- There were more visions for Estonia’s future economy coming up at this meeting than what I have heard from Toompea in years, said a SCCE member after the focus Round Table Meeting at Schlössle Hotel’s Suite Lounge, Thursday, February 6th .

Lead by Mikael Orkomies, Partner at Excedea, and Sven Papp, Partner and Head of the M&A and Corporate Advisory practice group at Raidla Lejins & Norcous Law Firm, the meeting focused on the current M&A trends in Estonia, with the following discussion focusing on Estonia’s attractiveness for foreign capital, and potential visions for the country’s economic future.

- Looking at Swedish and Finnish M&A activities the past four years, Sweden has made 9 such investments while Finland has made 24. As for Estonian M&A’s abroad, almost ¾ go to Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, while Sweden and Russia are clearly underrepresented, said Mikael Orkomies.

- Since 2008, we have seen a sharp decrease in the economic activity, with multinational companies leaving Estonia and thus also a trend of foreign capital leaving the country. At the same time, there is also a trend towards a renaissance of national capital, with Estonian companies acquiring foreign companies in Estonia, and Estonian companies investing in projects and companies abroad, continued Sven Papp.

There were indeed many visions put up and discussed for continuing the Estonian success story but as a summary, the meeting agreed that going from a blue collar to a white collar society offers the most favourable future options.

A full report from the meeting will follow in the first issue of the focus magazine this year.

On behalf of the SCCE Council, I would like to thank Mikael Orkomies and Sven Papp for their presentations. My thanks also go to all participants for their active role in the lively and high spirited discussion. Last but not least, I would like to thank Schlössle Hotel for a very nice and cozy meeting set up, fine wines and a beautiful selection of delicious snacks.

Sincerely,

Kristiina Sikk

SCCE Ombudsman