Sweden has developed a knack for creating hugely successful companies and then selling them to the highest foreign bidders. IKEA home furnishings, Saab Automobile and Volvo Cars are all Swedish inventions that now have foreign owners (A Dutch firm owns IKEA, General Motors bought Saab and Ford Motor Company owns Volvo.). But while these Swedish brands are no longer entirely Swedish, they still bring a lot of jobs to the local economy. The headquarters for Saab and Volvo remain in Sweden, and IKEA has 17 stores throughout the country.

In addition, Sweden has become a hotspot of Nordic headquarters for many international companies. General Motors, IBM, Mitsui, Proctor & Gamble, and Unilever have all chosen Sweden as their base of operations for Scandinavia and the Baltic region.