Economy

Business environment improves as regulators and business find common ground

2024-05-23T14:59:08+03:00

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation has conducted a survey among the country's businesses on the performance of business regulators. The survey shows that positive trends are emerging: the number of inspections is decreasing, the majority of inspections are planned, and businesses are clearly informed of irregularities and given instructions on how to remedy them.

"We need to help businesses to act, so it is important that business supervision is based on working with businesses and helping them, rather than punishing them. Continuous evaluation of supervisors' performance, training and mentoring of supervisors' staff are some of the measures that lead to effective supervision that meets high standards, improves the business environment and reduces the burden of supervision on businesses. However, there are still areas where we need to improve supervision in order to give businesses every opportunity to grow," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

According to the survey, 54% of businesses rated the performance of the supervisory authorities in 2023 as very good or good. Last year, medium-sized enterprises were the most frequently inspected (52%). Comparing the share of inspections by the length of time a business has been in operation, the likelihood of being inspected increases with the length of operation. Businesses operating for less than 1 year, known as new entrants, were the least likely to be inspected.

"We see that the authorities have improved their performance in recent years by finding effective ways of providing information and expanding their advisory tools. We also see where more efforts should be made - businesses should be informed about inspections in advance, and it is important to use questionnaires so that businesses can prepare for inspections," said Ieva Valeškaitė, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

In 2023, 89% of inspections were planned, 8% were unplanned and 3% required authorisation. 88.9% of authorities give advance notice of an inspection. 70% of inspections were carried out by questionnaire. However, 41.4% of companies reported that inspections included additional checks for compliance with other requirements not covered by the questionnaire. This created difficulties for businesses as they could not adequately prepare for the inspection and manage the risks arising from the consequences of the inspection.

In 2023, 34.5% of inspections found non-compliance with legal requirements. In 96% of cases, the inspectorate informed the business of the breach, the sanctions imposed and how the breach could be rectified. Regarding the level of awareness among enterprises of the supervisory measures implemented and applied, almost half of the enterprises (48.2%) had to contact a supervisory authority for advice on legislation, licensing requirements or other services.

75.1% of enterprises received clear and comprehensive answers to their questions. Large enterprises (29.4% did not receive a clear answer) and enterprises operating for less than 1 year (35.4%) reported receiving the lowest quality of advice.

Businesses also made suggestions for improving the work of the regulators: they said that the information should be clearer, in simpler language and accompanied by an explanation of the guidelines. It was also suggested that the information should be systematised in one place, tailored to the specific cases of enterprises and regularly updated on the website. Business representatives expressed the expectation that regulators would help them to improve their practices, rather than inspecting to punish.

In order to improve business supervision, the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation organises annual initiatives to this end, with more than 2,200 professionals from more than 40 supervisory authorities being trained in consultancy, the basics of the business supervision system or risk assessment in the period 2023-2024. Inspection performance is also assessed through the Supervisory Inspection Survey Instrument (SISI), which is used by 19 authorities. In addition, advice is provided, methodological material is produced and a Supervisory Performance Assessment Scoreboard is published to assess the quality of supervisory performance.

The Ministry has also supported the formation of an association of supervisors. The members of this association share best practices and knowledge and seek innovative and efficient solutions for supervision.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

EIMIN: EUR 2.4 million to modernise business service centres

2024-05-22T11:54:50+03:00

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation is investing in the modernisation of business service centres in Lithuania. A €2.4 million call for project implementation plans is being launched for business service centres that want to automate their business processes.

"The technological breakthrough is rapidly changing the way business service centres operate, so we are giving them the opportunity to modernise and innovate. This is an important prerequisite for increasing work efficiency, and the introduction of robotics or artificial intelligence solutions will save time for the employees of these centres to perform other value-adding tasks," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

Business service centres can receive up to €200,000 and up to 50% of the total project costs. Both Lithuanian and foreign companies registered in Lithuania are eligible to apply.

The projects will be implemented by selected promoters - business service centres. They will be able to use the funding to design and develop robotic process automation and artificial intelligence solutions.

"With this investment, business service centres will be able to automate management and operational processes such as sales or marketing, accounting, recruitment, finance and bookkeeping. This will not only allow them to move faster in improving business processes, but will also give them a competitive advantage," said Erika Kuročkina, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

Project implementation plans will be accepted by the Central Project Management Agency (CPMA) until 28 June.

