US companies seek to invest in Lithuania

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2013-06-04

Verslo žinios, Nr. 106 (3969), 04.06.2013

The investors from the United States see several sectors in Lithuania where they could invest their capital, however, they remain cautious. The Lithuanian government capability to make determined decisions to attract investment would enhance the investors‘ confidence in placing their capital in Lithuania.

Eric Stewart, President at the American-Lithuanian Business Council, says that the interest of the investors to invest capital in Lithuania is encouraged by the successful and fast country’s recovery after the global economic crisis, as well as small business expenses, educated employees, good knowledge of foreign languages, favorable geographic location. “It is very important for the American companies to be able to expand their business towards Eastern Europe, which becomes possible through investing in Lithuania” – says E. Stewart. Also, the fact that Lithuania will hold the presidency of the European Union will attract even more attention to the country.

However, the final decision of the companies whether to invest in Lithuania depends on the governmental capacity to warrant the long-term development. “The foreign companies appreciate those countries, which firmly know what they seek, how they seek and are able to make essential decisions. The worst thing is when the country says “maybe” instead of a specific answer. Therefore, we expect to hear a clear “yes” or “no”. This is basically because the longer the government takes to make a decision, the lesser confidence of foreign companies seeking to invest in the country it has” – Mr. Stewart says. On Monday, 3 June, E. Stewart attended the World Lithuanian Economic Forum in Vilnius.

According to E. Stewart, the decision of “Chevron” and other US energy companies to invest in exploration and mining of shale gas in Lithuania is mainly determined by the governmental capacity to create and maintain the necessary legal system and environment for business. “For instance, one American and two Canadian investor companies have withdrawn from Poland due to a very complex exploration and mining of shale gas. Lithuanian authorities hope that the situation is less complicated here, as the process was started by passing regulations, organizing debates, however, companies still may consider withdrawal from the country if the process is too expensive from the beginning” – explains Mr. Stewart.

Lithuania could attract foreign capital to other economic sectors as well, including transport, innovations, health security. According to E. Stewart, Lithuania could become the undertaker of the overland transport linkages between Europe and Asia: “at the moment, the most of the Chinese exports is conveyed seaways, whereas the overland transport is not being used enough. There is an opportunity to divert the route and implement the strategy for the overland transport, for instance, From China to Kazakhstan, Russia, Lithuania and the European Union. I am sure you could promote this idea during the period of the European Union Presidency”.

In general, Mr. Stewart and the US investors encourage Lithuania to take advantage of the European Union Presidency period and promote its interests.

Furthermore, the US companies are interested in the Lithuanian innovation sector. Its main disadvantage is considered to be the fact that the ideas are usually not materialized. “It’s very good that you have so many ideas, unfortunately, if they do not reach the market, they are not valuable. The most important thing is to commercialize the ideas and innovations, to turn them into real business, just like it happened in Israel” – says Mr. Stewart.

Moreover, the US pharmacy companies are looking at the Lithuanian health security sector. On the one part, according to E. Stewart, the mainstream attitude towards the pharmacy companies is negative in most of the European countries as it is seen as the factor which is enhancing the governmental expenditures. On the other part, the pharmacy companies are one of the biggest investors in the research and development.

The American-Lithuanian Business Council is a non-profit-making organization established in April, 2013, in Washington. Its main target is to develop commercial relations between the United States of America and Lithuania together with organizing the work of the companies that have already established their divisions in Lithuania. The founders of the Council are “Chevron”, “Exelon Generation”, “strategic Staffing Solutions”, “Thermo Fisher Scientific”, “Western Union” as well as “Maersk Line Limited”, “Fluor” and “Philip Morris”.

http://vz.lt/article/2013/6/4/jav-kompanijos-dairosi-kur-lietuvoje-investuoti

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