eThesis - School of Business electronic theses

Objectives of the study: The main purpose of the study is to examine the role of the investor relations (IR) activities in the STF, which promotes and sells Finnish government debt instruments to investors around the world. The main research question is: what is the role of investor relations in the STF?

Methodology: The primary data consists of four interviews: three semi-structured interviews of the STF's IR team members, one focus group interview with three STF's communication professionals, as well as two questionnaire surveys.

Results of the study: The main findings of the study show that the role of IR was highlighted during the turbulent times in the financial markets in 2007 - 2010. When compared to public companies, the STF had fewer constraints to carry out IR. With the intensified information needs brought by the financial crisis, the financial community (i.e. banks, rating agencies, and investors) appreciated particularly reliable, instant and proactive information from the STF. Maintenance of the strategically important dialogue and promotion work of the bonds to investors were among the key facets of IR. IR was regarded as an essential part and a vital tool of debt management policy.

Keywords: IR, STF, Debt management, International business communication