The full terms and conditions of the measure are available on the European Union Investment website.

The measure is implemented within the framework of the Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan "Next Generation Lithuania", funded by the European Union's NextGenerationEU programme.

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The Defence Fund package of proposals was presented to the public

2024-05-21T16:48:48+03:00

Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė today publicly presented the Defence Fund package, which includes proposals to increase the national defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) for the period 2025-2030. According to Minister G. Skaistė, the proposed package consists of four parts: the extension of the solidarity contribution, corporate income tax decisions, excise duty decisions, and the concept of the security contribution.

“The range of decisions offered by the Defence Fund is wide. We propose decisions that directly respond to the needs of defence and civil protection, ensuring the necessary level of defence funding and preparedness against threats. Given the geopolitical situation and the fact that Lithuania is located on the border of the European Union, we must do everything we can to ensure security. It is these proposed decisions that have received the broadest support from political parties, businesses, trade unions, NGOs and can be adopted in the Seimas," Minister G. Skaistė said.

Tax decisions of the Defence Fund

The first component of the Defence Fund is the Solidarity Contribution. It is proposed to extend it by one year until 2026, thus maintaining the logic of the contribution as a temporary decision in the context of a significant increase in the profits of financial institutions, mainly driven by economic and geopolitical factors over the past two years and not by business decisions. Extending the solidarity contribution for one year will generate EUR 60 million forthe Defence Fund.

The central part of the Defence Fund, which makes up the lion’s share in the package, is thecorporate income tax decisions. They include raising the corporate income tax rate for business by 1 pp. from the current 15 % to 16 % and increasing the reduced corporate income tax rate for small companies by 1 pp. to 6 %. This part also proposes a decision to abolish special corporate income tax regimes for the insurance and health sectors and the abolition of the limitation of car deductions linked to greenery. Finally, changes in the regulation of business licenses are proposed, which were foreseen in the package of tax proposals submitted by the Government. These decisions will provide an additional EUR 46 million for the Defence Fund in 2025, and more than EUR 163 million in 2026-2027.

A quarter of the Defence Fund package consists of thedecisions related to excise duties: additional excise duties on alcohol and tobacco, which will contribute to the three-year plan of excise duties and a 6-cent (part of excise duty + VAT) defence component per litre of fuel for excise duty on petrol, diesel, green farmer diesel and transport oil gas respectively. These decisions will allow the Defence Fund to secure an additional almost EUR 142 million in 2025, more than EUR 157 million in 2026, and almost EUR 173 million in 2027.

The package of decisions of the Defence Fund is also complemented by the new proposed concept of the Security Contribution – a 10 % contribution on insurance contracts without applying it to life insurance and civil liability insurance of natural persons. As the regulation is completely new, the concept, unlike other proposed decisions, is first presented to the public and then a draft law will be developed. This decision will generate an additional EUR 50 million in 2025, and EUR 100 million each year in 2026-2027.

In total, the decisions of the Defence Fund will provide additional funding of almost EUR 298 million in 2025, more than EUR 421 million in 2026, and almost EUR 437 million in 2027.

Defence and civil protection needs and additional decisions

According to the data of the Ministry of National Defence, defence funding needs for the next five-year period are composed of fixed and variable components. A steady and continuous need to reach 3 % in 2025 and to maintain this level of financing by 2030 will require an additional 0.5 % of GDP per year. This will be EUR 400 million in 2025, EUR 440 million in 2027. These needs will be addressed by the proposed Defence Fund decisions. The additional variable component need until 2030 amounts to up to EUR 50 million per year. These needs are to be met by borrowing through defence bonds and notes, with a possibility to be acquired not only by natural persons but also by legal entities and by offering that the cost of borrowing does not exceed the average cost of Government borrowing of a relevant duration and may not exceed 2 %.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, the need for funding for the civil protection strengthening and development programme is EUR 150 million. The programme aims to implement 7 priorities: the development of shelter infrastructure; improving the alert system and strengthening people’s awareness; enhancing preparedness and resilience of crisis management and civil protection system entities; increasing the resilience of the health system; the formation of civil protection assistance teams; strengthening preparedness for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats; strengthening the capacity of civil protection training.

For the implementation of these needs, it is proposed to channel EUR 25 million of personal income tax (PIT) revenue per year from economic growth received by municipalities to the implementation of the civil protection strengthening and development programme: the development of shelter infrastructure; prevention and preparedness initiatives; provision of supplies for uninterrupted activities and for ensuring people’s needs.

