Lithuania drops five places on global competitiveness scoreboard

As the BNS reported Lithuania has dropped five places, year-on-year, to rank 36th, on the 2008 global competitiveness scoreboard.

Lithuania has been included in the 55-country list compiled by Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD) for the second consecutive year.

On the list, Lithuania lags behind Estonia, which ranks 23rd this year, one place below its 2007 position. Yet Lithuania scores better than EU fellows Portugal (37th), Hungary (38th), Bulgaria (39th), Greece (42nd), Poland (44th), Romania (45th) or Italy (46th).

However, Lithuania ranks the second in terms of women executives number and mobile subscribers number per 1,000 population, the third in terms of corporate profit taxation level, the fourth in terms of real GDP growth and short-term interest rates announced by the central bank, and the fifth in terms of patents issued to residents.

On the other hand Mr Marcus Svedberg of the Eastern Capital gave an interview to the alfa.lt on the status of the Lithuanian economy.  Here are few points he made.

Lithuanian economy will not decline as much as that of Latvia’s and Estonia’s because the Lithuanian grew slower.

One of the most important factors for the rising inflation is the growth of the food prices.  The inflation will continue growing and will start going down in the third and the forth quarter.

The State couldn’t completely control the inflation but it could effect it by reducing the state expenditure, freezing growth of the wages, lowering the taxes.  But since Lithuania is entering the pre election period this is impossible.  The next government could do that, since those measures could be best implemented at the beginning of the new government’s term.

Forecasts of 6-7% GDP growth for next few years looks just about right.  However, it is impossible to predict how Ignalina’s closure will effect the economy.

We still invest in the commercial property as offices and wear houses in Lithuania.