Industry association rejects Chamber claim over technology sector

Iceland’s Federation of Industries has rejected a claim by the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce that the technology and intellectual property industry is the federation’s own definition and includes businesses from several sectors, mbl.is reports.

“This is incorrect on the part of the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce. The fact is that Statistics Iceland defines the industry as an independent category and publishes figures on turnover, exports and the number of people employed in the technology and intellectual property industry,” the federation said in a statement.

The federation said Statistics Iceland had published the figures for several years and that they were available on its website.

The Federation of Industries had earlier criticised the Chamber of Commerce’s presentation of Icelandic exports, calling it misleading. It said four export pillars generated 90% of export revenues and criticised the chamber for not mentioning the technology and intellectual property industry, despite the sector generating billions in export revenue last year.

The Chamber rejected the federation’s claims, saying the technology and intellectual property industry was not an independent category in the breakdown used by Statistics Iceland. Instead, it said, the term was a definition created by the federation covering activities across several industries.

The Federation of Industries said the sector included information technology and telecommunications, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and health technology, video game development and other high-tech industries. It said these companies shared a business model and were affected by the same operating conditions, including tax incentives for research and development, intellectual property protection and the availability of people with STEM qualifications.

“Government reforms in these areas affect the industries across the board, and that is why it is appropriate to discuss them as one pillar,” the federation said.