12 BUSINESS
THE COPENHAGEN POST | CPHPOST.DK
ONLINE THIS WEEK
LEGO PLANS to build a $1 billion factory in Vietnam to keep up with demand across Asia. Scheduled to open in 2024, it will be its second factory in Asia (a Chinese one opened in 2016) and employ 4,000. In related news, a study at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow claims that Lego sets are a better investment than gold. They appreciated by 11 percent every year from 1987 to 2015.
Maersk’s eyes on Asia SUBJECT to regulatory approval, Mærsk will pay 3.6 billion US dollars for Hong Kong-based company LF Logistics to improve its reach into Asia. In other takeover news, Faroese fish farming group Bakkafrost had acquired 90 percent of the shares of Danish salmon canner Munkebo.
Contractor boost THE EUROPEAN Commission has presented a proposal that will force companies to recognise contractors who work full-time as ordinary employees, writes TV2. This would particularly affect the courier company Wolt, which would have to provide holiday pay, pension or salary in the event of illness.
Seeds to expand COMPLYCLOUD, which enables advice to customers via digital lawyers, has received investment of over 4 million euros from SEED Capital, reports Business Wire.
Out-performing everyone economically
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Lego chooses Vietnam
14 January - 10 February 2022
According to The Economist magazine, Denmark ranked first out of the 23 wealthy OECD countries during the pandemic CHRISTIAN WENANDE
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FEW MONTHS ago, the government revealed it expected the economy to have grown by 3.8 percent by the end of 2021, in spite of the pandemic. Now The Economist magazine has echoed that sentiment by ranking Denmark top of the pops in regards to the performance of economies during the pandemic. Denmark was ranked first out of 23 wealthy OECD countries, ahead of Nordic neighbours Norway and Sweden. The list is based on GDP development, investment levels, household income, public debt and share prices.
Dissatisfied with Wizz DANISH pension firm AkademikerPension is threatening to withdraw millions of kroner in investment in Wizz Air if the Hungarian budget airline does not stop mistreating its employees. Twelve other investors are reportedly considering similar action.
Green car insurance
We've fled corona but with an upwards trajectory
2022 looks promising “THE OVERALL picture has
been remarkably benign, even as several variants of the coronavirus emerged during the year. But it hides stark differences beneath,” wrote The Economist. “The pandemic has created winners and losers – and the dispersion between them is likely to persist in 2022.”
That statement fits well with the government’s expectation in August that the positive trend was set to continue in 2022 – for Denmark, at least. Meanwhile, Spain finished bottom of The Economist ranking, just ahead of the UK, Japan and Germany. The US was ranked 10th.
Power-to-X investment
Brexit compensation
Major Novo investment
THE GOVERNMENT is investing 1.25 billion kroner in Power-to-X green technology in a bid to boost its capacity to 4-6GW by 2030. The tech converts solar and wind energy into hydrogen power that can sustainably power vehicles. The state has also unveiled new initiatives worth 270 million kroner from 2022-2024 to protect digital infrastructure and IT systems.
THE GOVERNMENT has backing for a 1.3 billion kroner Brexit compensation package. Fishermen will be the biggest beneficiaries. In related news, a compensation scheme was unveiled to help Danish companies during the festive period. However, one out of five companies rates the government's recent handling of the corporate sector as "bad", according to a DI survey.
NOVO NORDISK is investing 17 billion kroner into its Kalundborg facilities, where it produces treatments for severe obesity and diabetes. The expansion should be completed by 2027. In related news, LEO Pharma's treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema has been approved by the FDA, thus opening the door for ‘Adbry’ in the US from February.
DENMARK'S second-largest insurance company Topdanmark is introducing insurance for electric cars amid the high demand for the green vehicles. Standard packages will cover sustained damage and taxi services when the car runs out of juice. According to De Danske Bilimportører, electric cars accounted for 20 percent of sales in November 2021.
Tobacco fluctuations THE 2011-20 PERIOD saw a 29 percent decrease in tobacco sales compared to the previous decade, according to Danmarks Statistik. However, while cigarette sales fell 18 percent in 2020, rolling tobacco sales rose by 26 percent – the largest increase since 1974. Approximately 800,000 people aged 15-79 smoke in Denmark. E-cigs and the like are not included in the statistics.
Holiday home stampede LAST MONTH was the busiest December in history for holiday home bookings with well over 22,000 – twice as many as in 2016. German guests accounted for more than half.