Invest Lithuania, the nation’s foreign investment development agency, today announced a renewed commitment to attracting American business investment in the country. Powered by its recent adoption of the Euro, highly skilled professionals, a supportive economic environment and world-class infrastructure, Lithuania has all of the essential ingredients necessary for American companies seeking to establish a business hub in Europe, or grow their existing presence on the continent.
“With 29 major foreign companies deciding to establish businesses in Lithuania, 2014 was a record year for us,” said Justinas Pagirys, head of Investment Development Department at Invest Lithuania. “With our growing economy and favorable business environment, we fully expect the number of foreign companies doing business in Lithuania to continue to rise, and we welcome more American companies to join us as we grow.”
[quote text=”Since 2008, Lithuania has had the fastest growing economy in the EU. The country’s economy grew 2.9 percent in 2014 and is expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2015.” name_surname=”” description=””]
Since 2008, Lithuania has had the fastest growing economy in the EU. The country’s economy grew 2.9 percent in 2014 and is expected to grow by 3.6 percent in 2015. This strong economic environment, coupled with the country’s highly attractive startup incentives, including zero percent tax rates for six years in special economic zones and 50 percent profit tax deduction afterwards make Lithuania an ideal location for American companies to establish business operations.
For the last 20 years, Lithuania has invested heavily in its people, creating a top-talent pool that speaks fluent business. With near 100 percent proficiency in English among young professionals, Lithuania is ranked first in the EU for mathematics, science and technology graduates per capita.
Over the last several years, Lithuania has implemented a number of measures that help businesses get up and running quickly, such as establishing tax treaties with 50 major markets including China, Russia and the USA. As the result of many other measures, the country is now ranked 11th globally for ease of doing business in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report.
Lithuania is located in the center of Europe, making it a three hour or less flight from all EU capitals, and its reliable and high-quality infrastructure has allowed the country to become a part and parcel of NATO’s Northern Distribution Network, meaning that 3,100 miles of sea, road, and rail routes connect Klaipeda city port with central Asia.
Business areas of focus in Lithuania are Shared Services (finance and accounting, human resources, legal and IT), Manufacturing (mechanical engineering and electronics), ICT (software development, IT outsourcing, data centers and game development) and Life Sciences (biosimilars, industrial biotech, medical devices and lasers). The country is ripe with modern and affordable office space, has the leading broadband speed in the EU and the fastest public Wi-Fi in the world.
In May 2010, Western Union opened its European Regional Operations Centre (EUROC) in Lithuania. The facility, which also serves as a Centre of Excellence, hosts the company’s anti-money laundering compliance, accounting, digital, IT, HR and marketing operations. The goal of this Center of Excellence is to streamline global business processes and operational productivity. Western Union now has more than 1,300 employees in Lithuania and is just one of more than 125 American companies doing business in the country.
Read full article at bloomberg.com