20Sep2019
Google CEO Sundar Pichai promises nearly € 900 million in investment in Finland.
On Friday, Prime Minister Antti Rinne (sd) and Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, a search engine company, announced that Google is making a huge investment in Google’s Hamina data center in Finland and Europe. The value of the investment is EUR 600 million.
In addition, Google will invest at least $ 275 million in wind power in Finland, totaling 255 megawatts.
Prime Minister Rinne was particularly pleased with Google’s investments and emphasized that Finland is a good investment environment.
Google CEO Pichai says that Finland plays an important role in Google’s digital strategy. The company plans to invest a total of EUR 3 billion over the next two years in data centers across Europe, with Hamina accounting for 600 million.
Last May, Google already announced 600 million investments in Hamina. New investments will bring total investments in Hamina to EUR 2 billion. According to Google, the investments made before today’s announcements have created an estimated 4,300 jobs, directly and indirectly.
Renewable energy investments across the EU
Google now invests a billion euros in renewable energy across the EU. In addition to Finland, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden.
According to Pichai, Finland is a good investment environment for Google. The experience of Hamina’s data center has been excellent for the company.
“Finland is a good example of how the internet can bring about economic growth. We look forward to working with the Finnish government over the years and working together to ensure the benefits of a sustainable digital economy”, Pichai said.
For Prime Minister Rinne, Pichai’s praise fits like a nose to the head.
“My government is working to get more investment in Finland. Google’s investment plan for Finland and Europe today is significant. These investments again show that Finland is an excellent destination for investment.”
Rinne stated that Finland’s strengths are stability and security, high competence, well-functioning and efficient administration and high trust in society.
“These are significant factors in international competition for investment. We also want to strengthen them. My government believes that when we are part of the solution to global phenomena and megatrends, sustainable economic growth will emerge. That’s why we invest in knowledge and education. ”
In addition to the investment, Rinne talked to Google CEO Pichai about digitalisation, the digital economy, skills development, and climate issues. “I heard that after the wind power investments, the production of zero-emission electricity is almost entirely equivalent to that of the Finnish data center. I am pleased that the climate has been taken seriously in this plan. ”
Source: Kauppalehti
Photo: Pixabay
