Baltic States: German entrepreneurs assess the situation in Lithuania the most positive

German enterprises are generally very satisfied with Lithuania as their investment location. 135 German companies, based in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, were interviewed for the survey by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (AHK Baltic States). In a regional comparison, the companies based in Lithuania assess the situation the most positive: 98 percent rate it either “good” or “satisfied”. In Estonia, it was 96 percent and in Latvia 88 percent.

Economic development significantly better than the EU average

93 percent of the companies would choose Lithuania again as a foreign location. Lithuania has, among other things, the advantage of low personnel costs (about one quarter of the EU average), a low corporate tax (15 percent) and an attractive sales market at the intersection of the markets in Scandinavia, Western Europe and the CIS countries. And the country is well above the EU average with its growth in economy and innovation. Therefore, 98 percent of the respondents assess the current situation of their specific sector in Lithuania positively (Estonia: 86 percent, Latvia: 89 percent). 65 percent expect sales growth in Lithuania (Estonia: 50 percent, Latvia: 49 percent).

Outlook: Further investments despite the Ukraine crisis

Considerably fewer companies expect a slowdown than just a year ago. “On the contrary: 46 percent of the companies plan to increase their investments in Lithuania and expand their businesses,” said Justinas Pagirys, Business Development Director of the investment developing and consulting agency Invest Lithuania. “The introduction of the Euro at the beginning of the year already shows positive effects – 77 percent of the managers interviewed confirmed that the single currency contributes to the positive assessment of Lithuania”.

Read full article in German at Finanzen.net