1. South of France & Sophia Antipolis, Europe’s leading science & technology park A place where the presence breeds the future! Guðrún Bjarnadóttir Vice President CSNL

2. French market & PACA (Region: Provence – Alpes Maritimes-Cote d’Azur) French market and China share the no 1 position for foreign investments PACA ranks 3rd in France for foreign investment PACA no 1 for foreign investments in R&D PACA 2nd largest French real estate market after Paris Condensed population

3. French Riviera International Profile 160 Nationalities 120.000 international residents 13 international schools with more than 4600 students 15 international newspapers, magazines and radio stations 50.000 Nordic population –Steadily younger and active in business

4. Cote d’Azur & Sophia Antipolis Entry point into –the French Market –to S-European Market –to the WORLD Innovation & creativity Education Multi-cultural environment Excellent connections with international airport High level Infrastructure

5. Infrastructure Thanks to the tourism industry: excellent infrastructure & services provides the background for flourishing business environment: –Hotels in all price categories –Restaurants –Highest concentration of Convention Centres in Europe –High volume highways –Nice International Airport

6. Nice International Airport 2nd largest airport in France –10.000.000 passengers yearly –49 airlines –95 destinations in 28 countries –1274 weekly flights Largest low cost airport in France –17 airlines –42 destinations in 13 countries –369 weekly flights (except direct to Iceland!)

7. Sophia Antipolis Launched by Senator Pierre Laffitte in 1969 (Member of the Royal Swedish Academy for engineering) Creation in current format 1972 –2300 hectare: business space –5750 hectare: nature and green area

8. Sophia Antipolis –1300 companies –Over 60 languages spoken –Around 35.000 employees and students every day –Business Parcs represent more than 1.450.000 m2 of working space in the region –Reasonable price level –Office space low compared to London (1/4) and Paris (1/3)

9. Sophia Antipolis The “technopole” Main business areas of the park ITC (IT and Telecommunication) –IBM, HP, Texas Instruments, Intel, SAP, Cisco, Amadeus, W3C world wide web consortium 23% of companies and 43% of jobs Health and Life sciences –Johnson & Johnson, Galderma Dermatology, Arkopharma, GE Medical Systems, Dow 4% of companies and 9% of jobs Nature and Wellness industry –ADEME, INRA, Plan Bleu, –Fragrances & flavours industry MANE, Robertet, Fragonard, Galimard

10. Research & Development More than 40% of Sophia Antipolis based firms pursue R&D activities 4000 researchers Public research centres INSERM, CNRT, INRIA …

11. Competitiveness Clusters Sophia Antipolis ranked in 2006, as France's N°1 competitiveness cluster –new national incentives to set up multinational R&D teams cross fertilation partnerships tax reductions reduced social charges R&D contribution in form of subsidies

12. Education - Cote d’Azur More than 35.000 students 22 universities and post graduate institutions such as –University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, CERAM, Ecole des Mines … 13 International schools –International Centre of Valbonne Sophia Antipolis –Mougins International School –International School of Nice –International School of Monaco –International College of Cannes …

13. Guðrún Bjarnadóttir Vice President CSNL Frekari upplýsingar www.nordic-link.org www.nordic-link.orgwww.nordic-link.org gb@nordic-link.org Sophia Antipolis, a dynamic hub of activity where professional achievements go hand-in-hand with personal fulfilment.

14. South of France & Sophia Antipolis, Europe’s leading science & technology park The place where presence breeds future! Guðrún Bjarnadóttir Vice President CSNL

15. South of France & Sophia Antipolis, Iceland’s future gate for the mediterranean business? More than the hot south and the cold north... Guðrún Bjarnadóttir Vice President CSNL