The Baltic States are becoming a very lucrative market for investors

Against the background of struggles with offshore companies, the Baltic States are becoming a very lucrative market for investors.

Alexander Zadvornov – head of the Estonian consultancy company, CMI Solutions – remarked that: “in particular, from this year in Latvia, corporate income derived from the sales of shares is no longer subject to income tax – with the exception of offshore companies. Moreover, from next year, dividends and royalties paid by foreign companies will also be exempt.”

He also drew attention to Estonia which, given its long-standing zero-rate of taxation on profits, remains an attractive investor destination on a par with Latvia.

He continued: “Generally speaking, as a buffer zone, the Baltic States are very attractive to investors from Russia and the CIS in terms of investment protection. Their location is also advantageous for export-import operations in Europe and beyond.”

The great interest of Russian investors in the Baltic States is evidenced by the success of the Latvian programme offering residence permits to foreign investors.

“More than 3000 people – mostly Russian, Ukrainian and Kazakh citizens – have already taken advantage of the opportunity to obtain residence permits through the purchase of property” – says Valery Zvyagintsev, executive director of the real-estate agency Profil Estate (operating in Latvia and Estonia). “The shortage of suitable, attractive properties on the market in the first months of this year indicates that interest is still growing.”

As the head of Profil Estate has noted, Russian investment has played an important role in helping the local Baltic markets to survive the difficult post-crisis years and its role continues to grow.

Translated from Russian. Source: ru.baltic-review.com