Translation of the Ordinance on Screening of Foreign Direct Investments

The Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) publishes this translation as a service to interested parties but takes no legal responsibility for the translation or for any consequences arising from its use; translations of Swedish legislation have no legal effect.

 

Ordinance on Screening of Foreign Direct Investments (2023:624)

 

Swedish Code of Statutes: 2023:624

Ministry/public authority: Ministry of Justice L4

Issued: 02/11/2023

Register of amendments: SFSR (Government Offices)

Source: Complete text (Government Offices)

 

Entry into force I: 1 December 2023

 

Introductory provisions

 

Section 1   This Ordinance contains supplementary provisions to the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560). The Ordinance is issued pursuant to:

   - Section 41 of the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560) with regard to Sections 2, 3 and 5; and

   - Chapter 8, Section 7 of the Instrument of Government with regard to other provisions.

 

Section 2   The Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560) applies in respect of the critical raw materials and metals and minerals listed in Annex 1 of this Ordinance.

 

Section 3   The Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560) applies in respect of emerging technologies and other strategic protection-worthy technologies listed in Annex 2 of this Ordinance.

 

Screening authority and power to issue regulations

 

Section 4   The Inspectorate of Strategic Products is the screening authority under the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560). The Inspectorate may issue more detailed regulations on the information to be included in a notification under the Act and on the arrangements for fulfilment of the obligation to notify.

 

Section 5   The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency may issue regulations regarding which essential services are covered by the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560). Before issuing the regulations, the Agency must have given the Swedish Armed Forces, the Defence Materiel Administration, the Inspectorate of Strategic Products, the National Board of Trade, the Swedish Security Service and other public authorities deemed to have relevant knowledge the opportunity to comment.

 

Obligation to provide information and cooperation

 

Section 6   The government agencies that are obliged to provide information to the Inspectorate of Strategic Products in accordance with Section 29 of the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560) are the Swedish National Grid, the Swedish Companies Registration Office, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, the Swedish eHealth Agency, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, the Defence Materiel Administration, the Swedish Food Agency, the Medical Products Agency, the Norrbotten County Administrative Board, the Skåne County Administrative Board, the Stockholm County Administrative Board, the Västra Götaland County Administrative Board, the National Board of Trade, the Swedish Competition Authority, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the Swedish Intellectual Property Office, the Swedish Police Authority, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, the Swedish Tax Agency, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the Geological Survey of Sweden, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, the Swedish Transport Administration, the Swedish Transport Agency and the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems.

 

Information is not disclosed by the Defence Materiel Administration and the Swedish Police Authority where there is a secrecy provision applicable to the information and there are overriding reasons why the interest to be protected by secrecy takes precedence over the interest in disclosing the information.

 

Section 7   The government agencies that must cooperate with the Inspectorate of Strategic Products in accordance with Section 30 of the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560) are the Swedish Armed Forces, the Defence Materiel Administration, the National Board of Trade, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and the Swedish Security Service.

 

The Inspectorate of Strategic Products must inform the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Service of any investment notified under the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act and, upon informing these public authorities, provide information related to the notification. If screening is initiated, this information must also be submitted to the Defence Materiel Administration, the National Board of Trade and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.

At the request of one of the public authorities referred to in the first paragraph, the Inspectorate of Strategic Products must also provide other information than that referred to in the second paragraph that is available in the case. Such information is not disclosed to the Defence Materiel Administration, the National Board of Trade or the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency where there is a secrecy provision applicable to the information and there are overriding reasons why the interest to be protected by secrecy takes precedence over the interest in disclosing the information.

 

Annex 1:

List of critical raw materials and metals and minerals covered by the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560)

 

Aluminium/bauxite
Antimony
Arsenic
Baryte
Beryllium
Bismuth
Borates
Chrome
Cobalt
Coking coal
Copper
Dolomite
Feldspar
Ferrosilicon
Fluorite
Heavy rare-earth elements (HREE)
Gallium
Germanium
Hafnium
Helium
Indium
Iron
Light rare-earth elements (LREE)
Limestone
Lithium
Magnesium
Manganese
Molybdenum
Natural graphite
Nickel
Niobium
Phosphate mineral
Phosphorite
Phosphorus
Platinum-group metals (PGM)
Scandium
Silicon
Strontium
Tantalum
Tin
Titanium
Tungsten
Vanadium

 

Annex 2:

A. List of emerging technologies and other strategic protection-worthy technologies that are covered by the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560)

 

This list includes products and technologies that qualify as emerging technologies and other strategic protection-worthy technologies that are covered by the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560).

