As a result of proposed legislative changes to implement EU Directive 2003/41 (on the activities and supervision of institutions for occupational retirement provisions), Swedish Insurance companies will shortly have increased possibilities to invest in private equity as an asset class.

The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court delivered on 4 May 2004 a judgement in the case of Försäkringsaktiebolag Skandia and Ola Ramstedt v. Riksskatteverket (the National Tax Board).

The current Swedish right of priority legislation, which is set forth in the Right of Priority Act (SFS 1970:979) was amended on 1 January 2004. The new legislation has been preceded by considerable disunion in the Swedish Parliament with several controversial questions being raised. So what are the reasons for changing the legislation?

The Swedish Financial Market has expanded rapidly during the last decade. Companies have broadened the scope of their business, and many new companies have entered the market. One important change is the bank-insurance concept, i.e. banking and insurance operations are offered by the same financial group. This position has been adopted by all the leading actors on the Swedish market and we have a new structure for the financial services industry today.

From an overall perspective the corporate acquisition process in Sweden has a striking resemblance to that which applies elsewhere in Europe. The chain of documents required is the same, and even the documents’ contents strongly resemble that which is applied in the UK and continental Europe.

The Swedish Insurance Contract Act dates back to 1927 and is in many respects not adapted to the current conditions of the insurance market. The applicability of the act is also limited and has been partly overtaken by separate legislative solutions for the most urgent demands, such as the Consumer Insurance Contract Act and various regulations regarding items such as third-party motor insurance

Over the past several years Sweden has prepared new and from an international perspective very competitive rules, which make Swedish limited liability companies (<I>Sw. Aktiebolag</I>) very attractive as holding companies in international corporate structures

In September 2003 the government presented a bill proposing a new legislation (the "Invest-ment Funds Act") regarding mutual funds and other undertakings for collective investments.

The Swedish insurance industry has a long history and the Swedish insurance market has previously distinguished itself as a closed market dominated by small number of domestic companies. However, during the past decade Sweden has gradually opened the insurance market to both domestic and foreign competition