Didzioji 5, LT- 01128
FINANCIAL SERVICES, REAL ESTATE & TOURISM Neringa Rastenytė, NEWSEC
Vincentas Zabulis, SAVY
Gary Tuck, Baltic Film Services
Daiva Žumbakienė, Raimda auditas
P2P Lending takes off in Lithuania thanks to SAVY
Gaining Tax Credits by investing in Film
New Year Changes in accounting for Lithuania
page 4
page 4
issue No. 52
BCC welcomes Claire Lawrence, the new British Ambassador to Lithuania
page 6
New Promising Chapter for the Baltic Commercial Property Market
page 8
page 10
The Here and Now
Learning the lessons of the past, Lithuania’s government seeks to expand the financial sector without falling into previous bad habits. An interview with Lithuania’s Minister of Finance, Rimantas Šadžius. In terms of areas that need improvement, I would identify the need to increase diversification of Lithuania’s financial sector. Greater sources of funding that would complement bank lending would be very useful to ensure greater access to finance, particularly by SMEs. Such diversification of funding would also make Lithuania’s economy more resilient to any external shocks in the future. What would you say are the government’s current policy priorities for the financial sector?
Minister, what would you say are the particular strengths and weaknesses of Lithuania’s financial sector? The main strength of our financial sector lies in its resilience and adaptability, which has been demonstrated in the face of the global financial crisis.
The government’s current policy priorities in this area rest on two pillars: one, successfully steering the banking sector into the structures of the Banking Union (as part of its integration into the euro area, which Lithuania joined in 2015); second, is the development of Lithuania’s capital market. The first track is almost complete as our banking sector is already covered by the Single Supervisory
Mechanism (the ECB directly supervises three largest banks) and the elements of the Single Resolution Mechanism will take force from next year (e.g. Lithuanian banks will make payments to and correspondingly will be insured by the Single resolution fund. On the capital markets front, a concrete set of proposals are currently being considered by the government in the areas of public and private placement, enhancement of collective investment funds and crowdfunding. Specific legislation in these areas is being prepared. The current priorities also include the use of financial engineering principles in employing EU structural funds in Lithuania. How do you see LT’s financial sector evolving over the next 10-15 years? Firstly, I see that the banking sector will have to (and has actually started already) follow the global trends: in the era of digital technologies more and more of the banking services will go online.
In addition, the banks will have to offer new innovative products and financial instruments to stay competitive against non-bank service providers. Secondly, I see the expansion of Lithuania’s capital markets. We are working on measures that would encourage companies to explore more equity debt financing on the one hand, and on the other, increase choices for retail and institutional investors. My hope is that this will help our stock market to grow as well. Lithuania is also a booming arena of start-ups. Currently, we support this area by directing EU funds through risk capital to reach these innovative companies. After the EU’s support fades, when the current financial programming period ends, my wish is that this sector will become more selfsustainable. The EU wide project of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) will also inevitably impact Lithuania’s financial market via the availability of innovative financial instruments (e.g. securitization, crowdfunding) and better access to the EU’s single market for capital. continued on page 4 >
Data Security: How to Recognize and Prevent Identity Fraud
Western Union - 5 years in Lithuania For those of our readers who are not familiar with the first steps of WU as an investor five years ago, could you elaborate on the company’s initial plans and where it is today? What are the key factors for the company’s tremendous growth and success?
What should we do to protect our identity?
John Cannon, ‘Callcredit Information Group’ Fraud & ID Director
Though modern technologies help us in our daily lives and in business, they are increasingly turning against us in threatening ways. Fraudsters use modern technologies to perform a range of crimes, and people have begun to feel insecure. Recent studies say that more than 9 in 10 Brits (93%) have concerns about the safety of their personal information. Moreover, four in ten people (38%) have been a victim of fraud themselves. Nevertheless, more than half of British people (53%) admit that they throw away letters containing personal information without shredding them first; nearly a quarter of people (23%) have loaned their credit card to someone else at least once; more than a fifth (22%) have saved their PIN on their mobile phone, and 16% keep their PIN written down in the same place as their card. Thus, people are not aware of need to protect their identity, and they fail to do so. There are no studies regarding the number of people and companies that do not protect their personal data in Lithuania; however, it is very likely that the numbers are similar to those in Britain.
“The act of identity fraud is when someone intentionally acts dishonestly for their own personal gain using information belonging to another person without his or her knowledge,” says John Cannon, Fraud & ID Director of British consumer data management company Callcredit Information Group. “For example, if a fraudster applied to a bank for a loan using your identity, if they accessed your online bank account by pretending to be you or if they made a payment using your credit card”. All companies need to take steps to protect information they hold about their employees and their customers. All personal data must be held in a secure and regulation-compliant manner and companies must spend money to ensure that data is protected. There have been many instances where companies have lost personal data through their systems being hacked or through employees accessing data they shouldn't have access to. According to John Cannon, the reputational damage can be significant. Moreover, regulators also take action against companies deemed to have breached their security requirements. “There are many ways to secure interactions with customers, by using tools and solutions that establish trust and detect fraud. Techniques include validating and verifying identity, verifying payment details and linking them to the identity of the customers and verifying other attributes such as the device or mobile phone the customer is using, their email address or phone number.”
BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS
continued on page 4 >
When Lithuania was selected five years ago, we were attracted by the large talent pool of highly educated and skilled professionals, the good Western Union, a leader in global technical infrastructure, a stable political climate payment services established its and professional investment environment.
operations center in Lithuania in 2010 and in five years has created nearly 1500 jobs. On this occasion, the British Chamber of Commerce is talking to Kendra Ricenbaw, Managing Director of Western Union Processing Lithuania
Through these five years we have expanded 6 times from the initial plan of 250 employees to almost 1,500 employees today. In fact, during this time, WU’s centre in Lithuania has experienced the strongest growth of any WU employee site.
We started to provide the backbone of Western Congratulations on five years of operating in Union’s cross-border platform with Anti-Money Laundering Compliance, Accounting and Finance, the Lithuanian market! How does it feel? Information Technology, Operations, Digital Thank you. When we chose to come to Lithuania Operations & Distribution and more. We also help to establish our European Operating Centre five engage WU employees and customers through years ago, this market was relatively new to us as Human Resources, Marketing and so much more. a global investor and employer. Since then, our decision to develop in Lithuania has proven itself. Due to the great work and skills of the WU Our site is recognised by our colleagues abroad Lithuanian team, we have not only grown in size, as a place where processes are improved and but in scope. In five years we have expanded results are achieved. We are called “The Centre beyond our initial transactional based processes of Excellence” which I believe is a name we earn into new, more complex roles such as business every day. Our European Operating Centre is development, marketing, big data analytics, now Western Union’s largest office in the world, pricing analytics, customer insights and user representing approximately 13% of our total experience specialists. workforce. And we are proud to create high value continued on page 5 > jobs in Lithuania.
BCC paper issue No 52
2
BCC NEWS & CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
New BCC Membership fees structure from 2016
What drives ethics in business
New BCC Membership fees will be aplicable for BCC Members from 2016. The fees were suggested and approved on BCC Annual General Meeting on March 2015. Yearly BCC Membership subscriptions: Sponsor Membership – EUR 1200 Corporate Membership – EUR 600 Small Company/ NGO Membership – EUR 300 Social Membership – EUR 150 Overseas Membership – GBP 250 Joining fee for new members – EUR 150; for Social members - EUR 60. Overseas membership is excluded from joining fee.
Young students leave footprint on African summit
In September, seven participants from Sekmes Mokykla’s Footprint programme reached the summit of Mount Toubkal in Morocco. At 4,167m, the highest mountain in North Africa. Footprint is the brainchild of BCC Board Member Ben Harvey, the owner of Growing Talent: “For several years I’ve been thinking about creating a programme which combines my love of adventurous travel and what I do in my work – helping people in business develop as managers and leaders of people.” The programme is designed to help young students learn about themselves and their role in teams, i.e. their individual footprint, and challenges them to make a footprint in the community by engaging them in a fund-raising project to support a Moroccan-based charity. “I choose the Atlas Mountains as I know the area well and because one of my goals was to provide participants with the opportunity to experience and learn from a culture and way of life that is very different to their own.” As well as spending four days trekking in the Atlas Mountains the team also visited the charity, having raised over Euro 1,000. The final two days of the trip were spent taking in the exotic sights and sounds of Marrakech. For more information visit www.sekmesmokykla.lt.
Transparency International and Investor’s Forum open discussion on corporate accountability
Sergejus Muravjovas, Director of Transparency International Lithuania opens the discussion
This October, Transparency International Lithuania together with the Investors’ Forum organized an open discussion on corporate accountability and the international business accountability standards for corporate executives, compliance officers and others working in the field. The focus of this event were the changes that the new draft law on Lobbying Activities would introduce to businesses, the current most common corporate practices of influencing decision-making in Lithuania and the results of the Transparency International Corporate Accountability Report.
Andželika Rusteikienė, Manager at Transparent and responsible business initiative "Baltoji Banga"
The former US Senator Alan K. Simpson once said: "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters." This is the fundamental baseline of leadership in today's fast paced global economy, where the need to rebuild trust and embed ethics in businesses is greater than ever before. After the global scandals of Enron, WorldCom, Siemens and most recently Volkswagen, the notion of shaping ethics in business has hit the world. The aspiration is for every company to establish the best ethical practices in their business, so that the corporate culture would recover. But we still see that even though companies have solid mission and values statements, employee hotlines, ombudsmen and CSR programs can run into trouble. Therefore the question is: what are the persistent key drivers for businesses to be run ethically, and which factors ensure the successful implementation of a truly ethical corporate culture? Main Reasons to Run a Business in an Ethical Manner International research suggests that the key reasons to run a business in an ethical manner vary from the very pragmatic to more human, value based approaches. Based on the American Management Association institutes global study of business ethics from 2005-2015 "The Ethical Enterprise", there are five main factors to run a business in an ethical manner. The first one is the protection of a company‘s brand and reputation. This seems to be a very reasonable approach given today’s context of business suffering a global moral crisis. This factor is also closely related with three others revealed in the study: the need to ensure trust and loyalty of customers, the demand of public acceptance and recognition, and confidence from investors. The more surprising factor for running
companies in an ethical way is "the right thing to do" approach. This expresses a values driven approach, and shows that there is room for the basic application of society’s ethical and moral norms into the backbone of business. External Drivers Affecting Business Ethics A multitude of external factors are driving enterprises to ensure that ethical business standards are in the right place. The Ethical Enterprise study reveals that on one hand, laws and regulations are key external drivers on corporate ethics. On the other hand, growing competition and globalization, the hedging of corporate scandals, demand of investors and, finally, pressure from customers are also significant triggers for businesses to adopt a more ethical approach. Therefore both “carrot and the stick” motivators are encouraging ethical practice in business. Enabling Ethical Business Culture Developing and ensuring an ethical approach in a company‘s daily business is a significant task, and requires five key steps. The first and the most important is the identification of a leader, who is not necessarily a formal executive. In particular, leadership should model ethical behaviour in their organisations and ensure that an ethical culture has room to develop. The next important step is consistent communication from leadership to the employees. It is essential that all employees understand the importance of ethics, and that their actions comply with the company's standards and processes. In addition, ethical practices should be integrated into the fabric of the organisation, and become part of the performance management system. This helps to measure and track results inside organisations. And finally, to ensure that the right people are in the team, an ethical approach should be included in the primary recruiting and selection processes. When you get the right people on board, the direction and the processes emerge. Paraphrasing the words of Mr. Simpson: if the team has integrity, nothing else matters. If the team does not have integrity, nothing else matters.
The BCC paper is the official publication of the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania, covering a wide variety of subjects related to promoting and encouraging bilateral business relations between the UK and Lithuania. The BCC paper also provides an outlet for the chamber and its members to publish their latest news and offer their professional views on current political, economic, European and cultural topics. The paper is widely circulated: available from Lithuania’s two main airports, business centres, hotels and the UK and Lithuanian embassies, in addition to being sent to all BCC members and business contacts, meaning it offers premium advertising space to companies wishing to engage with the Lithuanian business community. The print run of BCC paper is 4000 copies.
Next publication date: March 2016 BCC paper team: Editor in Chief – Chris Butler Editorial support: Michael West, Alistair Day-Stirrat, Sandra Kundrotė Members section - Jurga Prakapaitė, advertising – Sandra Kundrotė, e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt , tel. +370 5 2690062 Proofreading – Shaun Harvey, Helene Ryding, Ben Harvey, Michael West Layout - Tautmilė Stanevičiūtė Printing – Lietuvos ryto spaustuve, UAB
The Investors’ Forum presented their voluntary accountability initiative to publish all their proposals for decision-making. The guests of the event, the representatives of “Swedbank” and “Lietuvos energija”, shared their experience about why accountability has become an important part of their business strategies and also what were the challenges they faced while in the process. “A growing number of smart leaders worldwide understand that modest investments in business ethics and anti-corruption can result in saving big – and Lithuanian business sector is no exception. Current examples of big fines and losses imposed due to fraud and corruption encourage companies to seek for sustainable risk-management solutions and accountability is the core element of this approach. Furthermore, accountable and reliable businesses become more and more desirable for foreign companies looking for local partners here in Lithuania. This need is not going away and it is an inspiration to see that more and more Lithuanian businesses react to this demand. The questionnaire used to evaluate the companies for the Transparency International Lithuania corporate accountability report is a perfect example of how simple accountability solutions can actually be. It is rather easy for companies to publish their anti-corruption programmes, codes of ethics, disclose financial reports and their internal structure, and yet such measures may altogether contribute to big goals ”, said Ruta Mrazauskaite, project leader at Transparency International Lithuania.
Advert sizes and prices
The discussion was attended by members of the British Chamber of Commerce, one of event partners.
