Denmark falling behind in public investment

Compared to other EU nations, Denmark struggles when it comes to investing in the construction and maintenance of schools, roads, railways and other public facilities.

Denmark ranked 22 out of the 27 EU member states plus Norway in a comparison of public investment as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) between 2009 and 2012, according to an analysis by Momentum magazine, published by the local government organiszation, KL.

“One can’t say that Denmark is impressing on the list and it surprises me that we are competing with Greece and Slovakia when we have such a huge public sector,” Martin Damm (V), the head of KL and mayor of Kalundborg, told Politiken newspaper.
 
The Ministry of Finance put the level of public investment under the current government at 44 billion kroner annually, which the ministry argues was the highest amount in over 30 years.

Read more: Denmark falling behind in public investment - News - The Copenhagen Post

France's Hollande speeds launch of state investment bank

France will launch a public investment bank within days to help cash-strapped companies to obtain financing, President Francois Hollande said on Friday, bringing forward the date as his government speeds up efforts to fight a downturn.

The bank, originally due to be launched in January of next year, is designed to support small- and medium-sized firms which are struggling to obtain financing from private lenders amid super-tight credit conditions.

"A public investment bank will be created in the coming days," Hollande told journalists in north-eastern France. "There is no time to wait: we are facing too many emergencies."

France is also fast-tracking the launch of a scheme to create 150,000 state-sponsored jobs for youths, in a move to tackle rising unemployment.

The new body brings together several existing public lenders under the state bank Caisse des Depots, aiming to offer thousands of credit-hungry companies business advice as well as a single window for loans.
"Pulling together all these different institutions under a single roof is not only a good thing, it's an urgent move for France," said Frederic Bonnevay, an economist for think tank Institut Montaigne.

In July, Industry Minister Arnaud Montebourg told Le Parisien daily that a public bank was necessary because private lenders were not "sufficiently interested" in the real economy, preferring to seek higher margins abroad.

Read more: France's Hollande speeds launch of state investment bank | Reuters