FINLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Tarja Pirinen, Fiiu Linninen, Teija Lius and Marko Koski, HPP Attorneys Ltd
business operations or commitments, is consid - ered critical for securing vital societal functions, the acquisition can be voluntarily notified pre- or post-closing. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland also has the power to request such a notification within three months after becoming aware of the specific acquisition in case no notification has been submitted. A few transactions in the exploration and mining sectors have been notified under the Screening Act, and it is therefore recommended to conduct an assessment pursuant to the Screening Act when other criteria of application are met. The obligation to comply with the Screening Act’s notification obligation rests with the foreign investor – ie, the acquiring party. The timeline of FDI screening process varies depending on the sector involved. For a manda - tory application, there is no prescribed timeline for decision-making. For a voluntary notification, Phase I is six weeks and potential Phase II is three months (both calculated from the receipt of complete information), at the end of which the notified foreign corporate acquisition must either be approved or referred to the Finnish govern - ment for decision-making with no prescribed timeline. The confirmation of a foreign corporate acquisition may only be refused if it is necessary due to a key national interest, but the acquisition may also be approved subject to commitments. A notification fee is charged to the investor. 5.3 International Treaties Related to Exploration and Mining Finland does not have investment protection agreements concerning the mining sector spe - cifically, but Finland has both bilateral trade agreements and multilateral trade agreements as part of the EU. Some of these agreements
mention a common goal for promoting the min - ing sector. One example is the free-trade agreement between Canada and the EU and its member states, CETA. CETA is a remarkably investor- friendly agreement due to the wide protection it offers to foreign investors. It includes an invest - ment-protection clause, the purpose of which is to ensure that Canadian investments are treat- ed in the EU on an equal footing with European investments. Another noteworthy example is the free-trade agreement that is currently being negotiated between Australia and the EU. These negotia - tions began in 2018 but are currently stalled due to disagreements over agricultural products. 5.4 Sources of Finance for Exploration, Development and Mining Many companies operating in exploration and mining projects in Finland are owned by for - eign companies and often have a group par - ent company listed in a foreign exchange – eg, in Canada, Australia, Sweden or London. The operations are then financed by the foreign par - ent company who raises financing through the foreign exchange. There is not enough domes - tic capital funding available in Finland for the mining sector, which is why a large part of the capital comes from abroad. Foreign companies have also invested in Finland. Many companies finance exploration and development, as well as construction and mining with financing raised from industrial, institutional or private investors. Public sources of financing in Finland are – eg, Business Finland or Sitra for research, develop - ment and innovations and Finnvera for loans and guarantees. EU financing may also be available for research and development projects.
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