For further information or to book your ad space, please contact the chamber: Tel. +370 (5) 269 00 62/84, e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt
Prices
Size
Size mm
BCC Member rate
BCC Non member rate
Back page 1000 cm²
273x366
400 €
500 €
Full page right 1000 cm²
273x366
390 €
480 €
Full page left 1000 cm²
273x366
345 €
430 €
½ page 129 cm²
133x368
240 €
295 €
½ page 129 cm²
273x183
240 €
295 €
1/3 page 326 cm²
273x119
145 €
210 €
1/3 page 326 cm²
133x245
145 €
210 €
Small 129 cm²
273x47
70 €
105 €
Small 129 cm²
133x97
70 €
105 €
Small 129 cm²
63x200
70 €
105 €
BCC paper issue No 52
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Generosity is a principle - not an amount does allows certain obligations to be placed on the sponsorship recipient, such as the promotion of a sponsor. Sponsoring a social or charity event that falls in line with your business is a great way to do some good while getting your name out in your community and thus presenting your company in a positive light by demonstrating your care.
Iraida Žogaitė, Attorney at law, Tark Grunte Sutkiene Law firm
There are many ways to spend your money or dispose of your assets. And there is nothing wrong with rewarding yourself, looking for new investments or increasing your business activity. But what would happen if you rewarded or helped someone else too? Giving to others not only makes oneself feel better, but it can lead to tax benefits for the giver. While the law places limits on providers and recipients of charity, a donation (or sponsorship) may be provided by any private business entity or individual. Of course, if you want to benefit from the tax advantage it is necessary to check when you donate to or sponsor an entity, if it has the status of being a recipient of sponsorship (such status can be easily checked at the website of the State Tax Inspectorate). A common misconception is that the only way to donate is to give money. Although it’s obvious that money can be help, there are so many other ways to help. It can be food, clothing, shelter, education, a service or anything else that can be of aid to needy people. How often do you discard various assets, which have become old or you no longer like, but which are still good and can be used further? Why, instead of throwing them out, not donate them to a school, kindergarten or to a charity or sponsorship fund, which can further use or distribute the assets. Providing a service or giving away a part of the products you make, in general terms, will not cost you too much, but can significantly help others to make their life better. It doesn’t always need to be big.
By giving to others you also can receive a tax benefit yourself. The law allows taxpayers who are entitled to provide sponsorship to deduct from their income two times the amount of payments made (except for cash payments which exceed the amount of 250 minimum living standards in respect of a single recipient of sponsorship during the tax period). This allowance also includes the value of assets transferred and services provided which are intended for sponsorship, but do not exceed 40% of the taxpayer’s income (calculated by deducting non-taxable income, allowable deductions and limited allowable deductions, except for sponsorship and losses from the previous tax periods). The basis for valuing assets and services is as follows: • Where sponsorship is provided in the form of tangible fixed assets, the amount of the provided sponsorship shall be equal to the residual value of such assets. • Where sponsorship is provided in the form of other assets, the amount of the provided sponsorship shall be equal to the acquisition price of such assets. • Where sponsorship is provided in the form of tangible fixed assets being lent for use, the amount of sponsorship shall be equal to the calculated amount of depreciation on such assets during the period of use by the recipient of sponsorship. • Where sponsorship is provided in the form of services, the amount of sponsorship shall be equal to the cost price of providing such services. It also worth to mention that Lithuanian residents may transfer a portion (up to 2 per cent) of income tax payable in support of a selected recipient of sponsorship and in such a way demonstrating their social responsibility at no cost at all.
Anne Frank said: “No one has ever become poor by giving.” This rings very true. If by helping others If you are exceptionally business oriented and are you can benefit yourself, then there is no reason not willing to give a cent without a cause, the law not to donate.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award celebrates its first Gold level expedition between 12- 18 months for Gold). The expedition often represents the most challenging, adventurous and memorable part of the Award. At Gold level, participants are required to work in a team to plan and execute a four day expedition in “wild country”, being self-sufficient throughout (i.e. carrying all equipment & food to camp out for three nights). Teams are observed by an assessor as they follow their planned route.
A team of four Duke of Edinburgh International Award participants have completed the first ever Gold Award expedition organised by the Lithuanian National Award Operator. The expedition took place over four days in the Sierra Calderona National Park near Valencia in Spain. The Duke of Edinburgh International Award is a programme open to young people between the ages of 14 and 24 and includes three levels of achievement: Bronze, Silver & Gold. Each level of the Award has four core sections: Volunteering, Physical Activity, Skills Development and an Expedition, with the difference being the time commitment required at each (three months for Bronze, six for Silver and
Organising the first Gold level expedition for a team from Lithuania represents a significant milestone in the history of the Award in Lithuania and was made possible through sponsorship received from BCC Sponsor Member, PwC. BCC Board Member, Ben Harvey, a holder of the Gold Award, travelled with the group to Valencia in the role of Supervisor. “Having a team from Lithuania achieve the Gold Award has been an important goal. It will help us raise the profile of the Award here, and gives us a great story to share as we talk to businesses and universities about the value the Award offers to participants, students and potential employers.” For more information about the Award see: www.dofe.lt.
BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS
Europe’s Best Airline
3
BCC paper issue No 52
4
FINANCIAL SERVICES
The Here and Now < continued from page 1
I am also confident that Lithuania’s accession to the OECD, which we started earlier this year, will be beneficial for both Lithuania and the OECD. Having been dynamic and innovative, as well as transposing the EU’s legislative framework and accepting the principles of the OECD in the field of financial services, Lithuania is ready to participate actively in discussions on future developments in the financial sector. I believe that accession to the OECD will bring a global perspective and innovation boost to the Lithuanian financial sector, too. Can you talk a little more about the (macroprudential?) powers recently received by the Bank of Lithuania and how this fits into efforts to ensure that a repeat of the mid-tolate 2000s does not happen again? The macro-prudential mandate granted to the Bank of Lithuania by recent legal amendments equips the institution with tools to ensure the resilience of the financial system and to prevent the build-up of systemic risks. The areas of action
(in line with Macro-Prudential Strategy adopted in 2015) include limitation and prevention of excessive credit growth, maturity mismatch and excessive currency and liquidity risks in the financial system, strengthening the resilience of financial market infrastructure amongst others. Also, concrete steps have already been taken to ensure that excessive credit generation, which led to shock adjustments in face of the global financial crisis, does not happen again: e.g. the banks have been issued with responsible lending guidelines, with stricter conditions for mortgage credit provision - the provisions of mortgage credit will be further strengthened this year. There are no longer tax deductions available for mortgage credit that were available during the pre-crisis period. Steps have also been taken to ensure that financial institutions remain resilient; e.g. in line with the EU Capital Requirements Directive, financial institutions are required to hold a 2.5 percent capital conservation buffer in addition to 8 percent minimal capital level. Prepared by Michael West
Data Security: How to Recognize and Prevent Identity Fraud < continued from page 1
The expert adds: “If you use social media, ensure your profile privacy settings are adequate. For example, don't put information that could be used by a fraudster, like your name, address, date of birth, bank details etc. Also, be vigilant regarding inbound contact: emails, phone calls, friend requests on social media”. If you are not expecting any contact requests, verify their authenticity before accepting. Fraudsters use techniques to make them look like companies (such as banks) when they send emails requesting information (known as phishing). They can look very realistic, but your bank will never contact you asking for personal information, passwords or PINs. In addition to locking down social media, you should be very careful about the websites to which supply personal data. If you are making a payment, ensure the site is using a secure encrypted method, which is denoted by an address starting with https and a padlock symbol in the address bar. Without this, your data is visible to anybody monitoring data exchange. Fraudsters are evolving constantly, thinking up new ways to try and get hold of your personal data, and often exploiting new technology to do this. For example, they might set up a fake Wi-Fi hotspot requesting you to input credit card details and personal data in order to gain access.
“We should all be vigilant in checking for fraud. Regularly check your bank and card statements and report any unusual activity or any payments you don't recognise to your bank or card issuer,” John Cannon says. Top 3 online safety tips for consumers: 1. Lock down social media; change privacy settings; be careful what information you put online. 2. Ensure your passwords are changed regularly and use a strong password type. Don't use the same password for everything and don't store passwords on your device. 3. Be wary of inbound requests; don't open attachments or click on links in emails or messages if you don’t know what they are; keep your antivirus software up to date. Top 3 online safety tips for businesses: 1. Carry out regular risk assessments across all channels; ensure the controls are appropriately equipped for the level of risk. 2. Train employees to be vigilant against fraud. They are your first line of defence and need to be trained to look out for possible fraud attempts. 3. Ensure that staff do not have access to things they don't need, especially personal data.
P2P LENDING TAKES OFF IN LITHUANIA THANKS TO SAVY Interview with Vincentas Zabulis, Attorney, Co founder SAVY, Registered European lawyer online platform like SAVY. The process is efficient, convenient, and benefits both parties, since banks have not been lending to the general economy for some time.
Starting a new company is stressful enough without introducing a new industry segment as well. Please describe your organisation and the new service it offers? My brother Vytas, (CEO), became interested in alternative finance after researching new trends in fintech. With Augustas, (marketing), he came up with “SAVY” as the first Lithuanian loan marketplace. Ignas, (CTO) came next, then me, (business development and legal issues). This is not our first business, but obviously still risky. The immediate worry was whether both borrowers and investors would find the proposition appealing. The principal risk we faced was how Lietuvos bankas would treat our business model. We are now fully regulated by Lietuvos bankas as a consumer credit provider. In less than 14 months we are a marketplace of 5000 investors, who together financed around 1000 borrowers, or nearly €1.6M. SAVY is growing at 25% each month, and defaults have been less than 1.3%. Our task is to disrupt the inefficient and underbanked Lithuanian financial landscape, reducing the cost of capital to consumers, businesses, and generating attractive returns to our investors. We are convinced that the personal loan asset class is less risky than stocks or bonds, and can provide attractive yields to our investors. We will continue in consumer finance, but are also actively exploring business financing to grow. We offer home equity loans up to €15,000 and commercial real estate loans up to €50,000 to help people acquire or build new homes. Some of our readers will be unfamiliar with P2P lending. Please describe it and the difference from traditional forms of lending? Peer to peer lending is when a borrower, who needs a loan, obtains it directly from investors, rather than through a bank. Borrowers and investors meet and transact using an
SAVY creates a new type of 100% equity-backed online bank that challenges traditional banks. 100% equity means that all of our capital is at risk, compared with only 3 or 4 % capital at risk at banks. P2P is hence much more sustainable and safe in the long run as it represents the true cost of capital, and does not lead to distortions such as that experienced in 2008, which still continue. How open to P2P lending is Lithuania, compared with elsewhere in Europe? Do you think there is a market for this here? There is a big market in Lithuania because of its inefficient banking structure. Banks form an oligopoly and so there is no real competition. Nordic banks operating in Lithuania do not want to lend to the population and SMEs, the backbone of the economy. Private credit space is dominated by the pay-day (fast credit) market. So this is a huge opportunity for us to provide credit and to refinance the hardly affordable payday loans that create social problems. We believe that free markets and more competition can create wealth. But do Lithuanian regulators understand that more competition (and less regulation) will benefit consumers? How do the rules and regulations governing Lithuania’s financial sector need to change for P2P to take off? P2P is not regulated at present. The two draft laws currently proposed in the Seimas should be combined. P2P is confused with payday lending and put under the amended law on consumer credit. The laws add another layer of complexity and will increase compliance costs. The newly defined online platform is restricted from transferring money or collecting deposits, which require additional relevant licenses. The laws limit retail investment to €5000 in each 12 month period for each individual investor, and bar institutional investment completely on P2P platforms. UK has had institutional investment for 18 months now, with positive experience. In Gaining Tax Credits by Investing in Film Production America, after 4 years, it comprises 60% of the Gary Tuck, Baltic Film Services have been P2P market. No convincing arguments The Eichmann Show © BBC/Feelgood Fiction heard in Photo: Lithuania why institutions should not be allowed to invest directly. Our regulators still have a long way to go, compared with UK. Are you a Lithuanian corporate taxpayer? Did you know that your company
can save 11.25% on a portion of your profit tax? Did you know that several Lithuanian companies have already taken advantage of this new option and successfully benefited from this scheme?
Gaining Tax Credits by Investing in Film Production Gary Tuck, Baltic Film Services
Are you a Lithuanian corporate taxpayer? Did you know that your company can save 11.25% on a portion of your profit tax? Did you know that several Lithuanian companies have already taken advantage of this new option and successfully benefited from this scheme? In January 2014, new Lithuanian tax incentives came into effect.* The incentives are available for feature films, TV films, documentaries and animated films. This includes domestically produced, co-produced or commissioned films (produced under service agreement). It is now possible for an entity with Lithuanian corporate tax liability to receive a tax credit by investing a portion of payable profit tax to a Lithuanian film producer. 75% of the invested
amount can be deducted from total taxable profit and 100% of the investment can be deducted from net tax liability within one, two or three years.
The chart demonstrates that the investment amount of EUR 157,550 paid to Baltic Film Services were monies due to be paid to the VMI and not from the corporation’s capital.
This results in an 11.25% saving on profit tax on the invested amount. A recent noteworthy example of the successful tax incentive scheme was “The Eichmann Show”, which was a BBC/Feelgood Fiction production starring Martin Freeman and Anthony LaPaglia and locally produced by Baltic Film Services in Lithuania.
The law states that no investment can exceed 75% of a corporate taxpayer’s profit tax liability. Using the chart example, this corporation had a taxable profit of EUR 2,100,000. They could choose to invest a total of EUR 217,868 profit tax (75% of their profit tax liability) in one production, or across several productions, providing that amount did not exceed 20% of the local film budget(s).
