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Investors that are based in Kaunas reviews and opinions
Video has been created by JPP „Create for Lithuania“ participants (Julija Kačanova and Gerda Kalpokaitė) together with „Invest in Lithuania“ and Kaunas municipality.
Why invest in Kaunas?
Download presentation (.pdf)
Kaunas – The place for your success in business
Investment contributes towards economic welfare of a city by establishing new companies, introducing new technologies into industry, investing into development of innovations and social sector, developing infrastructure. Due to investment the standard of living rises, income grows, GDP increases, services and goods become of high quality.
According to foreign direct investment (FDI), Kaunas region is one of three regions in Lithuania, which attracts most of FDI. Kaunas region yields to Vilnius region and is competing with Klaipeda region. However, in 2005, Vilnius region received 11 600 mln. litas of investments, while Kaunas region received only 1 858 mln. litas. The major part of investment (77 %) in Kaunas region was attracted by Kaunas city, whereas the remaining part of FDI was divided by Birstonas town, Jonava, Kaisiadorys, Kedainiai, Prienai, and Raseiniai districts. Referring to the above mentioned towns, Birstonas deserved the least attention from the investors in 2005, although it is a town with great recreational potential because it is situated in the heart of Lithuania in picturesque scenery near the turn of the Nemunas River.
In order to encourage investment in Kaunas region and the small towns, Kaunas Regional Development Agency in cooperation with Latgale Regional Development Agency in Latvia in November 2005, started the project “Latgale and Kaunas Investment Portfolios” which was supported by PHARE and was implemented in September, 2006. The target groups of the project were Kaunas County Governor’s Administration, Municipalities of Kaunas and Latgale regions and private real estate agencies, that provide public services to investors,.
The goal of the project was to stimulate the establishment of new workplaces and the growth of income by therefore increasing foreign and local investments, promoting the growth of industry and services.
The investment potential of Kaunas and Latgale regions was investigated taking into consideration the strategic positions of the regions, and their industries.
In order to establish the needs of the investors, the municipalities and other interested institutions, a survey was carried out which resulted in creating the Strategy of Attracting and Assisting Investors in Kaunas Region. In the future the Strategy will be beneficial for the employees of public administration institutions.
Furthermore, the project partners visited Denmark where the issues of encouraging investors, advising them, and developing innovations in the regions were discussed with the representatives of Fyn region.
Another outcome of the project was creating the data base of the municipal investment objects. This data base will be integrated into Kaunas Regional Development Agency website (www.krda.lt) and used to inform investors. It is an absolutely new product in Kaunas region because in the past the information could be found only on municipalities’ websites and was hardly available for foreign investors.
After the survey had been carried out, it became clear that investors lacked well-structured information on how to start business in Kaunas region, on the existing laws, exemptions, etc. Accordingly, the information relevant to the investors intending to set up business in Kaunas region was gathered and placed on the website www.krda.lt.
Marketing material (in CD format) of the Investment Portfolio in English and Lithuanian was prepared during the project. The aim of this Portfolio is to spread the information about Kaunas region and municipal investment objects.
Also three potential investors were assisted during this project:
- German company Meffert AG Farbwerke which has purchased a land plot for building a paint-mixing factory in Jonava Municipality. This factory will create 30 new jobs necessary for this district.
- Dutch consulting company Buck Consultants International which was interested in purchasing offices in Kaunas city.
- Marestana Ltd which was looking for a land plot in Kaunas region for establishing eel breeding company.
In order to ensure project continuity and successful attracting of investment in Kaunas region , it is essential to strengthen efficient cooperation between the R&D, business and public potential in the Region.
It has also been suggested to extend the investment data base which has been created.
Taking into consideration the survey results and the experience of foreign regions, it has been recommended to create an institution with the staff of at least two employees responsible for attracting and assisting the investors. The above mentioned institution could provide the information about Kaunas region and municipal investment objects, and could initiate new products that would stimulate innovations in the Region.
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