Business relations between Sweden and the Philippines

The Philippines is known for being a Spanish, Japanese, and American colonized country. But this country in Southeast Asia also has a good relationship with Sweden.

The diplomatic relationship between the Philippines and Sweden was established in 1947. Both countries opened embassies and were represented by ambassadors. However, both embassies were closed for a certain period. Sweden closed its embassy in Manila in 2008, but it reopened in 2016. In 2012, the Philippines closed its embassy in Stockholm due to economic restraint, but it reopened in 2020. And now relations between the Philippines and Sweden are on the rise again, especially in outsourcing of business processes (BPO.)

Let’s look back at how the two countries have established a successful business alliance up to now when outsourcing for e-commerce has been in high demand in the Philippine business. In 2016, 70 delegates from 28 Swedish companies arrived in Manila for business operations in the country, such as Electrolux, Volvo, H&M, and Swedish Match. This made Sweden the Philippines’ 43rd largest trading partner. That was just the beginning of a good business relationship. Since 2017, the number of Swedish companies investing and expanding in the Philippines has increased. They are available in the areas of healthcare, retail, and e-commerce outsourcing. Today, about 40 Swedish companies are already on the Philippine market, including Scania, Atlas Copco, Ericsson, Volvo Cars, Buses and Trucks, SKF, Transcom, Saab, Epiroc, and IKEA.

According to Sweden’s ambassador to the Philippines Harald Fries, this is what makes these companies pay attention to the country’s growing economy. Another strong factor is that the Philippines has a large pool of young, educated, and English-speaking workers. Not only large companies invest in outsourcing here, but also start-ups. April 23, 2018, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce (PCCI) and the Swedish Embassy in the Philippines formally inaugurated the Philippines-Sweden Business Council or PSBC. It was led by Atty. Leo G. Dominguez, founding chairman.

Outsourcing to the Philippines is now one of the best and most selected by many large companies around the world. The number of Swedish companies Outsourcing their operations is on the rise as the diplomatic and industrial relationship between the two countries continues to grow and consolidate. One of the growing companies with Swedish-Philippine management is OnlineFactory. It is a growing BPO company founded in Manila in 2013. They started with only a few employees. But now over a hundred employees like their work in the company. They consist of skilled, hard-working, and efficient staff (Filipinos and other bilingual nationalities) who excel in customer service outsourcing, content management, and influencer marketing.