The final qualifying budget spend in Lithuania was EUR 787,750. The foreign producers provided 80% of the budget and a local corporation through Baltic Film Services invested the balance of 20%. The corporation’s investment of EUR 157,550 resulted in a EUR 17,724 saving on the profit tax due to the Valstybės mokesčių inspekcija. The following chart illustrates how the corporation benefited.
Our latest production with the BBC and The Weinstein Company, “War and Peace” recently finished filming. Baltic Film Services’ 20% portion of the local budget was just under EUR 1,460,000. For such a large amount several investors were sought locally. As a further example of the benefits of the scheme one investor committed EUR 500,000 of payable profit tax resulting in a EUR 56,250 gain to the company.
In January 2014, new Lithuanian tax incentives came into effect.* The incentives are available for feature films, TV films, documentaries and animated films. This includes domestically produced, co-produced or The taxfilms incentives and credit procedures are commissioned (produced under service agreement).
administered by the Lithuanian Film Centre. For
It is now possible for an entity with Lithuanian corporate tax liability to receive a tax creditinformation by investing a portion of payable profitIrma tax to aŠimanskytė, Lithuanian film more please contact producer. 75% of the invested amount can be deducted from total taxable email i.simanskyte@lkc.lt ordeducted me at from gt@bfs.eu.com. profit and 100% of the investment can be net tax liability within one, two or three years.
film on tax incentive was approved ThisThe resultsLithuanian in an 11.25% saving profit tax on the invested amount.
by the European Commission in December 2012
A recent noteworthy example of the successful tax incentive scheme was st a BBC/Feelgood Fiction production starring “The Eichmann Show”, which of December 2018. and will run until 31was Martin Freeman and Anthony LaPaglia and locally produced by Baltic Film Services in Lithuania.
* Link to the relevant tax laws:
The final qualifying budget spend in Lithuania was EUR 787,750. The foreign producers provided 80% of the budget and a local corporation through Baltic http://www.lkc.lt/lengvata-filmu-gamybai/ Film Services invested the balance of 20%. The corporation’s investment of EUR 157,550 resulted in a EUR 17,724 saving on the profit tax due to the Valstybės mokesčių inspekcija. The following chart illustrates how the corporation benefited. TAXPAYER BENEFIT*
Total Taxable Profit
(arbitrary figure for illustration)
Less 75% of Investment Tax Base Tax Payable
Total Paid Benefit to Tax Payer
No Investment
Investment of 157,550
2,100,000
2,100,000
0
118,163
2,100,000
1,981,838
315,000
139,726
(2,100,000 x 15%)
((1,981,838 x 15%) - 157,550) 100% of Support
315,000
297,276
0
17,724
BCC paper issue No 52
5
FINANCIAL SERVICES
DNB survey: family-run business attracts Western Union - 5 years in Lithuania Lithuanian people but fear is still stronger < continued from page 1
salaried employment to have a few sources of income. Entrepreneurs identify the family as both support and barrier
More than two-thirds of young people in Lithuania would consider setting up a business with family members. However the risks of relying on a single source of income, without regular salaried employment, discourages most of them from starting a family business. Such results were revealed by the Family Business Survey launched by DNB bank. The survey showed that 70% of individuals would consider setting up business together with their family members. For most Lithuanians a family business means the possibility of ensuring their family wellbeing, getting them involved in the business and, in the future, transferring that business to their children (39% of the respondents). Another advantage mentioned by the respondents is no need to do a regular salaried job and that the family can keep any profits for itself (24 percent). After surveying the owners of business startups, it turns out that 34% of them could describe their company as a “family business”. The rest of them develop a business on their own or with partners. “The survey results showed that as many as half of those surveyed mentioned the fear of relying on a family business as a single source of income to ensure the family’s financial security as a barrier to such business. This risk can be managed by evaluating the family’s financial situation – how many primary investments are needed to start the business and how much should be set aside to provide for the family’s needs. What’s more, when starting a business the family’s income will temporarily decrease, thus a financial reserve to cover current expenses will be also needed,” – said DNB bank’s management board member, Dr. Šarūnas Nedzinskas. According to Š. Nedzinskas, the family ought to objectively assess the risk as to whether all family members should quit regularly paid jobs for the sake of the family business. To start with it may be possible to combine the family business and
The opinions of the surveyed individuals and entrepreneurs regarding the advantages and disadvantages of a family business were slightly different. When evaluating the benefits of a family business, entrepreneurs highlighted the possibility to ensure the family wellbeing (29 per cent) and quite a number of them also pointed out one more benefit, namely that it is easier to develop a business with family members as well as to withstand hard times (22 per cent). Moreover, young entrepreneurs preferred to emphasise the disadvantage of a family business in combining family and personal relationships (34 per cent). They also accentuated a lack of experience, new ideas and competence on the part of family members (16 per cent). The family in a clenched fist Olga Dzindzeleta, owner of a raw food restaurant “RawRaw”, set up five years ago, points out that the engagement of all her family members is crucially important for her family business. Besides Olga, her husband, Viktoras, with children Romanas and Elena are engaged in the business. “When we started the business the degree of uncertainty was great – raw food was a new thing and we were not sure whether we would have any visitors. However our family had a unanimous approach towards the common goal – we all worked hard by sacrificing all our leisure time for the sake of the business. In addition, each of us used the skills we had – from finance management and marketing to doing daily work in the restaurant kitchen”. “Now our business has expanded to include the restaurant, “Botanique”, e-commerce and other activities related to raw foodism.” Even though the family members are involved in other activities, they still find time to help the family business. The Family Business Survey was conducted by the market research company, “SIC tyrimai” (SIC Market Research). In September 2015, 500 individuals in Lithuania (aged from 25 to 39) were surveyed as well as 290 owners and managers of businesses operating for 1-2 years. Prepared by DNB Bank
PAYMENT CARDS MARKET SHOWS the biggest GROWTH IN Eastern Europe Kendrick Sands, Senior Analyst at Euromonitor International
The work that takes place here supports our goal to be a productive, effective and efficient company. We also want to be profitable, and some of our teams here are directly responsible for delivering WU revenue targets. Your key element is people and their ability to speak different languages. What is the situation in finding them in Lithuania and don’t you face a shortage yet? When we first came here, we had the expectation of acquiring a highly educated, multi-lingual workforce. In addition to that, we were pleased to find highly enthusiastic and passionate people who care for excellence and are willing to create strong connections with their global colleagues. Being a part of a global organization and working directly with Europe, Middle East, Asia, North America and Africa regions from Vilnius, knowledge of foreign languages is a necessity for us. Today employees in WU Lithuania speak 30 languages and we constantly search for more multilingual colleagues. English is a necessity in our company, but people knowing two or more foreign languages have competitive advantages as these employees have wider opportunities for career development. Today we face a need of language skills, including French, German, Italian and other Western European languages. Being a dynamic global company we actively encourage our current employees to build on their existing foreign-language skills or learn a new one while at WU. Due to our business expansion into various regions, people can develop and use additional languages daily. We are always on the lookout for additional talent in key areas as Compliance, Accounting and Digital. The Compliance department is one of the fastest growing departments of our business. Because this field is not part of the Lithuanian higher education curriculum, we invest in preparing these competences inside the company. Today we need specialists with a very wide range of competencies. For example, to develop our digital business on a global, not only European scale, we need our employee to know business and project management, ICT, engineering, finances and marketing at the same time. Do you run any co-operation programmes with local universities to prepare the necessary skills needed for WU? More than one third of Western Union’s Lithuanian employees are compliance specialists. The demand for these employees is increasing. Lithuania’s higher education institutions are still evaluating how to prepare compliance specialists and we offer to co-operate with universities regarding the support of this discipline. In addition we offer a set of lectures to the universities on the topic of Big Data, which will help students gain marketable skills that can be used at WU or other companies. As a result of our productive cooperation with Vilnius University and Kaunas University of Technology, a Big Data master's degree program was prepared. How would you describe WU’s added value to the Lithuanian market?
Eastern Europe has the highest expected card payment compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2014 to 2019 globally, at 15% at constant 2014 prices. This is largely explained by the current low rate of consumer adoption of financial cards but also reflects constructive policy designed to encourage paper alternatives going forward. Russia represents 52% of all consumer payments in the region and its government has recently been one of the most aggressive to encourage alternatives. In the Western portion of the region, further integration into the European Union has
resulted in greater competition among financial institutions, which has led to greater innovation in products and services to reach the unbanked population. Finally, the use of mobile payments and banking has proved popular throughout the region and further support the rise in expected growth for card payments till 2019. Source: Euromonitor International
BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS
Expanding in Lithuania has been good for WU and I believe WU is good for Lithuania too – financially and educationally. I would like to recognise the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the business community, investors and the people of Lithuania for the warm welcome they have given us and for embracing Western Union as part of the community. Through our five years of operations, Western Union in Lithuania has created over almost 1,500 jobs in the country. Western Union has brought in more high value jobs for Lithuania. Since 2010, when it was opened, EUROC has contributed more than EUR 20mln in various taxes to the
Lithuanian budget. Western Union also integrates young people into the national labour market with no subsidies. Last year, WU Lithuania was recognised by the Lithuanian Labour Exchange (LLE) as the company employing the highest number of young candidates nationwide. To deliver on our goals, we invest in employee learning and development, which helps build the capacity of Lithuania’s workforce. Being a purpose-driven brand, Western Union’s vision includes a profound emphasis on corporate social responsibility, ensuring that the company contributes back to the communities and societies in which it runs its business. We established the Lithuanian WU Foundation in 2012, which has donated more than EUR 100,000 to eight Lithuanian NGOs that advance education and economic opportunity. We hope to encourage a socially responsible environment in Lithuania and to boost traditions of sharing. Over 70% of our employees make donations to the foundation every year through various internal events. We have programmes that actively encourage our employees in Lithuania to volunteer. We have volunteered over 6,500 hours since 2012 in different initiatives. How would you describe the general trend in your area. Any threats for the coming five years to deal with - a shortage of specialists, the business environment, or any other factor? Due to the variety of functions we manage at EUROC, the circle of competitors is becoming wider. But we are proud that WU was one of the first Fortune 500 companies to dramatically scale up in Lithuania. It seems that other companies are learning what we have long known: that Lithuania is a smart place to establish and grow your business. We are confident that WU offers a strong employee value proposition and that people will continue to choose WU as the place where they want to grow their careers over the long term. We are honoured by the recognitions we have received. In January 2015, EUROC was named the No 1 most-wanted employer in the absolute category and No. 3 in financial sector, according to CV Online.LT. In June we were recognised as Investor of the Year by the national business paper Verslo Žinios. We realise that the key to the success of Western Union in Lithuania includes cultivating talent and providing career growth opportunities for employees. Therefore we are committed to helping grow this base of employees, giving them the right tools and creating opportunities to do their best work. Developing existing and growing new skills is crucial not only to our business success, but also to the continued success of our Lithuanian employees. WU in Lithuania after 10 years? Moving forward, the Lithuanian operations centre will remain crucial in supporting Western Union’s business, not only in Europe, but globally as well. The advantage of having almost 1,500 colleagues sitting side by side in a single location is that you have a real advantage to streamline and improve processes efficiency. To be part of a high-performing team, we look at short - and long-term business needs and the opportunity to create and sustain value for our employees, customers, shareholders and the broader community. We indeed see Lithuania as a good place to be for an international business. We have thoroughly enjoyed being a member of the Lithuanian community and look forward to remaining a key partner in the future.
BCC paper issue No 52
6
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Western tradition takes root in Lithuania new trend was revealed in an international study carried out by Aviva Group.
Asta Grabinskė, CEO at life insurance and pensions company Aviva Lithuania
Sore tooth? You will probably rush to the dentist. Your car is broken? It will be repaired by a qualified mechanic. Got financial issues? You will get guidance from a qualified financial advisor, not a friend or relative as you used to. And your folks no longer stack their savings at home, because they prefer modern financial instruments. This
The study shows that the need for professional financial advice has been growing rapidly over the past two years in Lithuania. This year, as many as 53% of Lithuanian respondents said they take advice from professionals (life insurance agents, financial advisors) when solving their financial issues. In comparison, only one third of Lithuanian respondents said they rely on a professional financial consultation in 2013. Growing domestic demand and consumption in Lithuania allow our consumers to designate more personal funds for saving and investment. In the first eight months of this year the growth of life insurance market amounted to nearly 12 percent. Moreover, 58% of respondents in the Aviva Group study stated giving priority for modern financial instruments over hoarding their savings at home,
but only slightly more than a half of them stated that they understood which option of saving and investing best suits them. In this context the need for professional services of financial advice is growing rapidly. The pace of life does not always allow us to choose life insurance or investment services, which best satisfy our needs. Constant monitoring of the situation in the financial markets requires time and specific knowledge as well. Therefore more and more people are looking for speedy, yet professional advice. The profession of a financial advisor is prestigious in Western countries where the tradition of saving and investing has deep roots. This activity often becomes a family business, attracting relatives and friends: men are working with their wives, parents with their children. In Aviva Lithuania network of nearly 500 financial advisors, there are
28 successful family businesses. Aviva financial advisers have been helping Lithuanian people to plan their financial steps responsibly for almost 15 years. These steps enable them to not only have money today, but also to take care of their future, to protect themselves and family from the unexpected. The long-term personal relationship with our customers fostered throughout the entire contract period, annual meetings and sincere communication has led us to become the life insurance market leaders. Our experience shows that financial advisor often becomes not only a guide helping to solve the financial issues but also a close friend who is there for the most precious moments in life. This Western tradition is taking root in Lithuania, and financial management issues are no longer left to the fate as we insure ourselves from its consequences.
NEW YEAR CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING FOR LITHUANIA structures. Company accountants need to know about the new standard structure for all companies. As a result, in Lithuania, a big bank will use the same chart as a small agricultural firm, and so the bank will have to declare its “biological assets”.
