the Swedish side. Under the EU’s Erasmus Mundus Scholarship and Academic Cooperation programme, a large number of Indian students and Post-doctoral researchers have joined Lund University and Karolinska Institute in Sweden. There are nearly 14,000 Indian origin persons and 4500 Indian passport holders in Sweden.
Listed below are the Swedish companies in India in the areas of telecommunication, IT, precision tools and machinery, defence, pharmaceuticals, furniture and textiles/garments. ABB, Alfa Laval, ASSA Abloy, AstraZeneca, Atlas Copco, Åhlens, Barracuda Technologies, Ericsson, Gunnebo, Hennez & Mauritz, Hoganas, IKEA, Indiska, KappAhl, Lindex, Perstorp, Portwise, Logitech, SWS Defence (a Bofors subsidiary), Sandvik, Seco Tools, Skanska, SKF, Svedala, Telelogic, Tetrapak, Volvo. Sweden with its large number of MNCs has had a very long presence in India . Ericsson, which started supplying telecom switches to India in 1903 inaugurated its R&D facilities in Chennai in February 2006 as well as its second manufacturing facility in Jaipur in March 2005. In Jan 2007, Ericsson announced its intention to invest US$ 500 million in the next five years in India . Swedish Match had established its facility (WIMCO) as early as in 1926. Since then other Swedish companies like SKF, Atlas Copco, DeLaval, Volvo, ABB, Astra Zeneca, etc. have expanded their operations in India . Scania, Europe 's number four heavy truck maker, has also entered into an agreement with L&T for building tipping trucks.
Ericsson which started supplying telecom switches to India in 1903 inaugurated its R&D facilities in Chennai in February 2006 as well as its second manufacturing facility in Jaipur in March 2005. In Jan 2007, Ericsson announced its intention to invest 500 million USD in next five years in India. Swedish Match had established its facility (WIMCO) as early as in 1926. Since then other Swedish companies like SKF, Atlas Copco, DeLaval, Volvo, ABB, Astra Zeneca, etc. have expanded their operations in India. Last year, the CEO of Scania Mr. Leif Ostling confirmed that Scandia, Europe's number four heavy truck maker, is eyeing a move to enter the Indian truck and bus market. The retail giants like IKEA are also keenly watching the opening of the retail sector in India.
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In 2006, many Swedish companies like Telelogic, SKF, Volvo, Syntensia etc announced expansion of their Indian operations with respect to their R&D as well as manufacturing facilities.
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In June 2007, Indian-American IT giant Cognizant also announced its decision to enter Nordic market by focusing on Sweden especially on banking and financial sector.
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Record deal for Ericsson: (i) Bharti Airtel: On 18 July, Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile operator, awarded a record $2-billion network outsourcing, maintenance and management contract to Swedish telecom major Ericsson. This marks the largest ever network deal in India and is also amongst the biggest contracts globally in the telecom space. This is Bharti’s second billion dollar networking outsourcing deal with Ericsson in under an year. In August 2006, Bharti had signed a US$1 billion deal with Ericsson. As per the deal, which is spread over two years, Ericsson will design, plan, deploy, optimise and manage Bharti Airtel’s GSM network across 15 circles in India as well as for its pan-India prepaid (IN) platform across 23 circles. Manoj Kohli, CEO of Bharti Airtel said that Ericsson has been a strategic partner of Bharti Airtel since 1995, and manages around 70% of its GSM/EDGE network spread across in 15 circles in India. Ericsson’s nationwide charging solution (IN) caters to Airtel customers across all the 23 circles of Airtel Bharti.
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Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited: On 18 July, BSNL placed order for mobile equipment of 14 million GSM lines with Swedish vendor Ericsson at a cost of 80 dollar per line, much lower than the original cost of 107 dollar. Ericsson officials said they have received the advanced purchase order (APO) for 2G equipment and would start studying it shortly. With the final deal size reduced by half to 23 million GSM lines, the contract now stands at two billion dollar or about Rs 8,000 crore. Of this, Ericsson being the lowest bidder will get 60 per cent of the order or about Rs 4,800 crore, while Nokia-Siemens, the second-lowest, would get 40 per cent or Rs 3,200 crore
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On 19 July 2007, Bombardier Inc. won a $590-million order from Delhi Metro Rail. Bombardier said that the car bodies, bogies and propulsion system for the first units will be manufactured at its plants in Sweden and Germany and at a later time, the main production will take place at Bombardier sites in India. The train cars are expected to provide public transport during the Commonwealth Games slated for New Delhi in October 2010. Bombardier said that deliveries are scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2008 and continue to 2010.
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In November 2007, Scania made its debut in India with a tie-up with L&T for building tipping trucks.
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In August 2008, Associated Powercon Equipment (India) Private Limited purchased Kraftelektronik AB, a company based in Surte, Sweden. Kraftelektronik AB is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated Powercon Equipment (India) Private Limited. Kraftelektronik AB is also engaged in the manufacture and sale of High Current and High Voltage Rectifiers all over the world and is a well known name for the past more than 35 years.