 

Note: Definitions of terms in “double quotation marks” are provided. See B. Definitions of terms used in A. List of emerging technologies and other strategic protection-worthy technologies that are covered by the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560). Definitions of terms in ‘single quotation marks’ are given in a technical note under the relevant item. Otherwise, words and terms have their standard (dictionary) meaning.

 

A Nuclear material, facilities and equipment

 

A1 Systems, equipment and components

A1.1 Tubes, assemblies of tubes or plates specially designed or prepared for use as fuel assemblies in a “nuclear reactor”.

 

A2 Technology

A2.1 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of components, systems or materials controlled by A1.1.

 

B Special materials and related equipment

 

B1 Test, inspection and production equipment

B1.1 Nucleic acid assemblers and synthesisers which are:
      a. partly or entirely automated;
      b. designed to generate peptide sequences of more than 75 amino acids; and
      c. able to produce 100 mg of peptide with a purity of 75% or greater.

 

 

B2 Materials

B2.1 Precipitation-hardened steel ‘capable of’ an ultimate tensile strength of 1,950 MPa or more at 293 K (20°C).

 

Technical note

The term steel ‘capable of’ encompasses steel both before and after heat treatment.

 

B2.2 “High-entropy alloys” and “high-entropy ceramics” of all forms.

 

B3 Software

B3.1 Databases of verified experimental data for the “development” of “high-entropy alloys” and “high-entropy ceramics”.

 

B3.2 “Software” using databases specified in B3.1.

 

B4 Technology

B4.1 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide or functionalised graphene for any of the following:

      a. impregnation of fibres;
      b. battery cell surfaces;
      c. sensor surfaces;
      d. thermal barrier coatings (TBC); or
      e. graphene-reinforced “composites” with a metal or polymer “matrix”.

 

B4.2 “Technology” for the “development”, “production” or “use” of “high-entropy alloys” and “high-entropy ceramics”.

B4.3 “Technology” for the “development” of synthetic biologics.

 

C Materials processing

 

C1 Test, inspection and production equipment

C1.1 Specially designed components and accessories for “isostatic presses”.

 

C2 Technology

C2.1 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of solid-state electrolyte batteries using ‘isostatic densification’.

 

Technical note

‘Isostatic densification’ is a process of pressurising a casting at temperatures exceeding 340 K (67°C) in a closed cavity through various media (gas, liquid or solid particles, etc.) to create equal force in all directions to reduce or eliminate internal voids in the casting.

 

C2.2 “Technology” including process methods or parameters for the “development” or “production” by additive manufacturing of the following: 

      a. products or components made of metallic materials or ceramics;
      b. “high-entropy alloys”; or
      c. “high-entropy ceramics”

 

 

Note: Additive manufacturing does not include welding.

 

D Electronics

 

D1 Systems, equipment and components

D1.1 Flash X-ray generators or pulsed electron accelerators with the following characteristics:
      a. an accelerator with a pulse width of 200 ns or less; and
      b. a ‘peak power’ exceeding 4 000 MW.

 

 

Note: D1.1 does not cover accelerators that are component parts of devices designed for purposes other than electron beam or X-ray radiation (electron microscopy, for example) nor those designed for medical purposes.

 

Technical note

‘Peak power’ = (peak potential in volts) × (peak beam current in amperes).

 

D1.2 Cryogenic amplifiers, as follows:

      a. Amplifiers designed or modified to operate below 100 K (-173°C); or

      b. cryogenic parametric amplifiers.

 

Note: Parametric amplifiers also include travelling-wave parametric amplifiers (TWPA).

 

D2 Test, inspection and production equipment

D2.1 Test methods and test models for resilience testing of battery cells.

 

D3 Software

D3.1 “Software” for battery management systems (BMS) specially designed or modified for unmanned aerial vehicles or military applications.

 

D4 Technology

D4.1 “Technology” for the “development” of frequency changers or generators that are usable as a variable or fixed frequency motor drive, having all of the following characteristics:

      a. multiphase output providing a power of 40 VA or greater;

      b. operating at a frequency of 600 Hz or more; and

      c. frequency control better (less) than 0.2%.

 

D4.2 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of anode materials for the following battery chemistries:

      a. lithium ion;

      b. lithium sulphur;

      c. sodium ion; or

      d. sodium sulphur.

 

D4.3 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of cathode materials for the following battery chemistries:

      a. lithium ion;

      b. lithium sulphur;

      c. sodium ion;

      d. sodium sulphur; or

      e. oxygen.

 

D4.4 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of all-organic proton batteries.

 

D4.5 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of load-bearing anodes, cathodes or electrolytes for use in structural batteries.

