"In the
first month of this year - January, compared to the previous December - both
Lithuanian exports and imports decreased. President of the Vilnius Industry and
Business Association Sigitas Besagirskas says that investments are also
decreasing, which already sends a serious signal to Lithuania about serious
consequences in the future, reports LNK knowledge.
Speaking about
the number of new players who are interested in Lithuania, S. Besagirskas
assured that the number of investors in our country is decreasing.
"One of the
reasons for this is that when it comes to the automotive sector, everyone
understands the consequences of our policy regarding China.
Another thing is
energy prices. For a while, as we saw, they were the highest in the European
Union, which indicates that our Government was not able to manage itself, and
the third thing - we had the highest inflation.
It also shows the
inability of our Government, at least in the short term, to control it, which
is seen as a risk, so foreign investors are cautious about these things for the
time being," said S. Besagirskas.
He said that he
could not single out the countries from which investments are decreasing,
because it concerns all the main investor countries.
"These are
the main EU countries: Germany, Scandinavian countries. Also Great Britain,
USA", he mentioned.
However, the
representative could not say that a dangerous limit has already been reached
here.
"Investments
can be divided into two types. If we talk about services, they are less risky
and can be used one day and leave the next.
But if we are talking about
greenfield investments, I think they will decrease, and the long-term trend
will be that there will be very little or none at all," he warned and emphasized
that the Lithuanian economy has not yet felt this.
"There will
probably be a recession this year, but investments are an inert process and
what we have done, we will certainly not feel the consequences this year."
We will feel them
in 2024, 2025, and maybe even later," said S. Besagirskas.
He shared that he
was in Stuttgart last week, where he met with the owners of several large
companies.
"They said
that Lithuania is great in many respects, and the way we support Ukraine is an
example for them, but we will not invest in the automotive sector because of
China, because we are also counting money."
On the one hand,
this is a plus due to value policy and a big minus for the Lithuanian
economy", said S. Besgirskas.
He assured that
today Lithuania cannot change the situation, but new mistakes should be
avoided.
"For
example, tax reform.
I am afraid that
this will be another mistake that will shake the market, that we are doing
something, but we are not doing anything. We cannot raise taxes, because
business will flee from Lithuania, but if we reduce them, it means that we will
not be able to finance budget obligations. This means that the taxes will only
be shifted, it will disturb the market, it will give a negative signal to
foreign investors, there will be an additional bureaucratic burden for
everyone," he said.
Speaking about
the future of the Lithuanian economy, S. Besagirskas said that he believes that
1-2 percent will be observed. a decline in the economy's GDP.
"It is
worrying that the ECB is preparing to raise the key interest rate again,"
he said."
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