Bidding for Scania

Yesterday the competition to take over the Swedish truckmaker Scania went into the next round. German carmaker MAN increased its bid and Scania shares reached a record high. Meanwhile, in Sweden the voices opposed to a takeover by a foreign company are increasing owing to fears that this could involve the relocation of research activities abroad, leading to job losses in Sweden. The newspaper argues that this is not a reasonable approach. "It's by no means certain that trucks will continue to be produced in Europe in the long term so why should we mourn the loss of Scania to the Germans? Sweden should be trying to combat the spread of protectionism in Europe instead of emulating it. Economic nationalism often goes hand in hand with stagnation. The problem is Sweden's poor track record when it comes attracting foreign businesses. The solution to the problem is not holding on to the large companies at any cost but helping small and medium-sized companies to set up."

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