Civil on the impact of the geopolitical situation on foreign investment: Chinese investors no longer respond to our letters

This was discussed with Elijus Čivilis, Director of Invest in Lithuania, on the business approach.
Promises to continue the mission of the organization

Former Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation E. Čivilis claims that he supported the mission “Invest in Lithuania” while still in his previous position. According to him, both the institutional experience available and the previous line of activity outlined by the head of the Mantas Katinas organization coincided with personal ambitions and attitudes towards the development of foreign investments in Lithuania.

Invest in Lithuania is a public institution that depends on the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, which implements the foreign investment policy.

“The ministry sets goals that our organization pursues. The mutual relationship is like a child and his parents, who push each other when necessary ”, says the interlocutor.

Speaking of the most important business goals in the new role, the “Business Approach” guest says he doesn’t want to change everything. The goal of E. Čivilis is to complement and encourage the development of bold ideas, but which at some point did not seem entirely appropriate. “Previous Invest in Lithuania managers have built an organization that has fire, many motivated employees and highly competent. That should continue. “

TV Delfi E. Čivilis, who visited the air, says there was not much time to adjust when he assumed his new position.

“I immediately felt like I was running an investment attraction marathon. From the first week of work, I participated in meetings with investors, discussions with the Ministry. In part, I feel comfortable because this area is not unfamiliar. “Investment in Lithuania is very high, so it takes more time to put everything together”, shares the new director of the organization that implements the foreign investment policy, his first impressions.

Operational priorities

When the presenters of the “Business Approach” program asked what should be the objectives of Lithuania to attract foreign investment, E. Čivilis says that our country has certain identity disorders.

“We are divided between the West and the East on many issues. It bothers us to see our neighbors, such as Estonians, identifying themselves very precisely. But if Estonians are strong in one area, we have a double chance of demonstrating in others who do. feel jealous of us, like life sciences. Fast-paced neighbors who dictate the pace are strong players, which means that the whole region is also strong. If we want to continue the success story of the Baltic countries, both Lithuania like Estonia and Latvia must contribute to this, ”he says.

According to the director of “Invest in Lithuania”, one economic sector is not the key for the rest of the world.

“The current strategy of the organization defines the sectors in which we work successfully. It is important to understand that we have as many people as we have. This means that resources are limited and the possibilities we can work on are limitless. We have the largest investors with financial centers, the technology sector, the life sciences, who have the ambition to become one of the driving forces of the Lithuanian economy, as well as manufacturing, which is currently the main engine of the economy. from the country. It is natural that we need investors to be able to have a balanced Lithuania ”, says E. Čivilis.

Speaking of the talent offer in Lithuania, TV Delfi The guest of the fair says that this topic can be considered from different angles, but regardless of the sector in which we work, the topic is always relevant.

“Should we look for investors who create demand or produce supply in advance? The current configuration of the labor market in terms of future needs is more equitable. However, there is a certain inertia when we continue to train specialists who will not need as much in the future ”, he adds.

During the last decade, the digital economy in Lithuania has grown very fast, so, in the opinion of the interlocutor, we have something to offer in this area. “This is the fourth largest sector in the country. It is likely that in a decade Lithuania will be a country of digital economy. Our competitiveness is determined by our ability to adapt to future needs, we have many good professionals and programs that help to fulfill with these expectations ”.

It is true that E. Čivilis states in the Business Approach that there are some important indicators according to which we are still far behind our neighboring countries. According to him, we should follow other EU countries in terms of human capital, which includes the most value-generating specialties and indicators of market saturation. As a result, investors coming to Lithuania hope to find specialists with such skills easier.

Investors are monitoring the geopolitical situation

After asking if the current geopolitical situation in the country can help solve the shortage of employees in the “Business Outlook” program, E. Čivilis says that the process of attracting talent from Belarus is already underway.

“Neighboring countries have opted for different strategies. Poland strongly invited Belarusians to attend, and Latvia and Estonia carried out more general information campaigns. Our choice was to draw up a list of specific companies according to their areas of activity, export abroad and contact them. This tactic has paid off, as we are halfway there in terms of the number of companies selected.

Today we already have almost 600 information technology specialists from Belarus. The talents of this country are very similar to the Lithuanians, they are productive, they have their own businesses. All they need is to let them come here. So far, we have tackled it successfully. ” TV Delfi The director of “Invest in Lithuania” counts in the study.

E. Čivilis says that the geopolitical situation has a direct impact on the attitude of foreign investors towards Lithuania.

“There are pros and cons to political phenomena. The Chinese investors with whom we had talks no longer respond to our letters. We must be realistic that as long as such a relationship exists, the situation will not change.

On the other hand, many new opportunities open up. Eleven trade mission representatives from eleven large companies who visited Lithuania last week said that we are all talking about us in the US, we are interesting about our value backbone. Representatives of the delegation say that we must go to this country to show ourselves, because now we are very well presented in the market. In October, we will also host probably the largest delegation of investors, exporters and other large companies of all time from Taiwan. “

According to the guest of the program, although today we can forget about China as an investor, this does not mean that the situation will not change in the future. E. Čivilis also points out that, by attracting investors, Lithuania will be able to use its image as a gateway between East and West for many years to come.

Future risks assessed

Speaking of the benefits available to foreign investors, which sometimes provoke indignation from local companies, the new director of Invest in Lithuania, who appeared in Verslo žinios, says that local companies receive more necessary incentives and tools and institutional support. “The objective of the state is to invest where the highest profitability and efficiency are obtained, so that we can redistribute the budget to other social areas. We see that each euro spent on foreign investment returns us nine ”.

Speaking of the functions of “Investing in Lithuania”, E. Čivilis says that it is important not only to attract investors, but also to create and improve the investment environment. Investors are looking for quick fixes and opportunities to start operations more quickly, so the interviewee regrets that the necessary infrastructure in Lithuania is poorly developed.

Pasak TV Delfi The decision of the interlocutor of the show, foreign companies to leave Lithuania after a few years of operation is a natural process. “Each organization has its own life cycles. They are also under pressure for cost optimization and we have to say that Lithuania is not and does not want to be a cheap labor country. We do not offer savings. But instead of one large outgoing investor, many others emerge. It is important to monitor the general trend, and it is growing ”, E. Čivilis shares positive forecasts.

When assessing possible future risks, the director of “Investing in Lithuania” says that the biggest problem, which is also noted among policy makers, is the problem of talent. According to E. Čivilis, if we remain a closed country, our population will continue to decline so sharply that the problem will not be attracting foreign investors, but the fact that we will not be able to maintain the infrastructure available. The guest of the “Business Perspective” program hopes that after the crisis caused by COVID-19, the issue of talent development will be a priority on the agenda of decision makers.