Interview with Robert Svedberg from Danske Bank, official partner of the Bünsow Business Growth Forum.
Why is the Bünsow Business Growth Forum an important event for you to participate in?
– The Bünsow Business Growth Forum has a clear growth theme from a local perspective, which is something that we as a bank want to support and which is also important for our own growth ambitions in the regions where we operate.
What factors do you think are important to promote and stimulate growth?
– A strong collaboration between companies, universities and municipalities is of course an important factor, and the companies and organizations that can contribute to growth in various ways have a clear agenda for how to do so.
Given the challenging times we live in, what do you think are the most important factors to focus on to foster future growth?
– We need to focus on looking forward and finding the opportunities rather than seeing the obstacles in the light of what we have been through, and at the same time regain the confidence to dare to focus on growth instead of survival, which has unfortunately been the focus of many companies during the current pandemic.
Now that we are in a cautious phase due to the current situation, what is the willingness to invest among your customers?
– We see a certain slowdown in the willingness to invest, which is not so strange in the light of what has happened over the past year, but at the same time, we hear that many customers are in the starting blocks as soon as the situation stabilizes further.
What challenges do customers face and what advice do you give?
– There is still a lot of discussion about what we can expect in the future and how our customers should act in different scenarios. We see, for example, an increased awareness of different forms of currency hedging, which is positive and allows companies to focus on running the business instead of worrying about the impact of currency developments on their results. It has also become clear that having a strong cash position in the company when a crisis strikes is a clear advantage, which also increases resilience to future challenges and increases opportunities for new investments.
Is there any particular sector that you think has more potential to develop from a regional perspective?
– We are convinced that many of the industries that have a strong foothold in our region such as Banking & Insurance, IT and Forestry will have a strong development in the future, but we believe that perhaps the Forestry industry has the best conditions. The reason for this is that we have strong access to the raw material itself, while strong companies such as SCA are driving development forward. The forest also has a clear link to future sustainability, and if we succeed in developing new solutions and products that originate from the forest, it will benefit local growth.