Daiva Žumbakienė, Director-Auditor at UAB Raimda auditas, member of ACCA
From 01 January 2016, new legislation approved by the official Lithuanian Authority for Audit and Accounting (LAAA) will create new requirements for companies, which may not be so ‘‘painless‘‘ for them to implement, especially those which received European Commission grants to acquire non-current assets (NCA). UNIFIES FINANCIAL STATEMENT FORMS There is now a new requirement that all companies must now provide their financial statements in the same structure (as approved by LAAA). This is a change from the previous arrangement when there were four different approved standard balance sheet structures for: 1) Large size companies 2) Abbreviated forms 3) Agriculture companies forms and 4) State enterprises forms The new requirement UNIFIES the four different
CHANGED DEFINITION OF EQUITY WILL AFFECT ACCOUNTING FOR GRANTS One of the most radical changes implied by the new forms is the resulting change in definition of EQUITY. According to these changes, government grants automatically “move” from equity to liability. Defining equity Until 31 December 2015 in Lithuania, the definition of EQUITY (third class) consisted of these main groups: i. Capital (shares) ii. Reserves iii. Profit (or loss) and iv. Government1 grants2 (assistance, subsidies) From 1st January there is an obligation to classify grants as LIABILITIES and not as EQUITY. You might think that moving the classification of grants from one group to another doesn’t matter. But in reality it does. The “New Year Conversion’’ will directly affect two user groups: a) Organisations that have grants on their own balance sheet and at the same moment have 1 “Government” here also includes funds from the European Commission 2 In the text below, wherever “grants” is written, this also includes assistance and subsidies.
loans as liabilities to banks; b) Banks with outstanding loans to companies. Gearing Ratio –banks use this as one of the financial ratios to analyse an entity’s financial performance when deciding to provide a loan. It compares long-term debt with equity. E.g. Entity’s liabilities 50 Ordinary share capital 60 Grants 40. Gearing ratio =((50/(40+60)) x 100% = 50% But from 1st January the Gearing Ratio will be calculated differently: (50+40)/60 x 100% = 150% Obviously, the ratio became worse, although the entity’s activity in reality has not changed. SOME COMPLICATIONS There are no transition arrangements, so this change could be considered as a very drastic “overnight” change in companies’ financial position. Bank loan conditions When banks provide a loan, an Appendix can be added to the loan agreement, with requirements to comply with obligatory ratios (e.g. the Gearing Ratio). The condition may appear: ‘‘...if the enterprise does not comply with one of the obligatory ratios.....then the enterprise must repay the loan immediately”. The change calculated above could trigger a demand for repayment, from the bank.
Gearing ratio calculation For a company already receiving a grant, it is better to continue to apply the Gearing Ratio calculation using the rules applying on the date of the loan agreement and not those applying to balance sheet data after 1st January. However there could be another solution. How to calculate depreciation? It is possible in IFRS either to directly reduce the acquisition cost of NCA or to depreciate the original amount of NCA and in parallel to reduce the grant amount. For both cases, according to the Lithuanian Business Accounting Standards the balance sheet would have: on one side money received in the bank account (an increase); on the other side an increase due to the grant. In the second case, the grant reduces in parallel according to the depreciation of the NCA. When the asset is fully depreciated in the entity’s activity, so has the grant on the balance sheet. According to International Accounting Standard 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance the entity can choose its own policy on this issue. Whereas, according to Lithuanian Accounting rules there is no such possibility. Different understandings could cause trouble If strict measures are applied, companies could be confronted with a bank requirement immediately to repay loans. Alternatively if banks approach this in a more constructive way, life for companies would be easier.
BCC paper issue No 52
7
TOURISM
CWT Lithuania presents Lufthansa PartnerPlusBenefit programme PartnerPlusBenefit is a travel incentive programme for small and medium size companies that purchase airline tickets in the Baltic States and Finland. Over the years and with hundreds of companies joining every year, PartnerPlusBenefit is one of the fastest growing travel incentive programme for companies of its kind. PartnerPlusBenefit was introduced in 2005 and has since evolved into an incentive network of 9 airlines and additional award partnerships offering PartnerPlusBenefit members exclusive discounts or services that can be bought with BenefitPoints in its entirety. The programme combines the services and operates on behalf of 9 globe-spanning airlines, 8 members of Star Alliance – Air Canada, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS International Air Lines, TAP Portugal, United Airlines and our first non-Star Alliance member, Germanwings. PartnerPlusBenefit is not an alternative to or a replacement for the conventional frequent flyer programme – it is a complement to make sure both individuals, as well as companies are rewarded for business related travel. Company could earn BenefitPoints whenever its employees fly with one of the nineairlines to several hundreds of destinations. BenefitsPoints can be spent for award flights, upgrades, excess baggage or a growing range of travel related rewards.
What are the benefits of PartnerPlusBenefit? • Free membership • Companies can earn BenefitPoints with 9 airlines and profit from their extensive networks • BenefitPoints are valid for 3 years • BenefitPoints can be exchanged for award flights, upgrades, excess baggage, online WorldShop, cash back and dedicated group check-in at Helsinki Airport • 24/7 access to online account • Travellers continue to earn miles on their individual frequent flyer schemes • Dedicated service centre for customers in the Baltic States and Finland • Regular promotions to earn extra BenefitPoints • Discount amounting up to 20% at car rental partner of the programme - Avis. During the last year the programme has added more partners who offer their services to PartnerPlusBenefit members in exchange for BenefitPoints. This helps PartnerPlusBenefit customers maximise their travel budget and cuts their travel spend from the moment they register in our programme. Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) in co-operation with Lufthansa offers special programme rewards for all its customer for three months starting from November 01st, 2015. For more information please contact CWT Lithuania.
Almost a tenth more business class passengers at Vilnius Airport over a year
‘Meetings events and Convene’ engines for business
Paul Kennedy MBE, Director and Owner Kennedy integrated Solutions
Would most business leaders and economists sit up and take notice of an industry worth in excess of £50 billion employing more than one million in a European economy. Probably, unless of course the politicians do not care and/ or business owners and shareholders have given up wanting to generate economic wealth. The Britain Visits and Events Partnership has just announced its latest research findings which have shown in just two years the economic value of this sector has grown 8% in the UK and now exceeds some £42 billion excluding induced economic impact which would raise this figure to some £60 billion. It is also know from the 2013 UK economic impact study that the business of events and meetings of all types generates more full time equivalent jobs than agriculture. The world of meetings and events across the globe is an emerging and distinct sector capable of macro economic measurement within any system of national accounts and the latest UK research continues to amaze many and is not alone with the US meetings and event industry employing more than the automotive sector. It is not surprising, therefore, that this sector is now commanding more political attention internationally than ever before and in the UK the sector is on the national political agenda with an active all party group of parliamentarians urging the government to do more to support this burgeoning sector which also brings major social and educational benefits in the realm of knowledge transfer - a subject that commands quite separate article! The UK itself has the strongest outbound meetings industry with most other countries in Europe very keen indeed to harvest this buoyant export from the UK economy. A chance conversation some four years ago between Jolanta Beniuliene Director of the Vilnius Convention and Tourist Office and the author resulted in, for Lithuania an innovative private
The number of business passengers in the main airport of the country has increased by 8 percent since October last year. Within a year of operation of the renovated Business Club “IDW Esperanza Resort” at Vilnius Airport its services have already been used by 28.5 thousand departing business class clients. The number of such passengers was slightly more than 26 thousand in the same period last year. The flows of business clients have increased by almost half in total since the Business Club was established at Vilnius Airport back in 1997. According to Artūras Stankevičius, Director of Vilnius Airport, business clients are a very important part of the whole passenger flow, therefore, the aim is to offer the services meeting their needs and expectations. “For this purpose the Business Club was renovated last year and a well-known brand that has earned a prestigious name was selected as the airport’s partner to ensure the especially high level of service. The highest quality of service for departing and arriving passengers is one of the priority tasks of the airport, and growing passenger flows are a sign that we work in the right direction”, - notes A. Stankevičius.
The Business Club at Vilnius Airport was renovated in October last year, and its management was entrusted to luxury brand “IDW Esperanza Resort” also managing the 5+ star resort residence located near Trakai in Lithuania. The latter is a member of the famous “Small Luxury Hotels of the World” network uniting most luxurious independent hotels around the world. “We are pleased by the success of the business club idea. It is important for us to ensure the high-quality representation of Lithuania at the global level therefore we will continue thinking of a way to offer the best possible conditions for passengers coming here in order to make their time before flight as pleasant as possible”, says Tomas Maknickas, General Manager of IDW Esperanza Resort. Business passengers visiting the Business Club located on the third floor of Vilnius Airport’s departure terminal are offered a cosy and airconditioned environment, high-quality Internet connection, fax services, the latest Lithuanian and foreign press, satellite television, snacks, soft and hard drinks. The business passenger hall also provides work places equipped with computers.
BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS
public sector project called Convene, a business to business event designed to show case Lithuania and neighbouring Baltic Sea countries to the world of international meetings, conferences and events. February 2016 will see the fourth edition of this event with some 160+ international buyers and planners and leading international trade media from the sector hosted by the Vilnius supply chain. The decision for Vilnius to host and invest in such an event is helping position Lithuania as a pivotal player in the region and the economic prize through job creation, GDP contribution and tax revenues as can be seen by the statistics from the UK is considerable. The decision to create an international class convention centre literally across the river from Vilnius old town stems directly from conversations held at Convene and this major infrastructure development will drive demand into economy at a faster pace for certain. Convene involves thousands of business appointments being pre - scheduled before the doors open, brings together leading supply side providers from seven Baltic sea countries to meet international and domestic professionals involved in this sector. Not only is there this international exchange, the opportunity is there for those domestic ‘planners’ and meeting providers most of whom don’t have meeting planner in their job title to do business with domestic suppliers and also benefit from the ‘free’ line-up of local and international speakers to enhance industry knowledge, improve skill sets and importantly learn what their competitors are up to! One of the educational highlights at Convene 2016 will be the session on how destinations are aligning their offer to the international world to their own economic sectors or ‘knowledge hubs’ which reinforces the performance and strength of these sectors, with Aberdeen in Scotland for example being a focus for meetings and events around the energy sector . Most organisations have meetings and events of many types- for their sales forces or their boards or to engage with their client base and literally tens of thousands of meetings are held in venues which have to be hired for the purpose including hotels, Litexpo, heritage venues and many other types. Convene provides the opportunity for Lithuanian based organisations on both the demand and supply sides to come together and do business more effectively and of course provides the opportunity for the Lithuania to boost its exports to this huge and fast growing international sector.
Kaunas Airport attracting aviation-related businesses with new AEROHUB KUN
Kaunas Airport is changing rapidly, with a progressive future vision. The creation of Lithuanian Airports last year, following the merger into one entity of Vilnius, Palanga, and Kaunas airports, has established a clear strategic direction. This sees Kaunas Airport become the base for aviation-related businesses through implementation of the AEROHUB KUN investment project. “The new organisation has implemented a new management structure and processes, non-aeronautical revenue-driven projects, and strategic development projects like AEROHUB KUN,” Jūratė Baltrušaitytė, CCO Lithuanian Airports, explained. Indeed, AEROHUB KUN is the key project in the development strategy for Kaunas Airport. It primarily focuses on MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) service providers, OEM (original equipment manufacturer) and other spare part manufacturers and traders, as well as aircraft manufacturers and training service providers. €7.2 million has been invested in the first phase, and these initial works have created a new taxiway and apron, paving the way for the start of operations by the first investors. Lithuanian
Airports is in discussions with several potential investors – mainly MRO service providers – and expects the first agreement to be signed by the end of 2015. “The project is being presented and promoted internationally, and we are pursuing every lead on the list,” Baltrušaitytė asserted. “In addition to a strategically-favorable geographic location, we can ensure excellent infrastructure. KUN has a 3,250m runway, and there are no curfews, no noise, slot or other restrictions. Meanwhile, Lithuanian investment promotion agency Invest Lithuania consults with, and provides full support to, foreign investors which start operations in Lithuania. One of our key competitive advantages is our multi-lingual staff, with engineering expertise, whose average salary is competitive compared with Western European countries.” While a cluster of aviation-related businesses is being sought at Kaunas, the airport is also looking to grow its passenger traffic, predominantly through new low-cost carrier services. “The connectivity from KUN is important not only to the closest catchment area, but for travelers of neighboring countries as well,” Baltrušaitytė commented. “Due to excellent road infrastructure to Kaunas, customers from Northern Poland, Belarus, South Latvia, and Kaliningrad, all travel from KUN. We see passenger traffic as one of the important activities for KUN.” Lithuania is becoming an increasingly attractive destination for both tourist and business traffic, as figures for the first half of 2015 attest. Following the 10% growth achieved in the first six months, Lithuanian Airports expects its three airports to handle over 3.8 million passengers this year.
BCC paper issue No 52
8 BCC welcomes Claire Lawrence, the new British Ambassador to Lithuania in October the BCC met the UK’s new Ambassador to Lithuania, Claire Lawrence. Though this is Ms Lawrence’s first posting as Ambassador, she has experience in three previous postings, having served in China, Sierra Leone and Brussels. The last posting in particular giving her useful experience for the challenges ahead in her current role and the focus upon EU reform. We asked what her priorities were for the duration of her posting in Vilnius.
2. Security
1. EU reform This is likely to dominate the first years of Ms Lawrence’s time in Lithuania, with Britain’s political agenda heavily tilted towards this issue for the next couple of years. The questions surrounding this topic are covered in much
greater detail in this paper, though it is suffice to say, with particular regards to Lithuania, that the two countries share similar outlooks for the EU’s future: broadly speaking, open, liberal and competitive markets.
