Tesi’s new investment strategy will strengthen the conditions for growth

The Government’s main objective is to return Finland to a growth path. Concentrating the state’s capital investment activities under the Finnish Industry Investment Group is part of this work. Together with a stronger industrial policy task, additional capitalisation and a new investment strategy, Tesi will become an even stronger promoter of growth, renewal and investment.

The tasks, priorities and instruments of Tesi have been thoroughly assessed and matched with the objectives set in the Government Programme to increase the effectiveness of economic and industrial policies. The changed geopolitical and financial market situation and the weak productivity growth in Finland have also been taken into account in Tesi’s new investment strategy.

The basic principles of Tesi’s investment activities will remain unchanged. However, Tesi will be able to use new instruments and its investment activities will be targeted in a new way. The new Tesi Group, which will start operating in early 2025, can also be considered a driver of state industrial policy, especially when it uses market-based equity financing. 

Tesi’s role will be strengthened as a market-based minority investor

Tesi will continue to act as a market-based minority investor. In other words, Tesi will not compete with private investors and will step aside if a competitive situation arises. In exceptional cases and on strategic grounds, Tesi may in future act as a lead investor if no private lead investor exists. Tesi will relinquish its role as a lead investor if a private investor becomes available for the role.

The company aims to leverage a significant amount of both national and international private funding and to strengthen domestic ownership through its activities. This means that considerably more investments from private investors will be necessary to finance unlisted companies in order to implement the strategy. At the same time, new opportunities will open to the investors.

The additional capitalisation will be allocated specifically to Tesi’s direct investment activities. This will enable an increase in the size of investments and allow Tesi to fund industrial-scale investments and larger contributions to the most promising domestic technology companies with scalable growth.  Through its activities, Tesi will also contribute to a growing number of Mittelstand companies. At the same time, fund investment activities will become more selective but no types of funds will be categorically excluded. Tesi also aims to establish new high-quality funds of international scale in Finland to improve the availability of capital financing.

In future, Tesi will be able to make investments involving state aid through a new subsidiary called Teollisuustuki Oy. In this way, the government will retain a tool for managing a portfolio containing state aid.

Breaking the cycle of stagnant economic growth

Finland is now in a situation where we have the permission and obligation to do things that have previously been avoided. We must break the cycle of stagnant economic growth. Finland needs new strong growth sectors. However, this is not about selecting individual companies, but instead, targeting growth sectors, competence clusters and enabling technologies, where private investors make the selection while Tesi acts as a minority investor contributing to the growth.

For this reason, we need stronger and more systematic cooperation between all entities involved in economic and industrial policy in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment Group. More systematic joint activities within the Group will be introduced to advance investments. In addition, we will implement the measures outlined in the Government Programme to establish a competitive operating environment for companies that promote investments and growth. These include significant investments in R&D funding and streamlined permitting processes. The aim is to make Finland a competitive operating environment for growth companies. This is where we need to work together – at all levels. 

Wille Rydman, Minister of Economic Affairs