Fifteen per cent of large Baltic enterprises interested in Asia and Africa

Large Baltic enterprises are optimistic: according to a survey conducted by SEB Pank, 63 per cent of more than 150 heads of enterprises in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are predicting growth in their sales this year, with 21 per cent expecting this growth to increase by more than 10 per cent. To implement their plans, large enterprises propose to increase exports to the European Union (EU) and the Nordic countries. Given the closure of the Russian market, 77 per cent of the respondents consider these destinations their first choice. Enterprises are also entertaining significantly more exotic plans; however, these are currently fragmented. Based on the survey conducted by SEB Pank as part of the Baltic Business Summit, about 10 per cent of large enterprises are interested in Asia and about 5 per cent in Africa.

According to Indrek Julge, Head of Corporate Banking at SEB Pank, enterprises are not sitting on their hands in the face of the currently declining export indicators. “Large enterprises cannot merely pin their hopes on growth in domestic consumption, and accordingly their task is to expand their exports. Primarily, enterprises are picking the most effective solutions, channelling their exports onto markets which they know best and where they have the most contacts and where the economic environment is conducive to doing business. That said, enterprises should not be limited only to neighbouring regions in their development; markets farther away indeed require more investments and time, yet large enterprises understand that these may inject new momentum into their operations,” Julge said.

According to the results of SEB’s survey, large enterprises in the three countries mostly associate their development with EU countries (51 per cent), including with the Baltic States (16 per cent) and the Nordic countries (26 per cent). By contrast, the attractiveness of CIS countries has decreased significantly according to the entrepreneurs – only six per cent of the enterprises surveyed see export opportunities there.

“Large enterprises advised by SEB Baltic banks are not deferring their development plans even under more challenging economic and geopolitical circumstances. According to entrepreneurs themselves, their activities are going to be centred around innovation, increasing efficiency and expanding onto new markets in the near term. These kinds of priorities and plans related to sales growth give reason to believe that enterprises are investing and are not postponing their various investment projects to a later date,” Julge notes.

Of the heads of large Baltic enterprises who completed the survey, 42 per cent expect their sales growth this year to increase by up to 10 per cent and 21 per cent are planning for growth in excess of 10 per cent. A similar proportion, 22 per cent, are planning to maintain the current levels of their sales.

The survey of large Baltic enterprises was conducted by SEB Pank during the Baltic Business Summit, an annual business client event held in Vilnius on 26 March. Those invited included heads and owners of large enterprises in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia advised by SEB Baltic banks. This year, the event boasted more than 150 attendees.

 

For more information:

Evelin Allas
Communications Manager
Marketing and Communications Division
SEB
Phone +372 665 5649
Mobile +372 511 1718
Address Tornimäe 2, 15010 Tallinn
E-mail evelin.allas@seb.ee
www.seb.ee