Stockholm Hosts Red Herring ETRE Global Technology Summit

Journalists are invited to learn more about Scandinavia's technology, economic and financial centre and leading entrepreneurial companies, as the city is joining with global media company Red Herring as a host of the 19th ETRE (European Technology Roundtable Exhibition) Global Technology Summit, taking place October 14-17.

STOCKHOLM – October 1, 2008 –

Known worldwide as a technology hotspot, in particular mobile technologies, Stockholm is Europe’s leading region in developing extremely fast-growing and successful technology companies. Now the city is joining with global media company Red Herring as a host of the 19th ETRE (European Technology Roundtable Exhibition) Global Technology Summit, taking place October 14-17.

Stockholm will welcome more than 500 leading CEOs, entrepreneurs and financiers from 40 countries for this three-day, invitation only think tank event on today’s global technology and the technology industry of tomorrow. Journalists are invited to meet industry leaders and keynote speakers, as well as the next generation of technology entrepreneurs, including Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of Ericsson.

In addition, Stockholm Business Region will offer exclusive press tours and access to the unique technology stories coming from Sweden on Oct. 17. These customized excursions will include interviews, company visits and the chance to experience the high tech features and amenities of Stockholm, such as Hammarby Sjöstad, the exciting new eco-friendly district in the city. Interested journalists should register online at http://www.herringevents.com/etre08/press.html.

"The city of Stockholm is delighted and proud to host ETRE 2008," said Olle Zetterberg, CEO Stockholm Business Region. “We have a long-term commitment to a close and prosperous cooperation with the ICT community to make the best possible business climate. The fact that ETRE 2008 will be located in Stockholm is something of a reward for all the efforts made by the ICT companies in the region.”

Along with Sweden’s leading VC firms, there are 20 innovative Swedish companies at ETRE. A sample of those that will be highlighted include:

- Qlikview.com – revolutionary business intelligence.
- Xcerion.com – provides Internet OS as a Web 2.0 service via the Internet.
- Testfreaks.com – reviews all the best gadgets on the Internet and puts them in one place.
- Acumem.com – provider of intelligent software which analyzes and optimizes the computing performance in single- and multi-core environments.

Stockholm is the 6th most competitive knowledge economy in the world according to World Knowledge Competitive Index 2008. It is also one of the most successful European regions in attracting foreign direct investments in both software and hardware.

A few additional facts about the region include:

- Wireless Valley in Sweden is the most important hub for wireless technologies, with more than 420 related companies, including Ericsson, SonyEricsson, TeliaSonera and other wireless innovators.
- It is the birthplace of NMT, GSM, EDGE, WCDMA and Bluetooth technologies.
- Sweden is the source of more than one third of all important 3G patents.
- Kista Science City, home of Ericsson, has a unique position as one of the world's top ICT clusters.
- Financial Services is also one of the fastest-growing sectors in the region. Stockholm has Scandinavia's largest stock exchange – OMX.
- During the past 10 years, Swedish venture capital funds have outperformed their North American and European competitors.