Lithuania and the UK have become firm defence partners, with the UK the second-largest actor in the defence scene for the three Baltic States. The UK this autumn is taking a central part in NATO’s military exercises in the region. The UK has just announced it will send more UK troops in the region and will be contributing to the Baltic Air Policing Mission again next year, as well as leading the EU Battle Group in 2016 and the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force in 2017. Lithuania and the UK are close partners on foreign policy issues, including in the Eastern neighbourhood. Both countries have co-operated more fully on the international scene during
Lithuania’s tenure on the UN Security Council these past two years. NATO of course forms only one such forum in which the two have aligned their interests closely, though the OSCE and EU are other organisations in which both countries have worked together 3. Trade and Investment The UK government has stated that, by the end of this parliament, it wants the country to be generating GBP 1 trillion of exports annually. From 2010-2014, 9% of FDI into Lithuania came from the UK. The Embassy wishes to work with business to grow this, and also Lithuanian investment into the UK. In general Lithuania has a good business environment in which UK investors should be able to find opportunities and markets.
Considering the UK’s Reform Agenda On 15th October, BCC members met at the British Embassy to listen to the outlines of the UK’s case for EU reform ahead of the UK’s referendum on EU membership to be held before the end of 2017 and to gauge the reaction of the assembled panel: Claire Lawrence, the British Ambassador to Lithuania; Professor Leonidas Donskis, philosopher and former MEP; Professor Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University; and Osvaldas Čiukšys, Director General of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists. The British Ambassador introduced the UK’s reform agenda. The UK sees this agenda as a positive one, for Britain and for Europe. It is about making the EU fit for the challenges it faces today. The UK wants to see a dynamic, competitive, outward focused Europe, delivering prosperity and security for the benefit of every country in the EU, with Britain playing a leading role. This means reform in four areas: 1. Competitiveness and Growth: Europe’s growth rate is far below its potential. Taken as a whole, Europe’s share of world output is projected to fall by almost a third in the next two decades. We need to empower our businesses to compete more effectively in the world by accelerating the integration of the single market, especially in services, digital, capital markets and energy. Completing the single market will deliver significant benefits: for business, increased trade and access to larger markets, facilitating new business practices, efficiency and innovation; for consumers, cheaper and also more innovative goods and services. The UK wants to see increasing trade between the EU and the rest of the world through securing more ambitious trade agreements more quickly. A transatlantic EU US free trade agreement, covering both trade and investment, would generate significant new employment and opportunities for growth and set global regulatory standards on a transatlantic basis. As well as concluding ambitious free trade deals with the US and Japan we must look to new partners too. Reducing bureaucracy and
increasing innovation is important. The UK wants to create a better regulatory framework for business, particularly small businesses, one where the quality of regulation is improved and regulatory burdens reduced. 2, Fairness: The UK agrees that the Eurozone needs to be stronger and more effective. But the UK also believes that deeper integration should not penalise those who choose to remain outside the Eurozone. This is not just about the UK: a strong Europe depends on simultaneously strengthening both the Eurozone and the Single Market. 3. Sovereignty: The UK believes that democracy means most when it is closest to the people. As a result, we think our national parliaments are the fundamental basis for democracy. The UK wants them to be able to challenge confidently and in partnership European decisions that do not make sense. The UK also wants recognition that, while the concept of ever-closer union appeals to some EU Member States, it is not right for all. 4. Welfare reform: The UK wants to make sure that we need to tackle abuses of the right to free movement and deliver changes that ensure our welfare system isn’t an artificial draw for people to come to Britain. Panel Conclusions Here follows a summary of the conclusions reached by the Lithuanian members of the panel.
Lithuania cannot be indifferent to the UK’s approach to EU reform, indeed in many ways the two countries are quite similar. The UK’s natural predilections towards open markets and a liberal economic order are shared by the Baltics. In a wider geopolitical sense, there is a natural axis formed by the UK, the Nordic countries and the Baltics, which offsets the attitudes that would prevail otherwise. It seemed to the panel that the EU has stalled in delivering on its promise of a truly single market due to the complexity of the issues that now need resolving. Each country has its own system of regulation, licensing and supervision for every type of service imaginable and reforming this will be incredibly difficult. Commonly agreed standards
are one thing, but the actual reformation of these institutions is a mammoth undertaking. In its current format the EU will always struggle with what seems to be an ever-shortening business cycle. Innovation today is so rapid, while the EU bodies tasked with trying to keep up with these developments are slow and cumbersome. With 7% of the world’s population, the EU spends 63% of all spending on social benefits across the globe. Companies in the EU pay the highest prices for energy anywhere in the world. The Lithuanian panel members also felt that it was in Lithuania’s interests for the UK to remain in the EU, including Lithuania’s geostrategic interests. Engaging on the UK’s agenda would therefore be important for Lithuania.
BCC paper issue No 52
9
CHRONICLE OF BCC EVENTS
BCC autumn Season opened in the Lithuanian Building a Future in Capital Markets By Michael West National Opera and Ballet Theatre to investors weighing up the opportunities in On September 8th the British Chamber of Commerce invited members to the traditional Season Opening Event held in the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. The new British Ambassador Claire Lawrence made a short introduction, followed by lively discussion with two young British artists – choreographer George Williamson from the UK, cur-
rently working on a ballet premiere “Egle Queen of the serpents”, and a young ballet dancer Daniel Dolan. After discussion with the artists BCC members were invited to go on the backstage tour and watch the ballet rehearsal of “Egle Queen of the serpents”. The event was continued with the networking part over a glass of wine and snacks.
In mid-September the BCC hosted a Breakfast Roundtable event at the Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square entitled: The Expansion of the UK’s Financial Services to Lithuania Opportunities and Challenges. In attendance were BCC members, representing financial services sector, who met Mark Boleat, Chairman of the Policy Committee, the City of London Corporation and Sir Roger Gifford, CEO of SEB UK. The event was held on the side-lines of a conference looking at capital market regulations and ways of removing obstacles to create more opportunities for commerce. Size is the critical factor in determining Lithuania’s role in this key economic sector. Large and diverse capital markets already exist across Europe and the country is currently an integral part of the Nordic and Scandinavian system. Trying to set up an all singing and dancing financial centre is not a clever strategy. Instead smaller, localised areas of expertise should be formed as the country climbs up the value chain. At this stage in its development, the quality of Lithuania’s workforce is of paramount importance. A country with relatively few, established institutions needs to demonstrate it has the capacity to absorb new skills. The golden message
Lithuania is therefore the availability of bright, well-educated people. In addition to this, the relationships already formed with certain partners must be deepened, drawing on the positive experiences of current investors. With the right framework of laws and a suitable business environment already in place, Lithuania now needs to gradually accumulate the right skills and investments, creating a snowball effect attracting further capital and interest. Noone wants to be the first to enter a new territory, but now this initial hurdle has been cleared, others will follow quickly. The building up of this basic framework of advisors, i.e. accounting and legal, supports the entry of bigger players that will form the building blocks of the financial sector in the future. Lithuania’s financial sector could evolve a partnership with the Scandinavian financial centres much like Scotland’s has with London. Edinburgh now houses a multitude of companies that service London with various back office tasks much more cheaply than the UK’s capital could hope to. Barclays serves an important marker in this respect. Other companies have taken note of this investment and it will serve as an important entry on the country’s CV when new investors come calling.
The British Chamber of Commerce expresses great gratitude to Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square for hosting this Breakfast Roundtable event
Breakfast Technical Briefings The BCC Technical Briefing Breakfast in the end of September covered domestic and global economic outlook. The theme “Lithuania has overcome the Russian bear challenge. What’s next?” was presented by Indrė Genytė-Pikčienė, Chief analyst, financial markets, macroeconomics at DNB Bank. The participants were introduced to the new drivers in Lithuanian economy, incentives and threats in the domestic demand and provided with some useful predictions on what are the beasts to look out for in the challenging external environment. Before presentation and the discussion, all in attendance enjoyed excellent English breakfast, and afterwards stayed for networking and discussions near coffee at the Shakespeare Hotel.
Indrė Genytė-Pikčienė, Chief analyst, financial markets, macroeconomics at DNB Bank
Breakfast Technical Briefing in October, hosted Martynas Babilas, Head of Office advice Baltics and Bernardas Velikonis, Transactions lead Baltics at NEWSEC, who made a presentation “Office space dynamics in Lithuania”. The speakers focused on a couple of important issues, such as what drives office market growth in Vilnius, how developers and buildings are adapting to new requirements of occupiers, importance and further potential of Shared Service centres in Lithuania and attractiveness of office buildings as investment products. The presentation was followed by interactive discussion, moderated by Robert Juodka, VARUL, Member of the BCC Board.
Martynas Babilas, Head of Office advice Baltics and Bernardas Velikonis, Transactions lead Baltics at NEWSEC
17th Burns' Night in Vilnius Saturday 23rd January 2016 Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania The TOP annual fundraising event of the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania, in Honour of Scotland’s greatest poet and lover, Robert Burns. Dress code: Black Tie or Kilt Inquiries via e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt www.bccl.lt
BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS
Chris Butler, Chairman of the BCC Board introducing Guest Speakers Mark Boleat, Chairman of the Policy Committee, the City of London Corporation (on the left) and Sir Roger Gifford, CEO of SEB UK.
(from left to right) Tomas Kontautas, Lloyd’s, Vytautas Zabulis, SAVY, Martynas Babilas, NEWSEC.
(from left to right) Kees Heuveling, Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square, Šarūnas Šiugžda, LitCapital, Sigits Mitkus, Lithuanian Ministry of Finance.
BCC Breakfast Roundtable participants
BCC paper issue No 52
10
REAL ESTATE
Financial Performance, Strategy and Management organisations have their purpose, mission and role in society. But, without money no organisation has the capacity to be meaningful. That is a simple rule for private and public organisations. Money is a result of many activities. And those activities are interconnected, developed and executed by people. Those activities (or processes) always result in a product or service. A product or service bought and used by customers. But also by patients in a hospital or citizens as a customer of a municipality. Let us focus on customers for product or services, for whom transactions are based on value. By the way, this should also be the case for public services. Ivo Matser, CEO ISM University of Management and Economics and Dean of ISM’s Executive School
Financial results are the backbone of any organisation. And that is because of money. In the end we measure in money, because it is the only reason for bankruptcy and the only way to measure or to assess the stability and strength of capital, as well as financial strength. Of course
Creating value in an inefficient way will lead to bad financial results. In an efficient way, it could lead to a profitable business. We all know this and it is very simple: value for revenues and efficiency for low cost. Simple as that. To manage value and efficiency, we should manage people, based on non-financial indicators. Customer satisfaction is an indicator
for customer value. Employee satisfaction is an indicator for committed and engaged people. Motivated and inspired employees work harder, want to understand their responsibilities better, do not hide failures and, in the end, they work harder. Besides we have, of course, non-financial indicators like production time, delivery time, response time, the number of innovative ideas, internal customer satisfaction and many others. From a broader perspective, we could also measure stakeholder (shareholders and all other interested parties, formal as well as informal) satisfaction to assess the company’s impact on society or the outcome of the organisation’s purpose. The key success factor is people. The better people perform in many ways, the better the financial results will be. So, the soft skills of a manager lead to acute results. Managers without soft skills will create bad financial results. Of course, this is more difficult, because 80% of their job is people management. And this has to do with listening, clear communication, empathy and giving positive and negative feedback. In my
opinion, there is no choice, this is the only way to financial success. If you think you need a nonpeople manager, hire a machine. It is cheaper, more reliable and more predictable. Also from a strategic perspective it is important to see financials as outcomes/results and not as targets. In a world of complexity and dynamics, uncertainty is high. We know there can be huge changes, maybe we have an idea about the direction and maybe we agree on the direction. This means organisations should be adaptive, responsive and open minded (for the sake of future financial results). A narrow focus on short term targets (or even worse, financial targets) will create a disconnection to the future. In research on strategy development and entrepreneurship you can see a shift from causation (the traditional method) to effectuation methods: strategy as a learning process. There will be a change in planning from milestones to stepping stones. The lessons from this are clear: this needs a leadership style of supporting people working from the bottom up.
New Promising Chapter for the Baltic Commercial Property Market
Neringa Rastenytė, Head of Transactions, Baltics, NEWSEC
On a global scale, commercial property investment market is enjoying levels of activity unseen since the aftermath of the financial crisis. Among other things, the most obvious drivers of this trend have been extremely low financing costs and investors’ relentless appetite for higher yields that commercial properties can offer in comparison to other asset classes. The abovementioned forces have also made a significant impact on the Baltics’ property markets, allowing us to predict that the total volume of commercial property investment (transactions of more than EUR 1.5m) in the Baltic region may reach or surpass the pre-crisis record of EUR 1bn this year. Let us take a closer look at the developments enabling us to make this claim and discuss the Baltics’ commercial property investment market going forward. For as long as the professional investment property market has existed in the Baltics, it has been characterised by investors, especially the foreign ones, as illiquid and highly risky. While to a certain extent this remains true (the RussianUkrainian crisis has done little to alleviate the latter), we are witnessing signs that this notion is changing. Attractive property investment opportunities in the Western hemisphere are increasingly scarce due to a massive amount of capital: pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowment funds etc. competing for a limited number assets, so the market in the developed world is becoming increasingly “crowded”. This in turn has driven yields down to 4-5% for the prime properties in Western Europe, which has forced institutional investors to engage in more opportunistic strategies. This puts Baltics in a very favourable position to benefit from this worldwide hunt for higher returns.