 

D4.6 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of separator films for the following battery chemistries:

      a. lithium ion;

      b. lithium sulphur;

      c. sodium ion; or

      d. sodium sulphur.

 

E Navigation and avionics

 

E1 Systems, equipment and components

E1.1 Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) or parts thereof designed or modified for military systems.

 

E2 Technology

E2.1 “Technology” for the “development” or “production” of inertial navigation systems and sensors incorporating accelerometers or gyros based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).

 

F Aerospace and propulsion

 

F1 Systems, equipment and components

F1.1 Systems, products or components specially designed to monitor or track objects in orbit around the Earth.

 

F2 Test, inspection and production equipment

F2.1 Additive manufacturing equipment specially designed or modified for use in space.

 

F3 Software

F3.1 “Software” specially designed or modified for systems, products or components specified in F1.1.

 

F4 Technology

F4.1 “Technology” for the “development” of systems, products or components specified in F1.1.

 

F4.2 Payload, telemetry and command data between any satellite and ground-based station.

 

Note: 1: F4.2 does not include services available to the public.

Note: 2: F4.2 covers both raw and processed data.

Note: 3: F4.2 includes the transmission of downloaded payload and telemetry data.

 

 

G Other

 

G1 Other

G1.1 “Technology” in the form of AI algorithms that use or generate data containing ‘sensitive personal data’ or ‘location data’, including generated data.

 

Note: 1: ‘Sensitive personal data’ includes personal data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs or trade union membership and the processing of genetic data, biometric data to uniquely identify a natural person, data concerning health or data concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

 

Note: 2: ‘Location data’ includes data processed in a public mobile electronic communications network indicating the geographical position of an end user’s terminal equipment, or data in a public fixed electronic communications network indicating the physical address of the network termination point.

 

G1.2 “Technology” specially designed for machine learning algorithms for military purposes. This specifically includes trained model parameter values.

 

G1.3 Trained models for military purposes using technologies referred to in G1.2.

 

G1.4 “Technology” specially designed for military decision-making involving or based on explicit expert knowledge.

 

 

B. Definitions of terms used in A. List of emerging technologies and other strategic protection-worthy technologies that are covered by the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Act (2023:560)

 

Note: Words and terms in this list of definitions have the meaning as defined only when indicated by placing them in “double quotation marks”. Definitions of terms in ‘single quotation marks’ are given in a technical note. Otherwise, words and terms have their standard (dictionary) meaning.

 

“composite”:

a “matrix” and an additional phase or additional phases consisting of particles, whiskers, fibres or any combination thereof, present for one or more specific purpose or purposes.

 

‘development’:

all phases prior to serial production, such as:

1. design;
2. design research;
3. design analyses;
4. design concepts,
5. assembly and testing of prototypes;
6. pilot production schemes;
7. design data;
8. data design;
9. the process of turning the data design into a product;
10. configuration design and integration design; and
11. layouts.

 

“high-entropy alloys” (HEA):

metallic materials consisting of four or more of the metallic elements Al, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta or W and having a concentration of 5–35 atomic per cent for each constituent element.

 

“high-entropy ceramics” (HEC):

ceramic materials consisting of four or more oxides with a concentration of 5–35 atomic per cent for each constituent oxide.

 

“isostatic presses”:

equipment capable of pressurising a closed cavity through various media (gas, liquid, solid particles, etc.) to create equal pressure in all directions within the cavity upon a workpiece or material.

 

“matrix”:

a substantially continuous phase that fills the space between particles, whiskers or fibres.

 

“nuclear reactor”:

a complete reactor capable of operation so as to maintain a controlled self-sustaining fission chain reaction. A “nuclear reactor” includes all the items within or attached directly to the reactor vessel, the equipment which controls the level of power in the core, and the components which normally contain, come into direct contact with or control the primary coolant of the reactor core.

 

“production”:

all production phases, such as construction, production engineering, manufacture, integration, assembly (mounting), inspection, testing, quality assurance.

 

“program”:

a sequence of instructions to carry out a process in, or convertible into, a form executable by an electronic computer.

 

“technology”:

specific information necessary for the “development”, “production” or “use” of goods. This information takes the form of ‘technical data’ or ‘technical assistance’.

 

Technical notes

1. ‘Technical assistance’ may take forms such as instructions, skills, training, working knowledge and consulting services and may involve the transfer of ‘technical data’.
2. ‘Technical data’ may take forms such as blueprints, plans, diagrams, models, formulae, tables, engineering designs and specifications, manuals and instructions written or recorded on other media or devices such as disk, tape, read-only memories.

 

“use”:

operation, installation (including on-site installation), maintenance (inspection), repair, overhaul and renovation.