On the initiative of Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, three meetings with representatives of parliamentary parties, trade unions and employers’ associations and three consultations with social partners (business, trade unions and NGOs representatives) were held in search of a broad consensus on possible decisions to increase defence funding. Based on consultations-discussions, “traffic lights” for possible decisions were formed, and the format of proposals was agreed – additional revenue decisions would be provided in the form of a separate law on the state defence fund. The proposals that received the most support were made public today.

It is expected that the proposals of the Defence Fund will be discussed at the Government meeting in the near future and later will be submitted to the Seimas.

www.finmin.lrv.lt

Vilnius region start-ups to develop artificial intelligence solutions with €15 million support

2024-05-20T16:29:22+03:00

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation continues to support innovation. This time, €15 million has been allocated to 170 startups and spin-offs in the Vilnius region to develop solutions in artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and robotic process automation.

"Start-ups employ around 18,000 people and have an average salary of around €4,000. By investing in young companies, we create more opportunities for Lithuania. That is why we continue to help startups grow and encourage them to create innovative solutions that contribute to our country's progress," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

With this investment, start-ups will develop products and solutions in the fields of business, science, health and education.

In business, the start-ups will develop artificial intelligence products and solutions for food sustainability assessment, targeted advertising and information, and unified business analytics systems. They will also develop an assistant for business consultants, a system for verifying and selling works of art, an innovative solution for organising and analysing sustainability data, an interior design recommendation tool and a virtual stylist assistant for e-commerce.

In science, a robotic satellite tracking and targeting system will be used to automate the testing process. An augmented and virtual reality drone simulator and a satellite image analysis platform will also be developed.

In the area of health, AI-based tools for cardiovascular disease prevention and health promotion (virtual counsellors) and a healthy lifestyle app will be developed.

In education, AI will be used to develop a learning platform for students with special needs and an app to help children with specific reading disabilities (dyslexia). Teachers will benefit from an innovative maths assistant and smart solutions for distance learning.

"What makes this measure unique is that the projects will be funded at 100% intensity. The investments will increase the supply and diversity of innovative products, contribute to job creation and accelerate innovation and technological progress," said Erika Kuročkina, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

Applicants could apply for a maximum grant of €102,000. The duration of the projects is between 6 and 12 months.

The measure for start-ups and spin-offs in the Vilnius region is implemented under the New Generation Lithuania plan, which is funded by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

EIMIN: Record additional funding of €80 million

2024-05-08T16:19:30+03:00

The Ministry of the Economy and Innovation has launched a record amount of funding for all successful projects under the highly popular InoPažanga and InoBranda instruments. An additional €79.8 million has been allocated to 98 projects on the reserve list alone, which create innovation and strengthen cooperation between business and science.

"Developing, patenting and launching innovative products is an important feature of a high value-added economy. That is why we have allocated almost €80 million of additional funding to innovation projects, in response to the particularly strong demand from business for innovation projects. In total, almost €114 million has been allocated to 133 projects under the two measures," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

Under InoPažanga, almost €36 million of investment has been allocated to 54 advanced innovators on the reserve list. Lithuanian companies will deploy a range of artificial intelligence solutions, improve processes for IoT-based goods and services, develop automated road signs, harness innovations in agriculture and provide more secure online services. Companies will also develop smarter energy and fire systems and innovative products.

The InoBranda instrument provides almost €43 million of investment to 44 mature innovators on the reserve list. This will be used for the roboticisation of medical diagnostic laboratories, the development of virtual tools for learning and speech recognition, and industrial innovation. Lithuanian companies will also develop innovative biotechnology tools, facilitate the use of scientific data analysis and innovate in the field of environmental protection.

"These investments will pay off handsomely by improving our country's economic, industrial, social, educational and cyber sectors. This will not only create innovative products, but also grow Lithuania's economy by strengthening business and science," said Iveta Paludnevičiūtė, Chancellor of the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation.

In the first phase, in April this year, 35 projects were selected under InoPažanga and InoBranda for funding of almost €35 million. Almost €20 million was allocated to 23 advanced innovator projects and almost €15 million to 12 mature innovator projects.

An advanced innovator has been active for at least one year and a mature innovator for more than three years.