This trend has manifested itself in the Baltics most visibly during the last few years. Earlier this year, Partners Group, a Switzerland based asset manager, acquired the assets of BPT Optima in the Baltic states and Poland in a EUR 163m transaction. Another sizeable deal was struck by American investors, LNC Capital Partners, which invested over EUR 100 million in a municipal housing project in Tallinn. Most recently, American real estate investment giant, Blackstone, has committed itself to buy a portfolio of assets in the Nordics, including three retail properties in Latvia. This increased activity of foreign buyers shows us at least three things about the current state of the Baltic property market: first - the Baltic market is becoming more transparent and professional, second - international investors are able to find assets that meet their risk profile and yield expectations in the Baltics, third – geopolitical concerns to a large extent have not discouraged investors from investing in the region. In relationship to the latter, the Baltics actually have benefited greatly from the unified currency, NATO/EU membership and, in the eyes of many foreign investors, the region is increasingly viewed as an extension of the Nordic region. That said, it seems that international interest in the Baltics will continue in the near to medium term, laying the foundation for overall market activity to return to the record heights in the coming few years. On the yield side, we are also witnessing some signs of the return of the “good days”. The average yield for prime, investment grade properties (office or retail) in the Baltics now averages around 7%, with a few transactions in the region of 6%. To put it into perspective, the average prime yields immediately after the financial crisis in 2009 were closer to 9%, which suggests a yield compression of 2% over the six-year period. Overall, it is probably safe to claim that, in the near-term, the commercial property market in the Baltics will maintain its momentum. This will mainly be driven by the increasing activity of local investment funds through relatively small transactions and international investment funds, which will probably make their way into the region through larger portfolio acquisitions. These developments will most likely be underscored by the strong macroeconomic fundamentals of the Baltics, which in part will drive further rental income growth and yield compression. Should all these factors fall in place, we could see the investment property transaction volume in the Baltics reach the symbolic pre-crisis benchmark of EUR 1bn very soon.
For New Year‘s Eve, Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square will turn into a magical Venice carnival. Bright carnival colours, flavours, entertainment and moods will fully fill the luxurious hotel in the Old Town of Vilnius. You will be taken over by mist-wrapped Venetian canals to the feast and the decorations, colours, entertainment and music. Venice secrets and magic are waiting for you on the 31th of December, 2015 at Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square 31st of December 2015 Time: 21:00 Place: Universiteto St. 14 Dress Code: Touch of Venice Carnival
T. +370 5 2201 100 Reservations.vilnius@kempinski.com
BCC paper issue No 52
11 AIG Investing in Shared Service Centre in Vilnius Big Data – New Competitive Advantage Brought centres in Malaysia, the Philippines, Bulgaria and to Lithuanian IT market by Barclays now Vilnius.
AIG chose Vilnius as the ideal place for its service centre. The deciding factors were the high level of education, broad language skills and demonstrated professionalism within the local employment market, along with the large numbers of foreign nationals studying in Lithuanian universities. The very positive cooperation with the Ministry of Economics and its agency Invest Lithuania played a very important role in AIG’s final decision.
American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organisation serving customers in more than 100 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide propertycasualty networks of any insurer. AIG began the business model of establishing specialised service centres in strategic locations around the world in 2002. The company currently has more than 11,000 employees in service
AIG sees their entry into Lithuania of mutual benefit. By joining the service centre sector in Lithuania, we will strengthen it even further, while for our business, this centre becomes a convenient focal point for customer service to many of our markets. We have solid plans to develop and expand, offering job opportunities to hundreds of talented people in the country. AIG plans to actively participate in selected local social responsibility initiatives, as it strengthens links with the local community. AIG Vilnius SSC already has over 200 direct employees and is continuing to offer various job positions. AIG SSC is now in the final stages of its move from a temporary office at Gedimino pr. 9, to a new office building at Konstitucijos pr. 29.
Cobalt and Borenius Baltic offices are joing forces
Leading lawyers in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus are joining under the COBALT name to create the largest full-service business law firm operation in the region. COBALT offices will be joined by Borenius teams in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. A full merger is underway and is expected to be completed across the Baltics by January 1st 2016. In Estonia the merger was completed as of October 1st 2015.
COBALT was formed in May 2015 by Raidla Lejins & Norcous offices in Latvia and Lithuania and the LAWIN office in Estonia. The joint firm of more than 180 lawyers will operate under the COBALT name to symbolize its strong focus on Baltic co-operation. The merger is driven by our wish to excel at meeting the growing needs and expectations of our clients, and by the shared values of our partners. Individually, the practice areas and lawyers of our previous firms were ranked “top tier” by prestigious international legal directories such as the Legal 500, WTR1000, IFLR1000 and Chambers & Partners. Together, we will be even stronger. The merger will enable us to offer a deeper pool of legal expertise plus a broader range of services, gather more leading lawyers into one firm, improve response times and levels of specialisation, and offer our clients first class service in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus.
Amber staff launch new website Amber staff have launched a new website offering candidates easier access to open vacancies at the company. Candidates will have the possibility to upload their CVs and send them directly to Amber staff. Clients will find detailed information about employee leasing, search & selection, contracting and other HR solutions. For more information please visit our new website www.amberstaff.com
Olga Lagun, Head of Barclays Information and Integration Services at BTCL
Data volumes worldwide are growing every day. The Big Data phenomenon is now woven into every sector and function in the global economy. It is now common knowledge that Big Data — large pools of data that can be brought together and analyzed to discern patterns and make better decisions — is the new thing that will drive the market’s competitive force.
New IFRS 9 to have major impact on loan portfolios; KPMG advise that you prepare
Implementation efforts for IFRS 9 Financial Instruments can finally begin. After long debate about this complex area, the new standard’s release completes a project launched in 2008 in response to the financial crisis. The resulting fundamental changes in financial instruments accounting call for careful planning. “The new standard is going to have a massive impact on the way banks account for credit losses on their loan portfolios. Impairment of bad debts will likely be bigger and more volatile.” – says Domantas Dabulis, partner at KPMG in Lithuania. The new standard includes revised guidance on the classification and measurement of financial assets, including a new expected credit loss model for calculating impairment. Preparing for the far-reaching impacts of these changes may take considerable effort. Companies – especially in the financial sector – already need to start assessing the possible impacts, and begin planning for transition, to understand the time, resources and changes to systems and processes that are needed. Although the effective date for the standard is 1st January 2018, KPMG in Lithuania is already assisting companies in understanding what the new standard means for their business and pre-
“Jurgis ir Drakonas” GREAT DEALS
The best results in modern operating theatres: foot surgery, arthroscopy and prosthetics
2 years ago the Baltic American Clinic opened a new Orthopedic Centre. We selected some of the best professionals in their field – foot, shoulder, hand, hip, and knee specialists who conduct a thorough consultation before prescribing appropriate medical care. In the period of 2 years, more than a thousand patients visited the centre and received treatment. With the help of modern equipment, including X-ray testing and computerised diagnostics, our specialists can quickly and accurately determine the diagnosis and prescribe further treatment. The doctors apply state of the art treatment and
operation methods in addition to collaborating with world-recognized orthopedic implant manufacturers in order to provide the best medical care. Foot deformities are treated with Hallux valgus surgery, specialists complete flat foot corrective surgeries, shoulder, knee arthroscopic surgeries, wrist and hand surgeries, hip and knee replacement surgeries, as well as various minor orthopaedic procedures. Advanced surgical operating software provides the ability to choose the optimal method of transaction – from arthroscopic surgery to joint replacement surgery. It has been proven that early postoperative rehabilitation helps to achieve the best results. For this reason, the Orthopaedic Centre works closely with the experienced physical therapists in the Rehabilitation Centre. Our Clinic’s physiotherapists lead special workshops in the water and in the gym, teach healing exercises, and perform therapeutic massages to aid in restoring patient’s health.
BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS
One might say: there are quite a few companies already working with Big Data in the Lithuanian market – and they would be right; nevertheless, being an international bank, Barclays has the potential to have a wider scope of impact with implementation of Big Data solutions. Furthermore, the establishment of Big Data solutions at the BTCL (Barclays Technology Centre Lithuania) has started a chain reaction of changes in the Lithuanian IT market both in terms of technology and the opportunity to attract IT professionals. This is an overwhelming opportunity for Lithuania to thrive and to prove to be a leading technology and innovation country – these are critical factors for global investments and progress. Barclays is indeed playing an important part in the growth of the Lithuanian market via deploying cutting-edge technologies and analytics that have opened up an unprecedented array of insights into customer needs and behaviors.
“Jurgis ir Drakonas” three famous family restaurants, where you can enjoy delicious neapolitan pizzas, great service and will always be welcomed with a smile! We offer seasonal dishes and specials and of course our home desserts are always a must! This time we invite you to try our amazing FAMILY PACKAGE, to experience JD’s award winning food and spend a great time with your friends and family!
paring for implementation. KPMG has already held discussions with Board members of key Lithuanian banks, and has organised a well received workshop on this topic in September, where over 40 representatives of financial institutions and the regulator participated. Contact KPMG to see how IFRS 9 will impact your company.
BCC paper issue No 52
12 “G4S Lietuva” helps with the introduction of the Euro SORAINEN Lithuania boosted by accession of two Lietuva” was granted significant responsibility, partners and a team from BORENIUS After being a member of the European Union for eleven years, Lithuania became the twelfth member of the Eurozone at the beginning of the current year. Managing the introduction of the Euro posed an historic challenge, both to the supreme authorities of the country and the greatest company for security solutions “G4S Lietuva”. The company has being carrying out its activities for more than 20 years, and joining the Eurozone is among the greatest projects the country e has ever implemented, requiring maximum effort and involvement from employees. During the Euro’s introduction period “G4S
because over twenty years of activity in Lithuania, the company has earned a perfect reputation and good name. During the project’s implementation period the scale of works carried out by the company was great. The weight of coins and bank notes collected and delivered within several months was equal to the weight of 237 elephants. If we could put the bank notes side by side, we could make a tape of money from Vilnius to Antarctica and back. During the whole period of the project’s implementation the employees of “G4S Lietuva” collected and counted more than 330 million coins and 214 million bank notes – the amount exceeds 7 billion Euros. Nearly one year on, we are enjoying the results achieved from the successfully implemented national currency change.
Legal advisor on the transaction of the year 2015 The Lithuania’s largest integrated telecommunications, IT and TV services provider Teo listed on NASDAQ OMX market, announced the acquisition of the country’s second largest mobile operator by revenue – Omnitel owned by the Swedish TeliaSonera group. The published deal value is 220 million EUR. Professionals of Dominas & Partners were selected as legal advisors to Teo in this transaction, which is already said to become the largest in Lithuania this year. The transaction is noted also for its complexity – it included cross-border elements, the need to take into account minority shareholder interests and the rules applicable to public NASDAQ-listed company, as well as transaction financing aspects - Teo will use external financing for the acquisition (148 million EUR).
Dominas & Partners services included buy-side work - the work on legal due diligence and identification of possible legal risks, deal structuring, negotiations, work on the SPA draft and other. The team is led by partner Gediminas Dominas and associate Karolis Racevičius.
practices. Now he will head the Competition & Regulatory Team at SORAINEN Lithuania, which includes the Competition, Energy & Utilities, Infrastructure & Regulatory and EU Law practices. With legal experience of over 15 years, Žygimantas Pacevičius will be a partner with the Dispute Resolution Team.
Dr. Daivis Švirinas, former managing partner at BORENIUS Lithuania, and Žygimantas Pacevičius, head of the dispute resolution practice at BORENIUS Lithuania, are joining SORAINEN. Along with them a team of eleven qualified lawyers will also join SORAINEN. Comments Laimonas Skibarka, co-managing partner of SORAINEN and office managing partner of SORAINEN Lithuania: “We are glad that Daivis Švirinas and Žygimantas Pacevičius have decided to join our firm, bringing with them a strong team of lawyers. They will further strengthen our practices in competition, energy and dispute resolution and will contribute to helping our clients succeed, which is our core purpose.” Over the past five years Dr. Daivis Švirinas has been managing partner at BORENIUS Lithuania and also headed their competition and energy
The conference focused on energy strategy and its implementation in Lithuania. The participants discussed global energy trends and their impact on the energy independence of the Baltic States, considered recent financing instruments, investment risk management, and new business opportunities in the energy sector resulting from the implementation of strategic energy projects. Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Energy, representatives from the Baltic States and the European Commission, politicians, managers and
experts from energy companies, independent energy analysts, and representatives of international energy organisations made presentations and attended the conference panel discussions. The event attracted more than three hundred distinguished leaders from the Lithuanian energy sector and senior representatives from the Baltic States, Poland and from countries further afield.
Strategic Staffing Solutions International (S3I), the Lithuania-based IT and business solutions company, has been named as a finalist for the European Business Awards. S3I is among firms from 33 nations across Europe designated as National Champions in the first stage of the 201516 competition. Now in its ninth year, the European Business Awards, sponsored by RSM International, is The Lithuanian Energy Conference is the Europe’s largest business recognition program. biggest international energy conference in the A panel of independent judges selected the Baltic States, which is annually organized by the business magazine Valstybė and law firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene.
New place for social science – MRU LAB! On September 24th 2015, a new laboratory at Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) opened its doors for the first time. The unique Social Innovations Laboratory Network will foster closer cooperation between the academic and business communities and willseek to apply research results to resolve various issues in society. According to Mykolas Romeris University‘s ViceRector for Research and International Relations Prof. Inga Žalėnienė, an initiator of the MRU LAB, research in the area of social innovations has been conducted over a number of years at the University. During that time numerous social innovation projects were implemented and scholarly monographs were published. However until now, academics and research teams haveworked individually. Now all of them will be in one place, thus facilitating cooperation. The size of the new 4-storey MRU LAB building is more than 3,000 square meters. The first floor has open spaces for students, the academic community and for social partners. It includes mobile work spaces and two auditoriums (80, 30 seats) for meetings, presentations and conferences. A total of 19 Laboratory teamswill be located in the building. The new building will also house the Research and Innovation Support
Centre and the Social Innovations Doctoral School. “We will seek to make the MRU LAB a central meeting spot, not only for the MRU academic community, but also for academics, students and business partners from other institutions,“ said Vice-Rector Prof. Žalėnienė. “We will encourage them to actively undertake joint research projects with foreign universities,“ she added. Vice-Rector Prof. Žalėnienė emphasised that one of the most important goals of the MRU LAB is to create effective research result applications to resolve issues. “We live in an era of cooperation and only together, solving problems, can we overcome the major challenges of modern society,“ she said.
