Over the recent years, Lithuania has managed to place itself amongst the top destinations for international businesses. There is no secret behind our latest successes. It’s rather a combination of factors that have contributed to making Lithuania an attractive place to run a business.
Lithuania‘s stable economic and political environment is certainly one of them. The country has low inflation and high economic flexibility and currently ranks as one of the fastest-growing members of the EU. This would not have been achieved without rational and constructive policies pursued by consecutive, both right and centre-left, Lithuanian governments. The adoption of the euro as of January 1, 2015 is yet another proof of Lithuania’s financial credibility and political stability.
In addition to a sound economic environment, Lithuania offers business-friendly governance. Over the past few years we have implemented a number of measures that help businesses to run quickly and steadily. And they are bearing fruits — according to the World Bank ‘Doing Business 2015’ report Lithuania is ranked 11 for the ease of starting business globally. It takes only 3 days to set up a new firm in Lithuania. Furthermore, having tax agreements with 50 major markets including China, Russia and the USA, our business environment is truly global in its reach. Also, Lithuania offers 0 per cent tax rates for 6 years in special economic zones and a 50 per cent profit tax deduction after that period.
No businesses can operate without its core – the workforce. Having 93 per cent of the population with secondary or higher education, Lithuania is ranked 1 in the EU for mathematics, science and technology graduates per capita. Moreover, Lithuania has twice as many young people studying Engineering and Manufacturing as the EU average, placing the country in the world‘s top 10 for R&D personnel per capita.
Whoever considers opting for Lithuania as their next business destination can expect almost 80 per cent of young professionals to be proficient in English. The country is ranked 5th in the EU in terms of the number of people speaking at least one foreign language. On top of that, the Lithuanian talent pool comes at an affordable price — labour costs in Lithuania are far below the EU average.
Last but not least, Lithuania offers a perfect infrastructure. Located in the North East of Europe the country is 3 hours or less away from all the EU capitals, by air. More importantly, however, with some of the fastest internet speeds in the world and quick logistical access to both Western and Eastern Europe, Lithuania guarantees that your business always stays connected. The country is the world‘s number one in fulfilling business needs for ICT. It offers the fastest public Wi-Fi and has one of the most affordable broadbands in the EU.
In short, people and infrastructure combined with a business-friendly approach in a stable economic environment make Lithuania an ideal place to run your business.
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The views expressed in this opinion editorial are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Emerging Europe’s editorial policy.
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