A match made in Sweden

"It is one of the most exciting industries in Sweden. It is about business development, and about entrepreneurship" Reinius proclaims. Nordic unquote" met her at the Nordic Private Equity Congress organised by the SVCA in Stockholm in September this year.

The Nordic region is an attractive target for international investors, shown both in the amount of foreign GPs investing and in the representation of foreign investors in Nordic funds. In Sweden, 70-80% of the invested capital comes from international investors, according to Reinius.

"I want to strengthen this position, and also market the Nordic region as a whole" says Reinius, who outlines information and transparency, lobbying for improved tax regulation and increased funds for commercialisation of growth companies as means of reaching this goal.

Information

"We need to communicate the positive contribution of private equity to the general public. It is now a mature industry in Sweden with management teams that have been through both upturns and downturns and that have the experience to deal with volatile markets as we see now," Reinius explains. Particularly important with respect to the recent turmoil in the financial markets and resulting anxiety, is to underline the long-term aspect of private equity. One important component of her strategy is increased transparency. "But to a certain extent," she hastens to add. "Openness is important to build public confidence in the industry, however, self-regulation is key; private equity firms should not be exposed to more scrutiny than other private firms. What then would be the point of being unlisted?" Earlier this year, the SVCA presented its proposed guidelines for the industry and its members, a report described as a Swedish version of the Walker Report in the UK, where the focus is very much on increased transparency through self-regulation. Several GPs in Sweden are currently launching new websites with more information available to the general public.

Lobbying

One of Reinius' first priorities in the job is to make Sweden and the Nordics a breeding ground for venture capital. The new CEO is optimistic about the sitting government's recent efforts to promote entrepreneurship and promises that the SVCA will continue to lobby to secure tax breaks for venture firms as well as other tax reforms that will facilitate, not hinder, private equity and venture financing of start-ups, and also mature firms wishing to expand.

Commercialisation

The Danish Venture Capital Assocation (DVCA) recently published their comments on the Danish government's proposal of a new financial law for 2009, which among other things allocates DKK 1.1bn to improving the quality of public research. The DVCA refers to 2007 when DKK 14.5bn was spent on R&D, of which only DKK 150m was aimed at commercialisation. The association recommends that more resources are earmarked for allowing research communities to mature and test the technological and commercial aspects of inventions. Reinius could not agree more. "We need to get the impressive research and development present in Nordic universities and laboratories and smaller companies out to the world. There is so much potential, we just need to find the best way to exploit it." Reinius' recipe includes a broad co-operation between private companies, including private equity, and the government. Specifically, the SVCA could contribute by introducing start-ups and mature firms to venture firms and GPs. "This is another aspect of the information debate; conveying the financial and equally important non-financial benefits of venture capital, such as leadership, lean management, and the GPs network."

"Perhaps a matchmaking site for new ventures?" she laughs. "Maybe in the future."

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