The team of lawyers joining SORAINEN also consists of Dr. Stasys Drazdauskas, a highly experienced lawyer specialising in intellectual property, information technology and dispute resolution, plus attorneys-at-law Jurgita Karvelė, Jonas Kiauleikis, Julija Kirkilienė, Laima Kunčinaitė, Simonas Skukauskas, Andrius Šidlauskas and lawyers Monika Mališauskaitė, Natalja Moll, Ieva Čumačenkaitė and Ingrida Kryžauskienė.
S3I Named European Business Awards National Champions
Lithuanian Energy Conference 2015 The 7th annual Energy Conference hosted by the leading Lithuanian business magazine Valstybė and law firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene was held in Vilnius on 15th October 2015, where well-known experts analysed and discussed new world, EU and especially Baltic energy market trends and developments, transformation processes, strategies and their impact on the economy.
Notes Daivis Švirinas: “We have always striven to ensure the highest quality of legal services to our clients. Client expectations have been growing lately and this further stimulates the ongoing consolidation of the legal services market. Having seen the agile growth of SORAINEN in the Baltic States and Belarus, we decided to join this firm with which we also share the same professionalism, high standards and approach towards the quality of legal advice. SORAINEN will be strengthened by the accession of our team and thus even better placed to ensure top quality services to our clients.”
National Champions after the European Business Awards engaged with over 32,000 companies this year. “From the moment S3I established its presence in Eastern Europe, we have focused on seizing every opportunity presented by an expanding and developing economy, and being named as a National Champion is a clear validation of our team’s relentless efforts to stay at the forefront of our industry,” said Mantautas Paskevicius, manager of Baltic and Nordic regions for S3I. S3I has been repeatedly recognized as the “#1 Most Productive Professional Services” company in the Baltic region by a leading industry publication. S3I opened in 1999 as the European office and sister company to U.S.-based Strategic Staffing Solutions, which has just marked its 25th anniversary with a celebration in the U.S. that included Lithuanian cultural ambassadors, acapella singers Quorum.
Educational exhibition „Moderni Mokykla“ ( „The Modern School“) organised by „Biuro Pasaulis“
At the end of October, for the third year running, “Biuro Pasaulis” gathered teachers from all over Lithuania to provide them with an opportunity to experiment with the latest technology, hear from inspirational figures and experts in the industry and meet their peers from far and wide. More than 40 workshops and seminars were held during the exhibition, with more than 2,500 visitors attending from schools, kindergartens and colleges. A lot of attention was paid to new technology and stationary products from suppliers companies such as „Esselte“,
„3M“, „Büroodisain“, „Mokslo technologijos“, „Labochema“, „Lidata“, „TK-Team“ etc. The visitors were teachers of different subjects, schools’ managers and other educational professionals. The exhibition took place during the autumn holidays in educational institutions, so visitors were free to arrange their schedule, to visit the exhibition and had professional consultations on products and services as well attending different lectures, seminars and workshops. „The aim of this exhibition is to help teachers to transform education using the latest technology. We need to learn it from experts, solution providers and each other. We are very happy that each year the number of participants has continued to grow. It means that we are on the right track.“- commented Arturas Tuminas, general manager of „Biuro Pasaulis“ and he added a quote from Elizabeth Warren: „A good education is a foundation for a better future“, . This is the motto of our educational exhibition „Moderni Mokykla“.
BCC paper issue No 52
13 5 years – UAB Raimda auditas UAB Raimda auditas was established on the 15th of May, 2010. Lithuania regained its Independence 25 years ago, so the companies 5 year existence is significant by comparison. During this period a lot of articles/(binary - provided seminars) have been written scrutinising different areas: Taxes (Lithuanian tax system, British tax system)
Accounting (IFRS – International Financial Reporting Standards); Lithuanian Business accounting standards) Legislation (labour law), civil legislation. Dozens of articles, seminars and courses have been produced in this period. We are very active in writing requests on complicated and sophisticated areas for the Lithuanian Tax Inspectorate, SODRA* and the Lithuanian Labour Inspectorate. These requests have been substantial, nearly ten answers from these requests were prolonged, and as a result these issues were raised for the first time in Lithuanian legislation. Furthermore we have been waiting for more than 6 months for an answer from the Lithuanian Tax Inspectorate on a
particularly complex VAT issue) that is related with EU court practise. For the last few years, we have been one of the first entities from Lithuania that provided commentaries about ED (exposure drafts) at the London established IASB (International Accounting Standard Board) and for the American organisation IFAC (International Federation of Accountants). Our aim is to help all clients in all areas: auditing, accounting, tax and legislation in order to make doing business in Lithuania easier. *SODRA – State social insurance fund board of the Republic of Lithuania under the ministry of social security and labour
CSC presents a perfect opportunity for starting your career: Graduate program
CSC, a global leader in next-generation IT services and solutions, runs a Graduate Program in the Nordic & Baltic region which aims to find the best talents addressing both technical and business profiles. The company has been running a Graduate Program for 5 years and this year’s intake is the largest with over 50 graduates joining across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Lithuania. Newcomers started their 2-year journey at CSC on 1st of September. During the introduction week all graduates gathered in Copenhagen to build the team and obtain all the necessary information to kick-off their career.
Northway medical and surgical centre – a medical institution that meets the highest quality standards
“The graduate program is meaningful for several reasons. First of all, young people have a chance to realise which direction is the most inspiring for them. From a business perspective, this program allows us to attract ambitious employees who are likely to create our company’s success story” says Antanas Ursulis, Managing Director of CSC Baltic.
The Northway Surgical Centres in Vilnius and Kretinga have achieved Joint Commission International (JCI) hospital accreditation. From 16th–18th September, JCI experts from the United States of America assessed the compliance of the services provided by Northway Surgical Centres with more than one thousand JCI hospital standard indexes. It is particularly gratifying that our centre complies with all of them. The JCI award is one of the highest international evaluations of performance and safety for a medical institution, and is recognized as the global Gold Seal of Approval. JCI accreditation means that a medical institution observes the highest quality standards. Only a half of a per cent of the world’s health care institutions have obtained this prestigious
award. JCI is more than an accreditation, it is an obligation to maintain the high level of quality and safety of the services. We will consistently maintain the level we have already reached, continue improving the processes, and develop the principles of the system introduced in medical centres. In 2014, Northway Medical and Surgical Centres were certified to the ISO 9001:2008 International Standard. According to Diana Bumelytė, General Manager of Northway Medical and Surgical Centre, the new quality certificates will help increase the confidence of patients, health insurance companies, and partners in the health care institutions she runs.
New tools & Services available for West Express Corporate Clients
The Graduate Program offers opportunities in business areas such as Account Delivery, Business Management, Program & Project Management, Finance, Sales, Infrastructure Delivery, Application Design & Analysis and Application Delivery. This program is designed to incorporate graduates into the global world of CSC.
Law Firm Varul: New legal instruments to deal with unreliable suppliers in public procurements Moreover, responsible suppliers must compete with unfair competitors on equal terms. However, the situation could be set to improve.
Petras Pinevičius, Associate at Law Firm VARUL
A record of poor performance on public contracts indicates that a supplier is unreliable and gives rise to doubts about whether such a supplier (e.g., in fault for breach of agreement) should be awarded any new contracts in future. Currently, nonetheless, a record of material breach of prior public contract is not a sufficient ground for the contracting authority to exclude a supplier from procurement procedures.
West Express is dedicated to offering complete travel solutions, delivering high quality service, As of 1st January, 2016 the Law on Public Procurement shall be supplemented with a long- travel cost optimisation and security. This year, West Express expanded its 24/7 Help awaited black list of unreliable suppliers. Acting under this provision, contracting authorities shall and Customer service division which enables be entitled to exclude from participation in a our clients to reach us after working hours procurement procedure all unreliable suppliers, if (including weekends) and get necessary support found that they have committed material breach in unexpected situations or to book additional of prior public contract. Responsible suppliers services. The 24/7 service is delivered from West should also benefit from this provision as it shall Express’ corporate client office in Vilnius. mean fairer competition for public contracts. Online booking is undoubtedly the trend in the travel market as it offers control of travel VARUL lawyers have considerable experience spending, increases efficiency and helps to advising companies on all strategic and optimise travel costs. This year West Express has procedural issues related to public procurement introduced a professional online booking tool for arising both under national and EU laws. Areas corporate clients Amadeus e-Travel Management of expertise also include defending the interests and has qualified employees to support the tool’s of clients before the national and EU public implementation and adapt it to our client‘s needs procurement authorities and courts. and preferences.
Additionally, we have launched the automated low fare search tool, which finds lower fares if they become available after ticketing. It helps us to achieve additional savings for our clients even after the ticket issue has been made. West Express is the leading travel agency in Lithuania and has been active in the market for 23 years. Since 2006, West Express has been an exclusive licensed partner of Hogg Robinson Group plc. in Lithuania and Estonia. HRG is an international corporate services provider specialising in travel, expense and data management underpinned by proprietary technology. HRG’s worldwide network comprises over 120 countries, providing unparalleled global expertise and local knowledge. HRG’s head-office is based in the UK.
BCC paper issue No 52
Presenting New BCC Members
14 BCC Corporate Member AIG
Eastern and African markets. Additional service centres manage the Asian and American regions. In 2014 American International Group (AIG) established a Service Centre in Vilnius, Lithuania. As an integral part of AIG’s network covering Europe, the Middle East and African markets, the Vilnius AIG SSC services insurance policies, manages claims and oversees benefit payouts.
Przemyslaw Siuda, General Manager American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organisation serving customers in more than 100 countries and jurisdictions. AIG companies serve commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer. In addition, AIG companies are leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the United States. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. AIG began the business model of establishing specialised service centres in strategic locations around the world in 2002. The company currently has more than 11,000 employees in service centres around the world. AIG centres in Malaysia, the Philippines, Bulgaria and now Vilnius serve the European, Middle
BCC Corporate Member MG Trade
MG Trade is a company with a professional attitude. We produce and sell high quality windows and doors. Our particular specialty is goods made out of wood, but we also produce acoustic, fire resistant doors for hotels and private households. We focus mainly on complex, difficult and unusual projects. Therefore we brought together highly qualified specialists, but more importantly – we carefully selected our partners, so we can offer outstanding quality. In addition to this, MG Trade are highly interested in leading market innovations. All of our doors and windows are made in the Baltic States, so we can provide excellent quality control and react immediately if needed. Our most popular materials are Pine and Oak, but we can offer more exotic wood: Meranti, Sapele, Eucalyptus, European Larch and many more. Regarding wooden windows, our main focus is on Euro (78 and 92mm) and casement window types. We can offer wooden windows with aluminum cladding too. We make a wide selection of doors: various external doors for private residence and commercial
AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. All products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds. Company contact information: AIG Europe Limited | Lithuanian Branch Head of the company: Przemyslaw Siuda, Vilnius SSC General Manager (in the photo) Address: Konstitucijos pr. 29, „K 29“ Vilnius, Lithuania www.aig.com
use; all kinds of interior doors of both traditional and contemporary design: wooden, veneered and painted. One of our most popular models is fire resistant and/or acoustic doors (painted or veneered) usually installed in hotels. If needed MG Trade can also provide metal doors. We offer an installation service as well. Until recently, our main focus has been Lithuania and Scandinavia. We had a number of successful projects in school and hospital renovation programs, worked in high level commercial and government buildings and offices (the Lithuanian Parliament, Vilnius Prosecuting magistracy etc.). Our current project in Scandinavia is at the Clarion Hotel in Amaranten, Stockholm, Sweden. MG Trade will provide more than 1000 doors for this hotel. At the moment we are expanding our export market and are looking for partners in Great Britain. Our goal is a long and prosperous relationship with benefits for both sides. MG Trade is willing to be contacted by wooden door / window dealers, contractors, building companies, renovation program members and private customers. No project is too small or too big. We offer free price estimates and extensive support for every project our partners send us. Company contact details: Web: www.mgtrade.lt Director: Gediminas Ledauskas Tel.: +37061585111 gediminas@mgtrade.lt
BCC Corporate Member Nordgain Nordgain is a dynamic, client-centric and innovative finance and accounting (F&A) service provider, delivering business flexibility, focused on providing a top quality service for mid-market prices. The company is based in Lithuania and is active in selected international territories. The key propositions of Nordgain include back-to-back coverage of the financial accounting cycle, a full suite of payroll and HR administration services and a broad range of management support solutions, such as management accounting reports and an external finance director. The company traces its roots back to 2008 and as of 2015 employs approximately. 30 professionals serving blue chip clients from more than 15 countries, some listed on the Fortune 500. In 2014, we became members of the Leading Edge Alliance (LEA), the second largest global association of independent professional services businesses, present in 106 countries, with acombined revenue of over $2.9B and more than 25,000 staff (www.leadingedgealliance.com).
Nordgain’s service expertise covers a variety of clients and industry sectors, such as financial services, pharmaceuticals, IT, telecommunications, business process outsourcing, international trade, logistics transportation, and aviation. We are proficient in most of the industry ERP systems including SAP, Navision, Hyperion and Oracle and are capable of delivering bespoke applications based on Odoo. Nordgain operates as a member of the Lewben Group (www.lewben.com) and as part of the group is capable of covering a wide range of client needs in the legal, tax and management advisory areas. Company contact details: Contact persons: Regimantas Liepa, Chairman of the Board regimantas.liepa@lewben.com Agnė Jasinskaitė, Business Director agne.jasinskaite@lewben.com A. Tumėno g. 4, LT- 01109 Vilnius, Lithuania Tel. (370 5) 26 20534 http://www.nordgain.com/
JOIN BCC IN 2016 AND BENEFIT FROM THE NEW MEMBER'S PACKAGE SHORT WELCOME
A short public welcome and introduction by a BCC Board or staff member at the first event you attend.