InoPažanga and InoBranda are being implemented within the framework of the European Union's investment programme for 2021-2027.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

The Ministry of Finance received a partially positive assessment from the European Commission regarding the frozen funds of the plan "New Generation Lithuania"

2024-05-07T11:51:02+03:00

The Ministry of Finance in response to the European Commission's (EC) partially positive assessment of milestone 142 of the plan "New Generation Lithuania", an EUR 8.7 million sanction applied, and EUR 14.88 million planned to be disbursed in May, will consider the possibility of applying to the General Court of the European Union (GC) regarding the compliance of the Commission's actions with the regulation of the instrument. According to the plan "New Generation Lithuania", Lithuania has already received almost EUR 1 billion grant funds and more than EUR 470 million loan funds.

"The Ministry of Finance will seriously consider the possibility of applying to the General Court of the European Union with a request to assess whether the partially positive assessment by the European Commission applied to Lithuania complies with the regulation of this instrument. The project progress assessment methodology was approved long after the countries agreed with the EC on their obligations, so there are doubts about the proportionality of its application, compliance with the provisions of the EU regulation and the principles of legitimate expectations. We do not believe that the EC correctly implements the powers granted to it by the regulation," Minister of Finance Gintarė Skaistė noted.

Lithuania will seriously consider the possibility to apply to the GC. If it were decided to implement this process, the Ministry of Finance would submit a request to the Ministry of Justice to submit a position to the Government. After receiving the approval of the Government, procedural documents would be prepared, which would be submitted to the ECJ by the Ministry of Justice. The claim must be filed within 2 months from the publication of the EC decision.

We would like to note that on 30 November 2022 after Lithuania submitted the first payment request for the implementation of the plan "New Generation Lithuania", on 28 February 2023 the EC provided an assessment of the first payment request and announced that over half a billion euros of funds will reach Lithuania: 31 milestones out of 33 submitted have been approved. For the implemented reforms in 2023 we have received EUR 542 million, which is already almost a quarter of the planned amount.

Regarding 2 milestones (tax reform – milestones 142, 144 of the plan NGL) the EC made a decision to temporarily suspend disbursement of EUR 26 million until they are finally achieved. In December last year, the EC assessed the additional information provided by Lithuania on the actions taken and considers milestone 144 "Proposals prepared on the basis of a detailed analysis regarding the expansion of environmental taxes and taxation of other sources less detrimental to economic growthwere submitted to the Seimas" fully achieved.

The EC positively assessed the Government's proposals to the Seimas regarding the changes to the immovable property tax. Changes to the environmental taxes have already been presented earlier and the EC has already recognized that this part of the milestone has been achieved.

After evaluating the additional information provided by Lithuania on the actions taken regarding milestone 142 "Proposals prepared on the basis of a detailed analysis regarding the abolishment of tax exemptions or special taxation regimes were submitted to the Seimas ", the EC considers the milestone to have reached 50%. In total, after deducting a part of the already paid pre-financing to Lithuania additionally for these 2 milestones the amount of EUR 14.882 million will be disbursed in May.

Lithuania submitted an analysis of tax exemptions and special tax regimes to the EC with arguments for which individual tax exemptions are not abolished. In implementing the aforementioned milestone, the Government submitted to the Seimas draft amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax, the Law on Personal Income Tax, the Law on Excise Duty and the Law on Immovable Property Tax, which propose to abolish various tax exemptions. These changes, in Lithuania's assessment, undoubtedly significantly contribute to the achievement of milestone142 and fulfil Lithuania's obligations stipulated in the plan "New Generation Lithuania".

In total, the plan “New Generation Lithuania” foresees reforms and investment projects worth almost EUR 2.3 billion in grants and EUR 1.55 billion in loans.

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EIMIN: more data available for businesses and citizens

2024-05-06T13:42:16+03:00

Lithuania will make even more data available and easier to share for businesses and citizens. The government has approved a draft law submitted by the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation to implement the European Data Governance Act.

"Rational use of data can add around 2% to a country's GDP, so we will increase the accessibility and quality of data sharing. We are also removing technical barriers to the re-use of data. By creating a Single European Data Space, we will develop data re-use in strategic areas of the public and private sector, such as energy, mobility, finance and manufacturing," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

The innovations will ensure even better data management and sharing. It will help industry to develop innovative products and services. Many sectors of the economy will become more efficient and sustainable. With more data, the public sector will be able to implement more effective policies, leading to more transparent government and more efficient public services.

