Milda Dargužaitė, general director
of the FDI promotion agency
Invest Lithuania
Lithuania has now the 5th fastest growth rate in the World!

“A boost in investments during the global economic slowdown marks a double victory”, says Milda Darguzaite, the head of Invest Lithuania.

Although the world is going through a decline in foreign direct investment, Lithuania is now among the best in the world.

According to the latest information from fDiMarkets.com, operated by the Financial Times, global greenfield investments fell by more than 22 per cent in the first ten months of 2012. Meanwhile, the number of foreign investment projects in Lithuania increased by 21 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011.

Lithuania ranks fifth in the world, third in Europe, and first among the Baltic States, according to this index.

Throughout the first ten months of 2012, the declared value of 29 FDI projects in Lithuania reached 927 million euros, creating 3,000 new jobs in the country, according to FDImarkets.com data. In comparison, during the same period of 2012, Estonia received 22 and Latvia received 6 projects that will create 1,942 and 783 new jobs respectively.

“The increasing number of FDI projects in Lithuania last year is an excellent proof that Lithuania remains a very attractive location to investors. It is a double victory that Lithuania managed to advance even when the global trends were going in the opposite direction, overall amount of investments decreasing”, says Milda Dargužaitė, general director of the FDI promotion agency Invest Lithuania. “This is a great testament to Lithuania’s potential.”

According to fDiMarkets.com, the largest share — 76% — of foreign investments in Lithuania in the first ten months of 2012 were new greenfield investments, and 24% were designated for the development of existing projects. One-fourth of the investments, or 24%, will go to the manufacturing sector, and the rest is comprised of investments in the service sector. 

Last year the IT service centres such as Call Credit, the UK consumer risk management and credit control company, finance and IT competence centers of Paroc Group, one of the largest European manufacturers of stone wool insulation products and COWI A/S, a Danish engineering consultations and planning company started operating in Lithuania. Last year the service centres of Barclays and Western Union expanded significantly as well, and Danske Bank, the largest financial services group in Denmark, announced that it would establish a new service centre in Lithuania.

Foreign companies are the most desirable employers in Lithuania. In 2011, as many as 19 of the 20 most desirable employers in Lithuania had foreign capital. The average wage paid in foreign companies operating in Lithuania is more than two times higher than the average wage in the country.