NEW MEMBERS EVENING
Opportunity to make a short introductory presentation of yourself/your business. Usually held at the British Embassy or the British Ambassador’s Residence.
+1 ON THE NME
A new Member can bring one non-member guest to the New Members Evening.
BCC PAPER
BCC FRIDAY E-NEWS
Opportunity to submit an introductory article including your company’s contact information, photo and logo. Published in the BCC Paper. Opportunity to submit an introductory article for inclusion in the Chamber‘s weekly e-Newsletter: BCC Friday e-News. Including short company information, contact details, photo and logo.
NEW MEMBER'S PACKAGE IS FREE OF CHARGE To apply for BCC Membership, please contact bccl@bccl.lt
BCC paper issue No 52
List of BCC Members
15
BCC Sponsor Members
AVIVA Lietuva Life insurance and pension funds www.aviva.lt
Bunnahabhain rep. by Mineraliniai vandenys, UAB Production of single islay malt Scotch Whisky www.bunnahabhain.com
Carlson Wagonlit Travel Corporate travel management www.carlsonwagonlit.lt www.kalevatravel.lt
DNB bankas Banking www.dnb.lt
GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals www.gsk.lt
BALTIC AMERICAN MEDICAL & SURGICAL CLINIC
Management, Public Procurement, Strategic Research, PPP
(www.bak.lt )/ Health Care
PROVIDENT FINANSAI (www.provident.lt) / Personal credits
BALTIC SURVEYS (Baltijos Tyrimai, UAB) (www.gallup.com) /
provider and responsible lender
Market research
PUBLICUM, UAB (www.publicum.lt) / Public Relations, Public
BANKSERVIS, UAB (www.bankservis.lt) / Bank and office
Affairs, Management consulting and training
equipment, security products and solutions
PZU Lietuva, UAB DK (www.pzu.lt ) / Insurance
BARCLAYS Technology Centre Lithuania (http://www.
RADISSON BLU LIETUVA HOTEL (www.radissonblu.com/
lifeintechnology.co.uk/global-locations/vilnius-lithuania/) /
lietuvahotel-vilnius)/ Hotel, biggest centre located Conference
one of strategic IT engineering centres providing support for
and Event centre, Riverside restaurant, Skybar, Lobby bar,
Barclays business activity worldwide.
fitness centre and sauna
Strategic Staffing Solutions International Provider of information technology solutions. Recruitment Services www.strategicstaff.com
RADISSON BLU ROYAL ASTORIJA HOTEL (www.radissonblu.
(www.vilniushotel.eu) / Centrally located Hotel, restaurant,
com/hotel-vilnius) / Hotel, French restaurant „Brasserie de Verres
conference centre, fitness centre, swimming pool and sauna
en Vers“, Astorija Bar, Meetings & Events center, Catering services,
BITĖ LIETUVA, UAB (www.bite.lt) / Telecommunications
Health club with swimming pool
BIURO PASAULIS, UAB (www.biuropasaulis.lt)
RAMADA HOTEL & SUITES VILNIUS (www.ramadavilnius.lt)
(www.elektromedia.lt)/ /Office supplies, printing management
/ Luxury hotel
and IT solutions
REGUS (www.regus.lt ) / The world leading provider of
BNTP, UAB (www.bntp.lt) / Private equity investment; real
pioneering workplace solutions, with a large range of products
estate development and investment; asset management;
and services from fully equipped offices to professional
project management; facilities management.
meeting rooms, business lounges and the largest network of
BRITISH COUNCIL (www.britishcouncil.lt) / the United
videoconference studios.
Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and
SCHAGE Real Estate (www.schage.lt) / Real estate
educational opportunities.
development company. Investing in, renting and selling
CALENBERG Vilnius | STEELCASE (www.calenberg.lt) /
premises for office, residential and commercial use
International moving/ relocation and dealership of the office
SHAKESPEARE Boutique Hotel (www.shakespeare.lt) /
furniture- STEELCASE
Boutique hotel, Sonnets restaurant, Globe bar, conference halls
CALLCREDIT OPERATIONS, UAB (www.callcreditgroup.com)
SORAINEN (www.sorainen.com) / Legal services in all fields of
/ Experts in the fields of credit referencing, marketing services,
business law in the three Baltic countries and Belarus
consumer information, interactive solutions and consultative
STOREBRAND BALTIC, UAB (www.storebrand.com ) / Shared
analytics.
service center for Storebrand ASA in Norway and SPP in
CAMIRA FABRICS Ltd (www.camirafabrics.com) / Contract
Sweden. Financial services within life- and health insurance,
seating & transportation fabric manufacturer
banking and asset management.
CAMPANILE Vilnius Airport Hotel (http://www.campanile.
SUE’S INDIAN RAJA (www.suesindianraja.com) / Indian
com/en/hotels/campanile-vilnius-airport) / hotel, European
Restaurant
BCC Accounting Partner
BCC Corporate & Group Members AIG (www.aig.com) – Insurance NEW! AON (www.aonbaltic.lt/) / Risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage ARIJUS (www.arijus.lt ) / Transport and Logistic services AVIS Rent a Car & Leasing Company (www.avis.lt) / Car rental and leasing ĄŽUOLYNO Clinic (www.azuolynoklinika.lt) / The first private clinic in Lithuania for psychological problems, psychiatric disorders, alcohol and drug addiction treatment, long – term nursing. Patients can be consulted or hospitalised.
International Montessori environments based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s humanistic philosophy and approach, specializing QUANTUM CAPITAL (www.qcapital.eu ) / Investment banking & strategic advisory boutique RAIMDA Auditas (www.raudit.lt) / Audit STAY (www.stay.lt) / Business & leisure concierge TAURAGĖ INDUSTRIAL PARK (www.tip.lt)/ Industrial premises for rent in Southwest Lithuania V. Paulius & Associates (www.vpa.lt/) - Real Estate VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (www.vischool.lt) / International Baccalaureate World School. Early childhood education, primary and middle school. VINKLERIS
and
OVERSEAS MEMBERS Overseas members NORMA FOSTER LTD / business consultancy on export communications, sales and reputation in international markets TODAY TRANSLATIONS (http://www.todaytranslations.com) / translation, interpreting services
BCC Social Members Adrian North Andrius Končius Chris Butler Christian Ranft
COBALT (www.cobalt.legal) - Legal services in all fields of
Baltics.
business law in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus
VANAGUPĖ HOTEL (www.vanagupe.lt) / 5* Hotel, Modern
COMFORT HOTEL (www.comforthotel.lt) / Hotel
Conference centre and luxury GOLDEN Spa centre, gourmet
COLEMONT (www.colemont.lt) / Insurance broker, an
cuisine restaurant L’Ambra Rossa
authorised Lloyd‘s coverholder
VARUL, Law firm (www.varul.com ) / Legal services in all fields
CSC Baltic, UAB (www.csc.com/lt) / IT services and outsourcing
of business law in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus
Mervyn Richardson
(www.deltamanagement.lt )/ Recruitment, Executive Search,
star Hotel, 8.000m2 Conference Centre, Catering Services, Spa,
Nick Price
Temporary Staffing, Employment Services, Personnel Testing &
Fitness Centre, Leisure, PGA design Golf course, Over the water
Assessment, Greenfield Staffing Support
restaurant, Real Estate
DOMINAS & partners (www.dominas.lt) / Law firm
WESTERN UNION Processing Lithuania UAB (www.westernunion.com) - Financial Services
environmental infrastructure
ZABOLIS PARTNERS (www.zabolis.com) / Finance and Real
EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL (www.euromonitor.com ) /
Estate
Provider of strategic market research on countries, consumers
WEST EXPRESS (http://www.westexpress.lt/) / Travel agency,
and industries
providing and organising professional business and leisure
EVERSHEDS SALADŽIUS (www.evershedssaladzius.lt) / Legal
travel services
services G4S Lietuva, UAB (www.g4s.lt) / Security Solutions covering handling,
guarding,
electronic
security,
system
Small company/NGO Members
GLIMSTEDT (www.glimstedt.lt) / Legal services
A HOSTEL ( www.hostelsvilnius.lt) / Accommodation Services
GRANT THORNTON RIMESS (www.grantthornton.lt ) /
AMBER STAFF (www.amberstaff.com) / Temporary
Assurance, internal audit, tax advisory, legal advisory, corporate
staffing and employee leasing
finance, and accounting services
ANGVILA / Wholesale supplier of eels to Lithuania and the
GROTTHUSS HOTEL (www.grotthusshotel.com/) / Hotel
European Union
HIGHLIFE, UAB / Manufacturing for export timber components
BALTIC FILM SERVICES (http://bfs.eu.com) / Film and
for the furniture and construction industries.
television production
ISM University of Management and Economics (www.ism.lt)
BALTIC HOLIDAYS (www.balticholidays.com) / Tour operator
/ Higher education
in the UK specializing in Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia
JURGIS IR DRAKONAS (jurgisirdrakonas.lt) / Pizza restaurants
BCS INTERNATIONAL (www.bcsinternational.net) / The
KAREN MILLEN (www.karenmillen.com) / retail, women
Behaviour Change Specialists, are an international people
clothing
development organisation, dedicated to the practical use
KEMPINSKI HOTEL CATHEDRAL SQUARE
of emotional intelligence to improve individual and team
(www.kempinski.com/vilnius) / 5 star luxury hotel in Vilnius
performance.
KLAIPĖDA FREE ECONOMIC ZONE MANAGEMENT
DEKONA, Evaldo Darškaus IĮ (www.dekona.lt) / Management
COMPANY (www.fez.lt) / Management and development of
Consulting: Operational efficiency, Lean, Six Sigma, process
Klaipėda Free Economic Zone
improvement
KPMG Baltics, UAB (www.kpmg.lt ) /Audit, Tax, and Advisory
D & T Global - Developer of real eastate
services
EUROCONTINENTAL Limited / Textiles
LEINONEN, UAB (www.leinonen.eu) / Accounting services
FINREDA, UAB (www.finreda.net) / Corporate services provider.
LLOYD’S (www.lloyds.com) / Insurance and reinsurance MG Trade (www.mgtrade.lt) - Producers and sellers of high quality windows and doors NEW!
Legal, financial and business consulting & services including
NEWSEC (www.newsec.com) / Real Estate NORDGAIN (www.nordgain.com) - Financial, tax, asset, transaction, management consulting, finance and accounting
translations to Lithuanian and foreign companies GROWING TALENT (www.growingtalent.eu)
/
Providing
executive coaching, and delivering training for leadership and talent development
services NEW!
INKŲ DOVANOS (www.inku-dovanos.com) / Clothes from the
NORTHWAY (www.nmc.lt) / Private medical centre
alpaca wool
NOVOTEL VILNIUS CENTRE (www.accor.com) / Hotel services
LONDON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES
ODONTIKA (www.odontika.com) / Dental surgery
(www.londonisl.com) / Business courses, specialized training
OMNITEL (www.omnitel.lt) / Telecommunications
for both IELTS and TOEFL university admission exams
PHOENIX CONTACT (www.phoenixcontact.com) /
LitCapital Asset Management (www.litcapital.lt) /
manufacturer of electric connection and industrial automation
independent professional private equity fund management
technology
MAGISTRAI (www.magistrai.lt) / Translation and interpretation
PERITUS SPRENDIMAI (www.peritus.lt) / EU funding, Project
services
/
labor law issues
VALIUNAS ELLEX (http://www.valiunasellex.lt/) / A leading
EKO RIVI, UAB (www.ekorivi.lt) / Consultancy in municipal and
(www.legalconsulting.lt/)
company establishment and competition, as well as family and
and internationally highest ranked business law firm in the
VILNIUS GRAND RESORT www.vilniusgrandresort.com / 5
partners
international law firm providing legal advice regarding taxes,
center, modern Camper Parking with state of the art facilities
maintenance, installation, courier service.
BCC PR Partner
VILNIUS MONTESSORI PRE-SCHOOL (www.vms.lt) /
cuisine restaurant „Le Restaurant“, Lounge bar, conference
cash
Tark Grunte Sutkiene Full-service business law firm in the Baltic region and Belarus www.tarkgruntesutkiene.com
higher education
in Early Childhood Education and Parent Education
BEST WESTERN HOTEL VILNIUS (Naujasis Vilnius, UAB)
DELTA MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, UAB PricewaterhouseCoopers Assurance, Actuarial, Advisory, Tax and Legal services www.pwc.com/lt
MYKOLO ROMERIO UNIVERSITETAS (http://www.mruni.eu) /
Geoffrey Cohn (Life Member) Hugh Miles Thomas OBE, FCA Dr Helene Ryding Jūratė Rusteikaitė – Bakšienė Kevin Badgery Mark Whittle Michael West Ron Sheppard Sigitas Žutautas
BCC Board 2015-2017 Honorary President Claire Lawrence, HM Ambassador to Lithuania Chairman Chris Butler BCC Social Member Field of interest in the Board – Events & Membership Alistair Day-Stirrat Odontika Field of interest in the Board – BCC Paper Asta Grabinskė AVIVA Lietuva Field of interest in the Board – Financial Services Ben Harvey Growing Talent Field of interest in the Board – CSR Iraida Žogaitė Tark Grunte Sutkiene Field of interest in the Board – CSR Mantautas Paškevičius Strategic Staffing Solutions International Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment Milda Dargužaitė Barclays Technology Centre Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment, Financial services Robert Juodka VARUL Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment Toma Vevelstad Amber Staff Field of interest in the Board - Events & Membership Tomas Kontautas Lloyd’s of London Field of interest in the Board - Financial services Vaineta Barevičiūtė DNB Bank Field of interest in the Board - Financial services Viktorija Trimbel Quantum Capital Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment