The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested a record EUR 233 million in Lithuania in 2024, and it plans to maintain or even increase the level of investments this year, the bank’s director for the Baltic States, Tomas Kairys, has said.
“If I look at the projects which are in the pipeline today, I believe we’re definitely planning at least the same number of investments in 2025, if not more,” Kairys told the BNS News Agency.
“We see a huge demand for our investments for debt and equity, and Lithuania has announced a significant number of major infrastructure and energy projects,” Kairys explains. “I think that the demand will only grow.”
The EBRD invested EUR 540 million in the three Baltic States last year, which was 67% more than in 2023. 95% of the funding was given to green energy projects.
The bank invested EUR 233 million in 18 projects in Lithuania (55% more than the previous year), 244 million in 14 projects in Estonia (more than a sixfold increase), and EUR 63 million in 10 projects in Latvia (less than one-half the amount that was invested in 2023).
Lithuania and Estonia experienced record investments from the EBRD last year, while Latvia’s record was set in 2023 at EUR 135 million.
Kairys says that the increased investments are down to increased demand caused by geopolitical circumstances and market changes.
The EBRD’s Baltic chief adds that the bank will continue to prioritise investments in the region in fields such as green energy, network modernisation, digitalisation, bank bonds, shares in privatised companies and investment funds.
The bank is also interested in offshore wind farms which Lithuania is planning, as well as financially beneficial projects related to the power system’s synchronisation with the continental European network, Kairys says.
“Lithuania has announced an offshore wind farm tender,” he notes. “We don’t prioritise any particular bidder, but we’re interested, of course, in supporting this project, because it is one that involves renewable energy resources. We are prepared to support any company which wins the tenders, and we will certainly look at those projects.”
The EBRD is already one of the largest minority shareholders in the Ignitis Group. Its subsidiary, Ignitis Renewables has partnered with the Ocean Winds company, which is a global developer of offshore wind farms, and Ignitis won the first Lithuanian tender for a 700-megawatt offshore wind farm in 2023. It already has the next wind farm on the drawing board.
Last year the EBRD announced a EUR 100 million equity investment in Green Genius, which is a renewable energy company owned by the Modus Group. The EBRD became a minority shareholder. The bank also invested an additional EUR 36 million to boost its stake in Estonia’s renewable energy company Sunly.
“Our role is not new, and this is not a new direction,” says Kairys. “We’ve been able to do this historically, but last year our investments into equity capital really stood out.”
The bank representative added that once that EBRD has achieved its goals, and its investments start to generate the expected returns, it will consider selling off its shares.
“We’re not short-term investors looking to make quick money,” he told BNS. “We’re long-term investors trying to help companies. When a company reaches the goals upon which we have agreed, of course, we try to exist.”
Kairis also noted that there are “quite a few companies” in the Baltic States whose shares might be of interest to the EBRD.
“Equity investment is an area where we see particularly significant added value, particularly in today’s context,” he says.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than EUR 1.77 billion in 141 projects in Lithuania, more than EUR 1.19 billion in 116 projects in Latvia, and nearly EUR 1.18 billion in 122 projects in Estonia.
Last year the bank invested a total of EUR 16.6 billion, with more than 50% directed toward projects in the green economy.
Source: BNS
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