OP-Pohjola forecasts 2% growth for Finland

Finland’s economy is forecast to grow by 2% this year and next, faster than previously expected, ERR reported. The commercial bank OP-Pohjola’s outlook is more optimistic than the Bank of Finland’s September forecast of 1.6% to 1.7% growth in both years.

The pace of Finnish export growth is expected to reach its highest level in five decades in 2028. SEB analyst Mihkel Nestor said forecasts for the Finnish economy had become much more optimistic. At the start of this year, he said, growth was forecast to reach 1% at best, but Finland has performed better than expected.

Two sectors have recently performed well in Finland, according to Peeter Luikmel, head of the foreign economy department at the Bank of Estonia: energy, including the production of transformers and electricity transmission equipment, and pharmaceuticals.

Finnish companies are the most important business partners for Danival MV, an Estonian family-owned manufacturer of metal components. Co-founder Rainer Daniel said the company had doubled in size over the past two years, while its exports to Finland had grown by about one million euros over the past year.

Daniel said the company had recently attended a subcontracting fair in Finland, where he saw the most visitors and made a record number of new contacts with Finnish companies.

Finland is Estonia’s most important foreign trade partner, and its economic growth is already having some effect in Estonia, Nestor said. He pointed to a slight improvement in industry and an increase in Finnish tourists, adding that a larger change could come next year.

Growth in Finland is expected to support Estonia’s construction, industry and subcontracting sectors. As employment rises in Finland over the coming years, Luikmel said, demand is also expected to increase in 2027 and 2028 for durable goods such as furniture and other products made in Estonia.