HELSINKI: Finnish Customs announced that both Finnish exports to Russia and Russian imports to Finland have picked up over the past few months after a protracted slump. Additionally, a survey of 300 Finnish companies was said to pave the way for business-boosting growth in Russia, Finnish national broadcaster reported.
In the recent survey by the Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce (FRCC), 63 percent of the 300 member companies predicted that Russia’s economic outlook will improve in the coming six months. Last autumn, only 27 percent of Finnish companies shared this opinion. Furthermore, growth in Finnish-Russian business relations was reported by some 54 percent of respondents, as opposed to only one tenth that argued that the business was still going through a rough patch. Finally, 57 percent of export companies predicted that their luck would change in the coming six months.
Among Finnish import companies, the expectations were found to be less rosy, although a solid 37 percent reportedly expected growth.
After several quarters of negative growth, the Russian economy exhibited a 0.3 percent increase in the last quarter of 2016. Conversely, Finnish exports to Russia have grown since the beginning of 2017, after having slumped by a further 6 percent last year.
However, Finnish companies remain somewhat cautious about investing in Russia. According to Mika Kuismanen, chief economist of Entrepreneurs in Finland, the future growth potential may be “eaten up” by the low levels of investment.