The Data Governance Act regulates key areas of data management. It enables the re-use of sensitive categories of data held by the public sector that are protected by commercial and statistical confidentiality, the protection of third party intellectual property rights and the protection of personal data.

It also ensures that data brokers act as trusted data sharing organisations. It also makes it easier for citizens and businesses to share their data in the public interest.

"The Data Governance Act enables even more innovation and job creation. In particular, businesses will benefit from lower costs to acquire, integrate and manage data and lower barriers to entry. It will reduce the time to market for new products and services. This will allow companies to develop new data-driven products and services," said Erika Kuročkina, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

The draft law, which will be submitted to the Seimas, also regulates the implementation of data governance measures in Lithuania. It defines the competences, rights and functions of the implementing bodies, the procedure for handling complaints, determining and paying compensation, sanctions and damages.

The Data Governance Act is implemented in Lithuania by the State Data Agency and the State Data Protection Inspectorate.

The law implementing the Data Governance Act in Lithuania is expected to enter into force on 1 September this year, subject to the approval of the Seimas.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/

The Ministry of Finance drew up draft legislation for the transposition of the provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: the amendments will allow for informed decisions

2024-05-03T15:58:05+03:00

The Government approved the draft legislation drew up by the Ministry of Finance for the transposition of the provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which will oblige companies to publish information on sustainability issues on an annual basis. In parallel, the amendments are proposed to improve the quality of corporate financial statements and to reduce administrative burden and excessive regulation. Such measures aim to contribute consistently to the implementation of a sustainable EU economic and financial system. The amendments are expected to enter into force on 1 July this year.

“The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive responds to more efficient management of sustainable growth, financial risks due to climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, increased transparency and long-term planning of financial and economic activities. A prerequisite for achieving these European targets is the disclosure of relevant, comparable and reliable information on sustainability issues by large companies. The most important financial statements of companies to date are projected to share the importance with sustainability reports. Companies reporting on sustainability will have easier and more favourable access to finance, will be considered as more attractive employers, will have a better reputation, higher value for their business and will be more likely to better manage risks. The package of proposals also covers improving the quality of financial reporting and reducing the administrative burden and business obligations”, says Vice-Minister R. Bilkštytė.

The package of draft legislation consists of amendments to sixteen laws, including the revised version of the Law on Accountability of Companies and Groups of Companies (LACGC), the Law on Auditing of Financial Statements (LAFS).

Implementation of the provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is one of the components of the European Green Deal. At European level, the aim is to transform the existing economy into a modern, competitive, resource-efficient economy as well as an economy without net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Transposition of the European requirements by draft legislation will ensure that business provides clear, reliable, relevant and comparable information on sustainability issues on a regular basis, allowing customers, investors, non-governmental organisations to assess and make informed decisions.

Implementing the provisions of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, first, sustainability reports will have to be prepared by large listed companies, banks and insurance firms with an average annual number of employees above 500. These companies will have to report for 2024. For the financial year starting in 2025, sustainability reports will have to be prepared by other large companies – public and private limited liability companies, state and municipal companies, while for 2026 and beyond – small and medium-sized listed companies. It is estimated that the provision of information on sustainability issues in Lithuania will be mandatory for about 250 companies.

Information on sustainability will have to be reported in the company’s management report in accordance with a uniform European standard, in electronic format. The information thus provided will be clearly comparable, transparent and user-friendly.

It is envisaged that both auditors, audit firms and non-auditors (independent assurance service providers) will be able to provide sustainability reporting mandatory verification services.

Addressed financial reporting quality issues

As regards the reliability of financial statements, it is proposed to harmonise the criteria for both profit and non-profit entities subject to the audit of financial statements: monetary financing of more than 50 employees from the State budget or municipal budgets or the aid used exceeding half a million euros. It should be noted that in case of mandatory audit of statements, the financial statements to be submitted to the LER manager will have to be accompanied with the auditor’s report.

The draft legislation proposes to expand the scope of reporting quality monitoring by introducing monitoring not only of the financial statements, but also of the activity report and the management report, as well as by granting more rights to the AAVI.

In order to ensure transparency, it will be mandatory to provide information to the LER manager on deficiencies in the quality of the financial statements, management report, auditor’s report identified in the course of monitoring and supervision.

