Finance

📉 Mobile phone calls have decreased in Sweden, with spoken minutes falling by 6% in 2020, possibly due to the rise of communication apps. Meanwhile, the use of 5G networks for data is increasing rapidly.

🇺🇦 Business Sweden, which is half-owned by the Swedish state and represented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is opening an office in war-torn Ukraine to help Swedish companies establish contacts and find the right strategies, as contracts worth billions of dollars are on the horizon for the rebuilding effort after the conflict. Swedish exports to Ukraine fell by 34% to SEK 3.2 billion last year, which represented 0.2% of Sweden's total exports, according to the authority Kommerskollegium.

🚧 New housing construction in Sweden declined by 50% in Q1 2023 compared to the same period last year, according to SCB, bringing it to the lowest level in a decade. The decrease was particularly sharp in Stockholm and other large cities, with a 68% decline in Greater Stockholm alone. Multi-family houses accounted for the majority of new homes.