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International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics Friday, 29.03.2024, 01:47

Volume of foreign direct investment in Latvia shrinking fast

BC, Riga, 21.09.2016.Print version
The amount of foreign direct investment in Latvia reduced steeply in the first half of this year, as representatives from the Economics Ministry and Latvian Investment and Development Agency told Saeima Foreign Affairs Committee today, writes LETA/BNS.

The Economics Ministry's deputy state secretary Raimonds Aleksejenko said that the volume of foreign direct investment in Latvia had reduced threefold as compared to the pre-crisis years, but this trend was characteristic of all three Baltic countries. Swedish, Cypriot, Dutch, German, Estonian and Lithuanian companies remain the most active investors in Latvia.


Investment and Development Agency's representative Ivars Erkskis said at the committee's meeting that ten investors had decided in January-June to invest in Latvia, compared to 31 investors in the entire 2015. In the first half-year, 44 potential investors visited Latvia, while last year 168 potential investors visited Latvia.

The total amount of foreign direct investment in January-June was EUR 11.52 mln. For the entire last year, foreign direct investment amounted to EUR 37.08 mln. 250 new jobs were created as a result of foreign direct investment in the first half of this year, as compared to 630 new jobs for the whole of 2017.

Among the most remarkable foreign direct investment examples so far this year, Erkskis mentioned Tele2 shared service center, Lindstrom textiles production facility, and fire extinguisher manufacturer N2 Global.

Talks are under way with several prospective investors at the moment, said Erkskis. One makes biodegradable packaging and is planning to invest EUR 27 mln, while another one is planning to invest EUR 2 mln in a biomass production facility. Talks with these investors may take a long time, as they are currently looking for the best place for their investments.






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