Foreign investments in Estonia reach near-record result

TALLINN - The foreign investment center of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency helped attract 336 million euros' worth of foreign investments in 2023, which will create over 1,000 high-paying jobs in the country.

"The picture in foreign investments is diverse as the overall security situation has made investors and companies more cautious than before, and some investment projects may end up not be realized or decisions therein may take longer. However, this caution is not currently reflected in the strong results of the foreign investment center of the Business and Innovation Agency. Our team has brought dozens of new projects to Estonia in the last two years, and earlier projects have received follow-up investments. Estonia's strong position in international communication and consistent work with the country's image undoubtedly also bolster investors' confidence," Kati Kusmin, head of the Business and Innovation Agency, said.

In 2022, the foreign investment center helped bring 351 million euros' worth of foreign investments to Estonia, marking an all-time record.

"The record results in the last two years show that the war in Ukraine has not deterred foreign investors from Estonia. The decision to bring their business to Estonia is significant for a foreign investor and often takes years to reach. They are very aware of who Estonia's neighbor is, but despite that, they consider the local environment safe. Foreign investors are attracted here by the stability of our economic environment, attractive tax policy, and educated workforce," head of the foreign investment center Joonas Vanto said.

One of the most notable foreign investment news from last year is Ericsson's decision to establish a new technology and development center in Estonia. The size of the investment is 155 million euros, and the center will employ 2,200 people.

Another major success story is the Swedish company Smart Power Farm SPF AB planning to establish a 40,000 square meter innovative organic agricultural production complex in Tootsi. The investment is worth 100 million euros and will create 50 jobs.

"Despite strong results and success stories, we have the potential for more, but as a country, we must also deal with our challenges. Since we communicate with foreign investors daily, we can claim that the main prerequisites for landing foreign investments are currently the availability and price of green energy, number of qualified workers, and quick processing of plans and permits," Vanto noted.

With regard to the volume of foreign investments mediated by the investment center last year, over 70 percent of foreign investments went into the industrial sector and 10 percent into the IT sector. The most foreign investments came from Sweden, followed by Japan, Finland, and Germany.

In 2021, the foreign investment center helped bring 194 million euros' worth of foreign investments to Estonia, and in 2020, it was 160 million euros.