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Lithuania rockets to 3rd in the world for high-value investment attraction
According to a new report, Lithuania now ranks only behind Singapore and Ireland globally when it comes to the attraction of high-value investment. Using a model which compares the average job value of investment projects to the volume of job creation, the new “IBM Global Location Trends 2018” report shows that Lithuania has leaped an incredible 29 places from 32nd in 2017 to 3rd in 2018. This meteoric rise is, as the compilers of the report explain, largely a result of the increasing number of companies from high-value sectors like information and technology who are investing in Lithuania.
What is driving this increased high-value sector investment? Talent. As Virginijus Sinkevicius, Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania explains: “Not so long ago Lithuanian companies were trusted only to perform basic secondary operations. This has changed, with many international companies establishing their competence centres as well as branches for innovation development here in Lithuania. The report clearly demonstrates that Lithuania is able to compete as an equal player on the global stage and attract the most innovative companies in the world, companies for who a qualified workforce is the first priority, above even low production costs.”
But Lithuania is far from resting on its laurels; instead, it is looking to build on its successes to forge an infrastructure that will deliver solid long-term benefits for business.
Mantas Katinas, General Manager at Invest Lithuania, has set out his vision for achieving such long-term goals: “Attracting foreign direct investment is not a sprint, it’s more of a marathon and Lithuania needs to focus on retaining their high ranking not just for a few years, but over the decades to come. To do this we need to continually improve the investment climate. There are three points that need to be targeted. The first is to improve industry infrastructure, the second to improve education so that we can more effectively prepare young professionals for the modern job market, especially in the regions. The third is to improve air connectivity for business travelers.”
2017 was a bumper year for FDI in Lithuania, with 6700 new jobs being created. The country now also ranks 2nd globally by estimated FDI generated jobs per million inhabitants, a rise from 15th last year. You can find “IBM Global Location Trends 2018“ report here.
More information: Invest Lithuania