Dear Members and Friends of the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce,
2019 has been a very active year for the Chamber with 26 events for the Members and several in-house modernisation projects. The Chamber’s network today extends to more than 1300 business contacts with event participant numbers increasing by over 20% in 2019. The number of members has overall remained stable with very positive growth in the Young Professional membership category. The cooperation with the Chamber’s Partners, including the Finnish Embassy, has remained strong and being a member of Team Finland has provided the Chamber with an excellent platform to contribute towards the common Finnish-British good. Also the cooperation with the other Nordic Chambers of Commerce has worked very well and is likely to increase in the future. The Chamber’s financial basis remains solid and with a capable team, headed by General Manager Emma Jalonen, and very active and supportive Board we are well positioned and in good shape to enter 2020.
Having said that, 2020 is likely to be a unique time period for our Members and Friends. The very recent General Election results may , or may not, bring clarity to the Brexit situation which is looming or inspiring us, depending on your viewpoint. In any case, after several years of uncertainty a higher degree of commercial operating environment stability and certainty would be welcome. If constructive and well considered action to support our Members on Brexit issues is required, the Chamber is ready and willing to do just that.
Despite the Brexit uncertainty, many things still remain certain. For instance London is London – Brexit or not. The Capital is and continues to grow as one of the world’s main ICT hubs which offers great opportunities for Finnish companies operating in this sector. The same applies for Finnish Wellbeing companies which continue to attract the London-based urban population. Also the United Kingdom, with its 60 million plus inhabitants, will undoubtedly remain an important export and import market for Finland. Companies in the Finnish Forestry, Engineering, Financial Services, Transportation sectors and many others in various industries will continue to operate in the UK. When all of this is combined with the knowledge that many commercial relationships between Finnish and British entities have lasted for centuries, I believe that we have all the reasons to think optimistically about the future.
I look forward to seeing you at FBCC’s events.
Juha-Matti Lampola
Chairman