The number of bankruptcies in Sweden has reached the highest level in a decade, according to statistics released here on Friday.
Nearly 5,500 businesses went bankrupt between January and August, an increase of 35 percent year-on-year, the business and credit reference agency UC said in a press release.
Bankruptcies were recorded across all business sectors, with their number increasing by 49 percent among companies selling and servicing motor vehicles; by 40 percent in the transportation sector; and by 39 percent in the retail, hotel and restaurant sectors.
Building and construction was the sector with the highest number of bankruptcies — just over 1,000, up 35 percent year-on-year, the UC said in the press release.
In August, the number of bankruptcies in the building and construction sector increased even more, by 48 percent year-on-year.
The slump in the building and construction sector came after Sweden’s central bank Riksbank raised its key interest rate to 3.75 percent after keeping it at zero or sub-zero level for more than seven years, which had a cooling effect on the housing market.
Source : Capital