China market

Photo:sheeranhughes.com

Kalmar has been chosen by China’s Fanerdun Group to host a new center for Chinese wholesale companies to introduce their products onto the European market.The venture involves construction of a demonstration facility for 1,000 Chinese businesses to present products to European companies.
The center, which will be Fanerdun’s European headquarters, will lead to the creation of an estimated 800 new jobs in Kalmar and  included in the complex will be a hotel, restaurant and a spa offering Chinese medicine.

Explaining the choice of Kalmar, Jin Xing Luo, Fanerdun Group owner, said: “The conditions in Kalmar are excellent, especially on the investment side.” Companies exhibiting at the center will range from textile manufacturers to technology suppliers, Fanerdun said. Johan Persson, chairman of the Kalmar municipal board, called the investment gigantic and said the center, expected to be complete in one year’s time, would attract one million visitors a year. He said: “This venture will create a great many jobs and put a much stronger focus on Kalmar. If all goes as planned we will substantially expand air travel capacity in the city.”

Fanderum Group’s large investments in Kalmar is now being followed up by an additional investment. WestBaltic, a holding company, is being established in Kalmar County for industrial investment in the entire Baltic region and China.The holding company, which will be called WestBaltic will have its head office in Västervik.The company will invest in industrial companies in the Baltic region and China. WestBaltic is owned by Fanerdum Int´l Holding Group Investment.

The ambition is to create a group of industrial companies with a turnover of SEK 2 billion within a 5-year period. Acquisition objects will be sought within companies that are faced with a generation shift, are in need of owner capital for growth as well as other companies with synergies directed towards the Chinese market.

Kalmar County’s collaboration with the Yangtze Delta River region goes back just over three
years when contact was initiated for Chinese investment in Sweden. This led to several visits
between the two regions, as well as Chinese investment in Semax, a forklift company in
Silverdalen, Hultsfred. Changxing opened an office last spring at the Regional Council of Kalmar County for investments in both Sweden and China.

There is collaboration between Kalmar County and China in several different areas in the
county. The University of Kalmar is collaborating with China for in-company training for
Chinese civil servants and businessmen within the areas of management, the environment and
business culture. Through a collaboration agreement, Kalmar Science Park will gain increased
knowledge of how high-tech Chinese companies are built up. The Swedish Inventor’s
Association is collaborating with the government of Changxing’s research and technology
authority. The objective is for Chinese investors to invest in Swedish inventions
^{Source:www.cbbf.se, www.isa.se, www.kalmar.se}