From the gulf of Bothnia to the White Sea

Abstract

Up to the 1910s Sweden imported capital largely because she was placing bond loans abroad. The Swedish foreign debt in 1908 was 1,3 milliard kronor, 73 per cent of which was bond loans. The resulting inflow of capital was used for portfolio investments. Most of the capital came from France and was largely used for extending the Swedish railway network. Only 6 per cent of the foreign debt in 1908 consisted of shares. These were worth 78 million kronor. About one fourth of this seems to have gone to the wood industry.