Apple Blamed For Killing Two Major Industries of Finland
Finland’s Economy Depends On The Paper Industry
Finland famous for its Nokia handsets and the paper industry was rated from AAA to AA+ by the rating agency Standard and Poors on Friday. The Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubbs in an interview with CNBC advocated that Finland's economy has taken a downward slide due to the end of its two big industries. Stubbs suggested to the CNBC that Apple could be the cause for this.
UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso are two industries that are the largest producers of paper in Europe. Paper industry is a very important sector for the country's economy. These two industries were very badly hit and this has had an adverse impact on Finland. Stubbs stated that Finland's two champions went down along with the technology firm Nokia.
"A little bit paradoxically I guess one could say that the iPhone killed Nokia and the iPad killed the Finnish paper industry, but we'll make a comeback," stated Stubbs.
Nokia was ahead in the mobile market and were the leading manufacturers of mobile phones back from 1990 to 2000. This company according to many is considered as the game changer of Finland's economy. However, the company struggled with market shares in the past because of companies like Apple and Samsung entering the mobile industry. Microsoft the technology giant acquired Nokia's service business and devices in April this year. Both companies have partnered together to produce smartphones that have been well received by the market.
According to the data collected by the Forest Research Institute in Finland the forest and paper industry has also been hit in the recent years. The report presented at the end of 2013 caution of an unfortunate situation for the production and export of paper. This sector is facing a downward slide impacting the country's economy in 2014. This is due to competition from e-readers and tablets which has replaced the traditional print industry.
According to Stubbs the government has to work harder and quick to bring about structural reforms and to just keep at it.