The role of trade and exports in fuelling economic growth and recovery formed the central pillar for discussions at GTR‘s 6th Annual Nordic Region Trade & Export Finance Conference in Gothenburg on November 20th, with corporate finance leaders gathering to hold high level discussions with banks and financiers on their current needs and priorities.

Taking place at the Radisson Blu Gothenburg, the conference brought together around 300 senior decision makers from the regional and wider trade and export market to discuss the latest themes and trends, offering reflection on the past year’s activities and considering what the future holds for one of the world’s most forward-thinking regions.

Hosting a wealth of renowned market experts, including a keynote address from SEB Chief Economist and leading academic Klas Eklund and an interview with Ambassador Jonas Hafström, Senior Advisor to the Minister for Trade, Sweden, as well as senior speaker participation from over a dozen multinationals and SMEs, discussions sought to address the perceived gap between the needs and priorities of exporters and the provisions available to them, the growing significance of compliance and sustainability requirements, new transaction structures and the increased Nordic profile in thriving emerging markets such as Africa.

“The Nordic region has long been recognised as one of the most progressive markets in global trade, with companies, their banks and other actors such as ECAs all quick to adapt their strategies to cope with the challenges faced within an ever-changing global trading environment,” said Jeff Ando, Head of Conference Production, GTR. “Such sharing of ideas amongst the very top tier of multinational companies within a challenging and interactive environment can only help in tackling a range of obstacles, be they the availability of liquidity from banks, regulatory bottlenecks or lack of necessary information needed for entering a new territory.”

With the focus very much on gaining maximum benefit from the experiences of companies such as Volvo, Siemens, AtlasCopco, Ericsson, Konecranes, Cellmark and ABB, strong emphasis was placed on interaction, utilising both new formats and technology to generate questions from the floor and poll the audience themselves on those themes deemed most important. The day was chaired by Lydia Capolicchio, the renowned journalist and broadcaster.

Proceedings concluded with summary assessments from two leading corporate speakers, offering insight on what lessons have been learned from the day, as well as highlighting priorities for future gatherings, before an evening drinks reception provided the opportunity for continued business negotiations within a more informal setting.