DANISH ECONOMY

http://www.coldcall.dk

ColdCall specialises in B2B meeting booking in Denmark and Sweden as well as international enterprises wanting to gain a foothold in these two markets.

The company takes the sales budget the customers plan and turns it into reality by means of professional meeting booking involving the organisations they want to do business with. In the concept “Pipeline Management” ColdCall undertakes all phases until the relevant meetings are in the bag.

The team consists of mature people with strong backgrounds in training and commerce in the industries with which they work.

At the time of writing, these are mainly:

• IT
• Technical advice
• Advertising / PR / Communication

When communicating with potential customers, ColdCall sets great store by a professional attitude that provides excellent opportunities for returning to them later if it has not come to a meeting in the short term. They never force meetings on customers but find the customers who are in the market and who want to place an order.

http://www.copenhagenbusinessdistrict.dk

Just 10 minutes from the historical centre of Copenhagen, a new city district is rising. Copenhagen Business District has become both a perfect location for businesses and a highly attractive residential area. Employers as well as visitors benefit from the excellent business environment, which is part of the district of Ørestad.

Many companies located in Copenhagen Business District benefit from the great infrastructure of the area. Businesses located in Copenhagen Business District have quick and easy access to several means of transportation: The Metro and the local trains have numerous departures per hour, and the highway is only a minute away. Any modern company with visitors and staff who travel will benefit from the great infrastructure of the area.

The great location of Copenhagen Business District in the middle of the Øresund Region is also closely connected to the great opportunities of recruiting staff, which characterizes the area, too. Companies located in Copenhagen Business District have the opportunity of networking with both employers and students of the metropolitan area and the Øresund Region.

This may result in a positive spiral of recruitment of working capacity.

As Copenhagen Business District is a relatively new district, the premises are state-of-the-art and extremely flexible. A company located in Copenhagen Business District has the opportunity of adapting the premises to the needs of the company: the company will have space to grow in offices which reflect its values and identity.

Furthermore Copenhagen Business District offers the largest shopping and entertainment centre in Scandinavia, Field’s, with more than 140 retailers - 20 cafés and restaurants. The district also has more than 1.000 hotel rooms in the two brand new hotels, Crowne Plaza and CabInn.

Last, but not least, locating a company in Copenhagen Business District means that the company becomes an integrated part of a dynamic and international environment. It is an inspiring environment which hosts some of the most important consultancies, IT and pharmaceutical companies such as Ferring, Accenture, Novo, Atkins, Dell, Sandoz and Zurich.

The housing market crisis is abating

By chief economist Steen Bocian, Danske Bank

Just like the housing markets in many other countries, the Danish housing market has been in crisis for the last couple of years. Since the peak in 2007 prices for single-family houses have dropped by 15 % nationwide. And specifically for apartments in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, there has been an overall price fall of 35 %.

There are several explanations for the precipitous price falls we have seen in recent years. Firstly, interest rates increased markedly from 2005 to the end of 2008; this has severely impacted the Danish housing market due to a very high loan to value ratio and an increasing use of variable interest mortgages. Secondly, unemployment has more than doubled since summer 2008, from 1.7% to 3.9%. Thirdly, house prices increased so significantly before the crisis that it naturally raises the question of whether there was a price bubble before the decline. It is impossible to say with certainty whether this was the case for the market as a whole, but in the case of owner-occupied apartments in Copenhagen, it is probably part of the explanation for the extraordinary price falls that have been seen.

In many countries, stricter lending conditions have also played a role in the decline of prices. Tightening of credit however plays a less important role in Denmark, since the Danish mortgage credit system is fairly resistant to financial crises. Access to loans has thus been reasonable despite the fact that banks and mortgage credit institutions have tightened their credit policy.

Looking at current developments in the housing market, there are strong indications that the crisis is abating. In the 3rd quarter this year, house prices decreased by just 0.8 % in relation to the 2nd quarter. Compared with the fall in house prices during the 1st and 2nd quarters of 4.3 % and 2.8 % respectively, it is clear that the decline in prices is slowing.

Looking at price movements regionally, house prices have actually started to rise in metropolitan areas, while they are still falling in the provinces – an indication that the declining prices, which have been greatest in the metropolitan areas, have largely brought supply and demand into equilibrium.

More important, however, is that interest rates have decreased very significantly in the last year. The rate for short housing loans – with interest fixed for one year – has declined from 5.2 to 2%, while the rate for the more important (in a credit context) fixed-rate loans has declined from 6.5 to 5.25. The Danish housing market is highly sensitive to interest rate changes. Economic models show that a general fall in interest rate of one percentage point raises house prices by 8-9%. So there is no doubt that the Danish housing market is currently receiving artificial respiration.

The low level of interest rates currently being seen is not a permanent situation; there is a prospect of an increase in the coming years. But it is likely that the Danish central bank, led by the ECB, will be very cautious when they start normalising interest rates. The central banks have to take due note that the financial sector and European economies are still vulnerable – so there is no prospect of significant interest rate rises in the next couple of years. But sooner or later, the housing market must adjust to a higher interest rate level. When that happens, there is a risk of a renewed downturn in the housing market. How bad that might end up being will largely depend on whether Danish market conditions improve before interest rates rise. If market conditions improve, then the rise can be absorbed without a significant price fall – but there is a real risk that the market improvement is only of a temporary nature.

In Danske Bank’s view, there is no doubt that the housing market is vulnerable. If you are thinking of buying residential property in Denmark, there is no need to rush due to concerns over price developments. If you are selling, there is still a need for patience. There are many residential properties for sale – so you have to be realistic about the sale price and accept that it can take time to sell your house or apartment.

But that said, there is some cause for joy that the worst of the housing market crisis is apparently behind us.