Business Brief

Saab boss calls on employees to work harder...

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In an interview with Dagens Industri on Saturday, Peter Augustsson, President and CEO of Saab Automobiles, says that staff must be prepared to work longer days and be more flexible, if the Trollhättan assembly plant is to survive.

Meanwhile, subcontractors face a tough time ahead, should GM decide to move production to Germany. Some 10,000 jobs are at risk if GM decides to realise its plan, according Sven-Åke Berglie, of the Scandinavian Automotive Suppliers association.


... And PM criticises GM

On Friday at a meeting in Bonn, Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson discussed GM’s plans to transfer production to Germany with Wolfgang Clement, the German Minister of Economics and Labour.

The Swedish PM described the situation as "dismal" and remarked that the government would do all it could to secure jobs in Trollhättan.

"It is extremely unfortunate when two European cities are faced off against each other by an American firm in Detroit," commented a critical PM.


Company registration delay: Minister demands an explanation

In recent weeks Leif Pagrotsky, Minister of Industry, has received many complaints from irritated executives and private individuals over the Swedish Companies Registration Office. At present it takes up to nine weeks to register a limited company, a fact that has caused the minister to demand an explanation from H G Wessberg, director general of the authority.

The government directive expressly states that 80 per cent of all cases should be dealt with within 5 days and the remainder within 10 days.


Fund earmarks 400 million crowns

The Swedish Industrial Development Fund is to earmark 400 million crowns for investment in new companies and university projects. The Fund also proposes tax breaks for 'business angels' wishing to invest in new companies.


New technology puts pressure on Telia

Fixed telephony is one of the most profitable areas of business in the world of telecommunications, since almost all investment has been paid for. In 1993 alone Telia drew in 16 billion crowns from private, fixed telephony, 14.8 billion crowns of which was pure profit.

Now, however, new technology means that more and more operators will begin to compete within the field of IP telephony and Telia Sonera risks losing out.

Alfred Berg forecasts that Telia Sonera could lose up to 3.5 billion crowns in revenue within the next two years.


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