doing business in latvia
As a thriving democracy, Latvia has consistently pursued liberal economic policies, and it welcomes investments that foster the principles and benefits associated with free markets.
With its relatively small population, Latvia is not a major market, but the country's key advantage is its location, which provides access to its immediate neighbours. The population of the three Baltic States totals almost 7 million, approximately equal to the population of Sweden. On its doorstep are the Scandinavian countries, with 245 million people, the independent CIS states, with a combined population of 110 million, and Eastern Europe with 100 million inhabitants.
Latvia's main asset is its well-educated workforce, as the country has one of the world's highest number of student per capita. Latvia's skilled and multi-lingual workforce, abundant natural resources, and strategic location form a solid foundation for the country's economy and make Latvia the ideal place to develop your business. Learn more - click here - investinlatvia.org
Latvia is attracting increasingly more attention from investors, reaching a record peak of EUR 642 mil in 2021. Several things stand out from the rest of the world, such as closely connected society and lifestyle, people talented in creativity and innovation, and ambitious plans to solve sustainability issues around the pollution of the Baltic Sea.
For investors eager to start new projects, Latvia offers numerous advantages for their business – a well-developed infrastructure and ICT technologies, a highly skilled and multilingual workforce, and macroeconomic stability. Latvia is also the 2nd greenest country in Europe, mainly relying on renewable energy resources. We welcome investors, as there are 40+ incentive programs, ‘Green channel’ for faster administrative procedures, and other support mechanisms, such as loans and credit guarantees. On top of that, Latvia provides equal treatment to foreign investors.
In recent years, Latvia has been shifting towards sustainability and upskilling in R&D; thus, we are focusing on developing close collaboration ecosystems in smart specialization sectors: photonics and smart materials, bio-medicine, bio-economy, smart energy, ICT, and smart city. If you want to invest in these sectors, you can count on LIAA and the European Union funding.
If you are ready to explore the untapped potential that Latvia offers, we encourage you to check out the Business Guide published yearly.
Please find all the latest information and news about investment opportunities at www.investinlatvia.org.
Other valuable materials, such as fact sheets, can be found in the publication section - click here.
LIAA - One-Stop-Shop for Foreign Investors and Buyers interested in Latvia
The Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) is a state institution reporting to the Ministry of Economy. LIAA offers assistance throughout the process of setting up operations in Latvia, acting as a first point of contact and as a 'one-stop-shop' in assisting investors and in developing tailored solutions to meet their specific needs. The Agency has its own regularly updated database of Latvian enterprises to facilitate partner searches for investment projects and for exporting or subcontracting businesses. For more information about LIAA click here.
LIAA now has a dedicated representatives here in the United States:
Toms Zvidriņš
Head of Representative Office in the USA
Embassy of the Republic of Latvia
2306 Massachusetts Ave NW Washington DC 20008
Tel: +1 202 650 8122
Email: toms.zvidrins@liaa.gov.lv
Reinis Sīplois
Head of Representative Office in Boston
Tel: +1 914 282 1450
Email: reinis.sipolis@liaa.gov.lv
Testimonials of U.S. companies operating in Latvia:
Cabot Corporation - specialty chemicals - Boston
“Latvia’s highly advanced IT infrastructure, convenient connections to other countries from the Riga International Airport, the depth of the talent pool, the growing services capabilities and the cost structure appealed to Cabot. The young and capable workforce in Latvia have exceeded every expectation on the quality, the caliber, the enthusiasm and the ambition.” See more on this video.
CYTEC - global specialty chemicals, HQ in New Jersey
"Our experience in setting up the Shared Services Center to service Cytec locations in Europe and North America has been a very good one. We made the decision to locate our office in Riga in December 2009, we started by recruiting the first wave of employees in May 2010 and we are currently fully staffed with approximately 200 employees. Our Shared Services Center provides services to Cytec entities in the areas of Finance, Human Resources, IT and Procurement. Our decision to choose Latvia was primarily based on the availability of a good pool of talent (university educated, multi-lingual), a good economic business case, and fairly easy access from European cities and from the U.S. into Riga Airport. Also, the availability of the European Structural Fund to support training of our new staff has made it easier to make the operation economically attractive ... Overall, we are very pleased with the employees we have been able to attract and train, and also with the office facility and operation we have established."
GroGlass (NCH Capital Inc) - High technology glass manufacturing
"NCH Capital has been investing in Latvia for almost two decades and our decision to build this high-tech manufacturing facility was a natural extension of our existing portfolio. Our experience building GroGlass further reinforced our positive long-term view on Latvia as a fertile soil for increasing the value of our investments. We were able to attract and train a highly specialized worker base, and we have received tremendous support from LIAA to start our business. The government has been receptive to our requests for improving the taxation environment, in particular extending the tax loss carry forward period. Overall, we feel the advantage of being a European supplier, yet enjoying the benefits of operating a manufacturing facility in a developing country.
Jeld-Wen, Inc. - Window / door manufacturing - HQ in Oregon
"The expectations of our founders mainly have been accomplished. The expected benefits were availability of local raw materials, relatively cheap but skilled and hardworking employees, production accessibility of infrastructure and low income tax rate."
EXIGEN Services - Software / IT - HQ in California
"Came for cost, stayed for quality!. The benefits we had as an investor in a high technology sector were finding an extremely high level resource pool which is experienced with both technology and customer management, while relatively less expensive than either European or U.S.-based software developers. Also, the fact the Latvian infrastructure is very modern is a significant factor, since travel, hospitality, and communications are key in order to use the Latvian technical resources effectively. Finally, the fact that Latvia is an EU country and enjoys all the benefits of a European business environment, while still being a "near-shore" location which is economical to outsource is a significant factor for some of our customers, particularly in the finance sector.
For other business related information on Latvia please see the following useful links:
Central Bank of Latvia
Ministry of Economics
Ministry of Finance
Latvian Investment & Development Agency - LIAA
investinlatvia.org
The American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia
The Commercial Section of the U.S. Embassy in Latvia
The Register of Enterprises of the Republic of Latvia
Export and Import Directory of Latvia
The Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia