- Latvian firms more optimistic about outlook, according to annual survey commissioned by EIB.
- Concerns ease among Latvian businesses over investment obstacles.
- Female representation in Latvian companies above EU average.
Latvian companies are more optimistic about the business environment, according to a European Investment Bank (EIB) Group survey. Firms in Latvia also are generally satisfied with their investment levels over the past three years, new country results from the EIB Group Investment Survey (EIBIS) show.
EIBIS is an annual report based on polling of approximately 13,000 firms across all EU Member States plus a sample from the United States. Its main results were released in October 2024, showing that EU businesses lead way in investments in climate mitigation and adaptation.
The detailed reports for individual EU countries were published today. Key takeaways for Latvia include:
- Business investments in Latvia are 30% above pre-Covid levels.
- Investment obstacles faced by Latvian firms have fallen while an insufficiency of skilled staff, uncertainty about the future and energy costs remain the top concerns.
- Most business financing in Latvia is internal and banks are the most common source of external funding.
- Compared with other EU countries, Latvia has a higher share of companies with at least 40% of women in senior management and a higher share of firms in which women are majority owners.
“The investment outlook is generally positive,” said EIB Vice-President Thomas Östros. “Latvian firms are more optimistic about the economic climate than other EU firms.”
The full country report about Latvia is available here.
Survey results feed into the annual Investment Report, the flagship publication of the EIB Group’s Economics Department, gauging the investment outlook for Europe’s economy. The next Investment Report will be released on 5 March 2025 during the annual EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg.
The annual Forum brings together key stakeholders from the government, business and finance domains to exchange views on investment priorities that support Europe's policies, including industrial decarbonisation, artificial intelligence, the Capital Markets Union, security, housing and EU enlargement. The theme of this year’s event is Investing in a more sustainable and secure Europe.
Background information
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, the capital markets union, and a stronger Europe in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security.