In December 2008 , delegates from the City of St. Petersburg outlined business opportunities in St. Petersburg at a seminar hosted by Mannheimer Swartling and the Chamber of Commerce of East Sweden.
The Investment Forum included presentations and a panel discussion about St. Petersburg and was held in the auditorium of Mannheimer Swartling’s Stockholm office.
The main speaker was Sergei Fiveysky, the first Deputy Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee of Economic Development, Industrial Policy and Trade. According to Mr. Fiveysky, St. Petersburg has not yet been severely affected by the financial crisis and is well-positioned in comparison to other regions in Russia due to, among other things, the diversity of industries operating in the region and the number of educational facilities in the city. The city has also been ambitious about attracting foreign investment and has contributed significant resources to expanding the city's infrastructure and developed special economic zones with various advantages for the companies which choose to establish themselves in the region. The City of St. Petersburg has also begun construction of "Techno-Park" an innovation centre for information technology and the healthcare and life sciences industry.
Mannheimer Swartling in Russia
In 1990, Mannheimer Swartling was the first European law firm to establish an office in the former Soviet Union. Today, the firm is well-known and strongly positioned on the Russian market and its operations extend to all areas of commercial law with a particular focus on M&A and corporate law, banking and finance, real estate law, litigation and arbitration, as well as competition law, labor law, IP and IT and EHS (Environment, Health & Safety). The firm has two offices in Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg), more than 50 Russian, Swedish, Finnish and German lawyers , and provides a full-service offering in each office.
Mannheimer Swartling 's office in St. Petersburg is primarily focused on handling legal matters for its Scandinavian and Northern European clients. A significant share of this work is for Swedish companies; however, the other countries represented on list of clients include Finland, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany and The Netherlands.
“We know all the Swedish companies doing business in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region , even those that are not our clients. The firm also has a very good reputation among Russian lawyers, both as a workplace and as a counterpart or partner in legal work,” says Andrei Gusev, partner in charge of the St. Petersburg office.
Modern business climate
The City of St. Petersburg has a population of approximately 4,5 million (the entire Leningrad region along with St. Petersburg has a population of approximately 6 million). St. Petersburg has a modern business climate with an efficient and flexible administration and a good relationship between companies and local public authorities. The region also has several advantages; its strategic location as Russia's primary window on the Baltic region, a high level of education and the availability of a large, highly-skilled workforce, and a thriving cultural environment.
“Generally speaking, Scandinavians feel comfortable with the business culture here. It is interesting to note that St. Petersburg was founded on the place where previously a Swedish town Nyenskans was located. In addition, travel to St. Petersburg is quick and easy and the City is an important gateway to the rest of the Russian market,” says Andrei Gusev.
Swedish history in Russia
As early as the middle of the 1800s, many Swedish companies and private individuals viewed Russia as a country with significant possibilities and as an alternative to pursuing ventures in the US. The Russian economy was in an expansion phase for decades before the First World War. Some of the Swedish companies which were attracted by the favourable investment conditions included ASEA, Alfa-Laval, SKF and L M Ericsson.