Doing Business in LT

(Sources: Lithuanian Department of Statistics ( www.stat.gov.lt );

Eurostat (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/eurostat/home/)

President – Dalia Grybauskaite
Prime Minister – Andrius Kubilius

Lithuania is a great place to do business because it is a nice place to live and work, its people are lively, well-educated and diligent and it possesses a culture that harnesses together features of Eastern and Western Europe.

The World Bank Group Report “Doing Business in 2011: Creating Jobs” named Lithuania 27th in the world and 2nd best of the new EU states for ease of doing business:

• A bridge between the East and West: a Northeastern European country which combines Scandinavian features – progressive, orderly, clean, natural and attractive, with Eastern European features – new, rapidly developing, on the rise, and as yet undiscovered. Lithuania is an authentic combination of Northern and Eastern features.
• Strategic location: Lithuania is situated at the crossroads of 3 markets (Western Europe, the Nordic region and the CIS) and is part of the Baltic sea region.
• Well-developed transport infrastructure: two trans-European network corridors, 3 international airports, an ice-free sea, more than 550,000 m² of logistics and warehousing facilities.
• The country with the capital city breathing Europe’s cleanest air and recognized as the greenest of the new EU-members. It has unique, unspoilt nature with 22,000 rivers and streams, about 3,000 lakes, a clean seaside and 4 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Lithuania is sometimes called “the land of lakes” and attracts tourists looking for a vacation in the clean and calm countryside. The country also welcomes those wanting to explore unique nature.
• One of the EU’s economic recovery leaders in 2010. Hit by the global economic recession, Lithuania’s economy started growing again in the 3rd quarter of 2009, achieving the largest quarterly increase across the European Union. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank project that the Lithuanian economy will grow by 3.2% in 2011.
• Quality of life: Lithuanians are ranked as having one of the highest qualities of life among more than 190 countries around the globe. In the International Living 2010 Quality of Life Index, Lithuania was ranked 22nd in the world by criteria which consist of ninecategories: cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety, risk, and climate.: one of the highest in the EU; higher than Sweden, Great Britain and Greece. Among the top 10 least expensive countries in Europe.
• 500 million consumers in one stop: Lithuania is a springboard to the European single market, which has over 500 million consumers.
• Competitive business operating costs: productivity-driving tax incentives for R&D, tax “holidays” in free economic zones, competitive wages and rent rates. Moreover, EU Structural Funds are available in Lithuania for business development.
• Modern banking and financial system: modern banking technologies, such as e-banking, etc. are fully implemented in Lithuania. The costs of commercial loans from Lithuanian banks are among the lowest in Europe, ranging from 5.5% to 6% per year.
• Top-quality talent pool: Lithuania has one of the best educated workforces in the European Union. 30% of the population possess a higher education, 90% speak at least one foreign language, 50% speak two foreign languages. (Lithuanians are not only smart but also open-minded, communicable and tolerant towards other nationalities and religions.)
• A homeland of talented basketball players. For millions of people all over the world, it is basketball that has put the name of Lithuania on the map together with its star players such as Arvydas Sabonis, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas and others. In the relatively short history of Lithuanian basketball (the first basketball game took place in 1922), the men’s national team has won three Olympic bronze medals, been European champion three times, and once earned the European silver.