When Telia was listed in 2000, close to one million Swedes invested money in the company and there was talk of public shares.
But the stock fell and many small savers felt cheated.
Now that it is the stock market debut for Volvo Cars, there is talk again of public shares.
According to information to SVT, well over 200,000 Swedes have registered an interest in subscribing for shares in the company.
Will there be a new Swedish public share?
- I think it can be, there is a lot of interest from Swedish small savers.
On the other hand, one should not be fooled into thinking that Volvo hux flux will become a Swedish company.
It will still be very strongly dominated from China, says Sverre Linton, General Counsel at the organization Aktiespararna, and continues:
- Geely (Chinese Car's Chinese owner) will continue to hold approximately 80 percent of the votes in the company, which means that they can in principle enforce any decision at the Annual General Meeting.
What is the risk with such a strongly dominant Chinese owner?
- There is a risk that Volvo will be a pawn in a political game in China, says Sverre Linton.
Shaky journey towards the stock market
And it has been a shaky journey to the stock market for Volvo Cars.
To reduce Chinese dominance somewhat, strong A shares have been reclassified to B shares.
And as recently as Monday, a pressured Volvo had to change its stock exchange plans.
To attract investors to the listing, the starting price of the new Volvo share was set at the absolute lowest in the previously announced interval.
- I think that the large Swedish institutions, which Geely would very much like to have, have negotiated hard.
They have received the best possible price.
The shares are now offered for SEK 53 each, which means that the company is valued at SEK 163 billion.
It is worth noting that no international investors have invested money prior to the IPO, instead it is Swedish pension companies such as AMF, Folksam and Alecta that have bought many shares.
In addition, SVT has this week revealed connections between Volvo Cars' owner company Geely and tax havens.
One of the companies that believes in Volvo is the pension giant AMF.
They will own shares worth SEK 5.7 billion and thus become the second largest owner.
- I think it is a good deal for our savers, says Anders Oscarsson, share manager at AMF.
How big is the risk that Volvo Cars will be run over by others and outcompeted?
- I think there is a very high chance that they will succeed and a very small risk that they will fail.
The Volvo boss believes in price increases
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The Volvo boss believes in price increases.
Photo: Claudio Bresciani / TT / SVT