STOCKHOLM, March 16 (Reuters) - Sweden will propose a
law this year to allow scrutiny of foreign direct investments in
Swedish companies and block those that pose a risk to national
security, the justice minister said on Thursday.
"The majority of foreign investments in Swedish businesses
are valuable and unproblematic, but some are associated with
significant risks," Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said in a
statement.
"It must be possible to scrutinise such investments and, if
necessary, stop them," he added.
Strommer did not name any countries or specific companies
that would be subject to scrutiny.
Western nations, worried by a flow of sensitive
technological know-how to China, have increasingly sought to
prevent Chinese companies from making certain acquisitions.
The Swedish government aims for the planned legislation,
which is at a draft proposal stage, to take effect on Dec. 1
this year.
"This is an extremely important step that Sweden now takes.
We do this in line with what other EU member states have already
done and we believe we are catching up in a very appropriate
way," Strommer told a news conference.
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen and Anna Ringstrom;
Editing by Terje Solsvik and Sharon Singleton)
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