Helsinki - the capital of Finland - is the centre of the emerging marketplace known as the New Northern Europe, consisting of the Scandinavian countries, the newly independent Baltic States, and north-western Russia. The expanding economies in the Baltic countries and in Russia make this region one of the fastest-growing markets in Europe. The vast natural resources of the nearby Barents Sea area will guarantee the interest of business in this area well into the next century.
Helsinki offers prospective corporate customers a solid location as a bridgehead or gateway to the new markets, as well as a location for their Scandinavian operations. Finland joined the European Union in 1995, becoming the only EU member with a common border with Russia.
Helsinki Metropolitan Area
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area has about 1.1 million inhabitants out of the total Finnish population of about five million. Fanned out around it, the New Northern Europe houses more than 70 million people within reach by truck inside 24 hours.
City of communications
Helsinki offers an excellent infrastructure; harbours, rail connections, airports and highways. The telecommunications systems are among the most advanced in the world - and very inexpensive in comparison with other European cities. The people are well-trained and technology-oriented. Finland boasts more Internet connections per capita than any other country. Helsinki has all the main universities and first-class training opportunities for foreigners. English is widely spoken, while the official languages are Finnish and Swedish.
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Cost-competitive city
Living and labour costs are of average European level. Corporate and capital taxation are the lowest in the EU. There is a special income tax scheme in force for foreign expatriates. All these features have made Helsinki an attractive and cost-competitive alternative in the EU.
The white city of the North
Helsinki is a spacious white city on the shores of the Baltic Sea, with recreational areas aplenty - including a beautiful archipelago of island and skerries. The city is safe, clean and well-organised, and thus offers a high standard of living.
City of influences
Helsinki is a meeting place between Finnish, Swedish and Byzantine culture. Although the Finns are the world's most Lutheran country, an Orthodox element features prominently in the city silhouette. Uspenski Cathedral thrusts its golden domes unashamedly towards the sky, knowing that it has an accepted place in the soul of the city, even though those of the Orthodox faith are a minority of only 1% here. To the rear of the Uspenski spreads the stone-built part of Helsinki, which has evolved over time into a living monument to the Finnish variant of the Jugend architectural style - so solidly granite and so monumental that one cannot even make out the scratches left on its surface by bomb splinters.
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