German investors await an improvement in the economy sector of the three Baltic States and plan further investments in capital and persona this year, as to the yearly survey conducted by the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (AHK).
“Secure future prospects are positively reflected in plans for investment and employment – more than two-thirds of business investments will be at the same or a higher level this year. Moreover, around 20 percent of businessmen are planning to increase their employee numbers,” the President of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Latvia Jorg Tumat told reporters on May 12.
According to the survey, nine out of ten German businessemen would invest into Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania again, and feel slightly more positive about the Baltic States in the next years. At the same time, two thirds of the 102 respondents see the economies of the three Baltic States still in a bad condition at the moment.
Yet, while only two percent of respondents evaluated the current situation as good, 19 percent believe that things will improve over the next twelve months, Tumat added.
As to Tumat, more than 60 percent of German investors in the Baltic States had suffered losses in turnover and profit over the last fiscal year, influenced by the overall financial crisis. Even though they could profit from the yearly fall of employment costs and a higher number of available workforce on the market, the German businessmen at the same time moaned about the scarce flexibility in the employment laws for employers, and the lacking quality in vocational training.
Presenting the results of the survey to reporters, representatives of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce indicated that German businessmen particularly called for a clear and predictable direction in economic policy, in order to increase competitiveness and ensure stable, sustainable growth in the Baltic States. All respondents in Estonia and 83 percent in Latvia and Lithuania supported the introduction of the Euro in the Baltic States.
The recession in the Baltic States was one of the deepest in the European Union last year, reaching 14,1 percent in Estonia, 18 percent in Latvia, and 15 percent in Lithuania.
estonianfreepress.com