Insights of Central and Eastern European Markets

The event was opened by Mr Juha Ylitalo and Janne Sykkö from the Finland-Central Eastern European Countries Business Association, Mr Antti Rahikka, Director, Central & East Europe, Business Finland, and Mr Olli Kantanen, Director General, Euro-Atlantic Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Despite the uncertain international environment, the economies of most countries in Central, East and Southeast Europe are showing robust growth. Trade between Finland and these regions is also expected to continue growing in 2025.

Ambassadors of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, and Ukraine presented their countries at the Chamber House on 12th November 2024.

The event was opened by Mr Juha Ylitalo and Janne Sykkö from the Finland-Central Eastern European Countries Business Association, Mr Antti Rahikka, Director, Central & East Europe, Business Finland, and Mr Olli Kantanen, Director General, Euro-Atlantic Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Bulgaria is expected to continue to follow global market trends while at the same time strengthening its relations with its European partners. The latest trade and investment data confirm the positive attitude of investors and entrepreneurs towards Bulgaria, who see the country as a good place to do business.

Based on the current situation, the most attractive sectors for development and investment are likely to be information and communication technologies (this is the sector with the highest innovation intensity and the highest number of registered patents), the energy sector, transport and logistics. Promising areas of cooperation are circular economy, climate change, innovation, digitalization and artificial intelligence.

Bulgaria is highly committed to the development of economic cooperation with Finland and supports any initiative that would contribute to strengthening the bilateral partnership, said H.E. Ms Nina Simova, Ambassador of Bulgaria.

The Czech Republic is one of the countries with the highest quality of life in the world. Our economy is open and pro-export oriented, has a high investment value and a stable and positive outlook. As the most industrialised country in the EU, it has traditionally focused on the automotive industry, but it is also the sixth most complex economy in the world and a leader in information and communication technologies or artificial intelligence. The Czech Republic is currently focusing on high-tech sectors such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, aerospace, defence or engineering, stated H.E. Mr Adam Vojtěch, Ambassador of the Czech Republic.

As an open economy, Hungary gives special emphasis to the stimulation of foreign investment and the attraction of foreign busineses to its market.

The basic pillars of the Hungarian business environment are strong, the political stability, the 9% corporate income tax rate and the 13% social contribution tax rate contribute significantly to Hungary’s competitiveness. Furthermore, business and engineering play an important role in Hungary’s education system, resulting in a market ready workforce, said H.E. Ms Klára Breuer, Ambassador of Hungary.

Poland is recognized as one of the most economically stable and fastest developing countries in the world, maintaining growth even through various global challenges. With over three hundred universities with a strong emphasis on science and mathematics, Poland produces around three hundred fifty thousand highly skilled graduates annually. Our central location in Europe provides businesses with strategic access to both Western and Eastern markets. Government incentives such as tax reliefs and grants that foster an innovation-friendly business environment. Despite the challenging situation in Ukraine, Poland remains a safe and stable environment for foreign investment as a committed member of NATO, noted Mr Andrzej Mojkowski, Chargé d’affaires a.i. of Poland.

According to Mr Aleksandar Janković, Ambassador of Serbia, there are at least 7 reasons to do business in Serbia – political & economic stability, success in attracting FDIs, competitive operating costs, top performing talent pool, customs-free access to more than 1.3 B consumers, optimal geographic location, state’s benefits & incentives. In addition, Serbia is investing in the logistics, highways and train connections e.g. the high-speed railway from Belgrade to Budapest is soon to be completed. Furthermore, the perspective areas of cooperation with Finnish companies are energy diversification, waste-management, bioeconomy, ICT, and digitalisation. Ambassador Janković also said that Serbia will host this years GPAI Summit in December 2024, and already started preparations for EXPO 2027 Belgrade.

-I am delighted that mutual trade between Finland and Slovakia grows and we can see increase by 50% between 2022 and 2023. This is not a coincidence. Our open economy, strategic geographic position, EURO currency and good position in Doing Business ranking accompanies by optimistic GDP growth in the next few years make Slovakia ideal country for your business. We can offer multiple interesting incentives that are worth your consideration. Let’s do the business together! stated H.E. Mr Dušan Krištofík, Ambassador of Slovakia.

Today Ukraine’s economy is growing, even though almost 20% of its territory is occupied by Russia.

Current economic development is shaped by two major factors, which are closely interconnected:
First – a huge RECONSTRUCTION effort is undertaken in Ukraine based on the principle building back better and greener. Russia’s full-scale war has created substantial reconstruction needs across various sectors of economy, which are estimated by World Bank to be about 500 bln US dollars. Second is preparation of Ukraine for EU MEMBERSHIP, which means accommodation to the EU norms and standards, and further integration into the European common market.
Both these factors provide opportunities for investments and trade.

We invited Finnish companies to participate in Ukraine’s Reconstruction efforts and establish a long-term foothold in Ukraine. We anticipate significant economic growth of the post-war Ukraine driven by reconstruction efforts, international support, and structural reforms, noted H.E. Ms Olga Dibrova, Ambassador of Ukraine. Investment Guide of Ukraine.

The event is co-organized by Business Finland, the Finland-Central and Eastern European Countries Business Association, the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, and the Enterprise Europe Network.

The text is based on quotations given by the Ambassadors

Presentations
The Czech Republic
Hungary
Poland
Serbia
Slovakia

Quatations written by the writers.

For further information, please, do not hesitate the Finland-Central and Eastern Eurorpean Countries Business Association.

The article was originally published on Business Association website.