Reduced administrative burden on business

The package of amendments prepared by the Ministry of Finance proposes to reduce the administrative burden on business by adjusting the criteria that determine the need for reporting. It is proposed to increase by 25 % the criteria determining the category of companies and group of companies (income earned during the year and assets). In addition, using the option provided by the EC, it is proposed to increase by about 50 % the criteria for small companies and small group of companies. It is expected that due to these amendments, about 3,000 Lithuanian companies will have the opportunity to prepare financial statements with less administrative burden, to provide less information in the explanatory note and not to draw up a management report.

At the same time, it is proposed to increase the monetary criteria for the size of companies (earned income and assets) setting the requirement for the audit of financial statements – once these criteria enter into force, the mandatory audit would no longer be applied to an additional 570 companies.

The amendments also remove stricter restrictions for auditors than those imposed by the Audit Directive and the Audit Regulation.

It is proposed that, where a company chooses to draw up reports at its own discretion, the company itself should be able to choose the requirements applicable to these reports from the statutory obligations.

As an obsolete in the context of electronic reporting, it is proposed to waive the requirement to sign financial statements. In addition, it is envisaged to reduce the number of reports drawn up in the event of reorganisation and liquidation. It is proposed to exempt exclusively public and private limited liability companies from the interim management report (mandatory in distributing dividends for less than one year), leaving the requirement to prepare and submit only interim financial statements.

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Government savings notes distributed for EUR 4.75 million

2024-04-30T16:30:04+03:00

The distribution of the ninth issue Government savings notes (GSN) ended on Monday, where residents purchased GSN for EUR 4.75 million and 243 transactions were made. Residents will be paid 3 per cent of annual interest on this new one-year GSN issue.

After renewal of GSN distribution this year, residents could purchase the ninth issue GSN on 8-22 April. The redemption of this issue will be on 23 April 2025. GSN are distributed via dealers selected by the Ministry of Finance – Swedbank and SEB banks.

During the aforementioned period, Swedbank concluded 184 agreements to purchase GSN in the amount of EUR 3.78 million, while SEB – 59 agreements for EUR 0.97 million.

Preliminary schedule for GSN issue foresees to distribute the tenth issue on 6-20 May to be redeemed on 21 May 2025. The schedule is updated on monthly basis and published on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The GSN interest rates are set for each issue individually, taking into account the appropriate term average Government borrowing rate on behalf of the State. GSN interest rates are fixed no later than one working day before the start of placement of savings notes and published together with other GSN issue distribution terms and conditions on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

The GSNs are the Government securities to be purchased solely by natural persons. It is a safe investment that generates returns, similar to term deposits with a commercial bank, only in this case the residents would entrust their savings to the Government. In turn, the GSNs is an opportunity for the Government to form one more borrowing instrument – to borrow from residents directly and thus attract the residents’ savings not invested elsewhere.

Anyone willing to purchase GSNs during their emission will be able to do so via the distributors chosen by the Ministry of Finance, Swedbank or SEB, on their online bank with a few clicks of buttons. SEB will make it possible to purchase GSNs in bank branches as well.

When the time comes to redeem the GSNs, the investor will not have to do anything – the money for the redeemed GSNs and the interest due will be automatically transferred to the same account from which the payment for the purchased GSNs was made.

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A. Armonaitė to meet potential investors in the United Kingdom

2024-04-29T14:23:22+03:00

The Minister of the Economy and Innovation Aušrinė Armonaitė will visit the UK this week to meet with the heads of the country's leading companies to discuss opportunities for expansion in Lithuania.

"Last year, the UK became Lithuania's 12th trading partner and we continue to strengthen our cooperation in the areas of exports and innovation, as well as attracting foreign direct investment. So far we have attracted business giants such as Euromonitor International and Intersurgical. By showcasing Lithuania's potential and investment climate, we aim to create even more opportunities for mutual economic growth," said the Minister of the Economy and Innovation A.Armonaitė.

During her visit, the Minister will meet with the management of BlackRock, the Bank of London, Thredd, Builder.ai, Revolut Bank and Bayes, a data science and artificial intelligence innovation centre. A meeting with the UK Minister for Industry and Economic Security, Alan Mak, representatives of the City of London Corporation and the Lithuanian community is also planned.

Last year, trade between Lithuania and the UK amounted to €2.34 billion, with exports of €1.5 billion and imports of €846 million. The UK is also the fifth largest inbound tourism market, with 74,000 British tourists expected to visit Lithuania in 2023.

https://eimin.lrv.lt/