BCC Paper No. 55

British Chamber of Commerce Didzioji 5, LT-01128 Vilnius, Lithuania

BREXIT & Regional Focus: Kaunas Zoja Antuchevic, CEO, Fort Consult

Overcoming Cyber Security threat in Lithuania

James McGeever

Ben Lunn

Brit in Kaunas

Brexit and Arts

page 5

issue No. 55, 2016

New tax incentive in Free economic zone page 8

page 5

page 9

Kaunas Finding Its Own Place In an interview with Kaunas’s mayor, Visvaldas Matijošaitis, the BCC learns of recent developments in Lithuania’s second city. We also explore what future developments are in store, as well how the city intends to market itself as an attractive destination for investors.

in Kaunas, we have created an agency called “Kaunas IN”. This team will seek out new investors and assist them with their establishment or expansion. Making sure all relevant information is available and offering assistance along the way are both key factors in attracting investors and I am sure we will see the results of this work very soon.

British investors might not be familiar with the benefits of doing business in Kaunas, however the city is considered to have made significant strides of late. Why would businesses today think of locating in Kaunas ahead of the capital?

It has been quite difficult to attract foreign investors to Kaunas due to the lack of class-A office buildings. How is this issue being addressed?

There are a number of important factors to take into account when considering a new business location. First of all, establishing a business in Kaunas is cheaper than in the capital – office rents are 23% cheaper, average wages are 19% lower – therefore Kaunas is more attractive in terms of cost efficiency. When establishing high profile companies, such as IT, fintech, service centres, etc., the most important task is to find young professionals and, these days, they are interested in more than just their paygrade.

Kaunas is an attractive city for young people and families for its quality of life, where they can find affordable housing, great social and health infrastructure (schools, children gardens, parks, public transportation), and a vivid cultural life.

Over the past year, there have been many changes in Kaunas’ real estate market. A number of new office buildings are currently under construction and, by the end of 2017, we will have over ten new buildings covering over 40,000 sq.m. of office space.

Photo by Evaldas Virkietis

You face demographic issues similar to the rest of Lithuania, as well as a slight brain drain to Vilnius. Has your administration thought of any way to stem this flow?

Approximately 42,000 students live in the city, making up about 14% of Kaunas’ population.

These young people represent the city’s potential and, whether they stay and work in Kaunas,

Peering into the Fog of Brexit If new legislation is required (a worst case scenario as far as Brexit is concerned), it could mean further delays in initiating proceedings.

It is fair to say that no-one gathered at the conference wants Brexit to take place, though all acknowledged the importance of moving the debate swiftly onto how to manage the process and to ensure a ‘smooth’ Brexit.

Prepared by Michael West, Editor of the BCC paper

Members of the British Chamber of Commerce gathered in the Kempinski Hotel to hear the latest developments surrounding Britain’s now-infamous exit from the European Union. This edition of the BCC Newspaper is largely dedicated to the subject and will cover the discussions held at the meeting, providing some additional commentary where needed. At the time of writing, a great deal of uncertainty still clouds the whole issue, though a starting gun of sorts was fired when the British Prime Minister, Theresa May, announced that Article 50, the start of formal negotiations on exiting the union, will be invoked towards the end of March 2017.

Satirists were quick to point out this meant that, if all proceeded according to the set timetable, the UK could leave the EU two years later on April Fools Day 2019. A few weeks later, the British courts muddied the waters further by declaring that the government should seek parliamentary approval for the decision.

The Politics of Brexit Starting things off, the British Ambassador, Claire Lawrence, pointed out that while everything has changed, nothing need really change. 67% of Lithuanians surveyed were cited as ‘unhappy’ at the result, an expected response given the tight personal links that now exist between the countries and the security relationship that has developed in recent years. The mantra of the foreign office is currently that the UK is leaving the EU, but not Europe and, in this spirit, Mrs Lawrence proceeded to remind those gathered of the ways that the UK and Lithuania co-operate in the international sphere.

Given the challenges the Baltic region faces in dealing with Russia, it is not surprising that security was given the spotlight in so many ways.

BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS

continued on page 6 >

or move somewhere else, depends a lot on actions that we take. Our core universities – the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and Kaunas University of Technology – also attract a significant proportion of foreign students, who tend to stay, thereby increasing the local pool of talent.

This year, in order to promote the city, attract business and help investors find their place

Kaunas has a well-established Free Economic Zone. It is also planned that Rail Baltica will pass close to the city, with an inter-modal hub connecting European and Russian gauges.

What plans are in place to build on all these advantages?

Kaunas’ strategic location and connections are among the city’s biggest advantages. continued on page 4 >

Better financing for business in Lithuania with the new Law on Crowdfunding

Simona Tolusyte Law firm Bukauskas ir partneriai / PwC Legal

On 1st December, 2016 a new law on crowdfunding entered into force in Lithuania.

The law will expand opportunities for small and medium businesses to secure financing for their projects, whilst safeguarding investors’ rights at the same time. Crowdfunding will be a more flexible, faster and cheaper alternative to financing by banks.

Both, natural and legal persons, will be able to use crowdfunding for different projects, except for those related to personal consumption (“Project owner”). The Law will be applicable to debt-based and equity-based crowdfunding. The Law will not be applicable to non-monetary crowdfunding and charity.

Project owners and investors will have to use crowdfunding platforms administered by the

crowdfunding platform operator (“Operator”).

Project owners will also be able to use the crowdfunding platform for several projects at the same time, but different requirements will apply depending on the amount of investments sought for. If the Project owner wants to finance several projects, the investment amount will be counted as the sum of all projects within a period of 12 months.

There are no specific requirements for Project owners who apply for a loan type investment of up to €100,000. For investments from €100,000 to €5,000,000, the Project owner will have to prepare a document, specifying information about the Project owner and the project. This information document will have to be submitted for confirmation to the Operator and will have to be made available to investors. For investments over €5, 000, 000, the Project owner will have to issue securities under provisions of the Law on Securities. For investments such as securities, the Project owner will have to fulfil the requirements of the law on securities notwithstanding the amount of investment.

Investors will be free to choose the projects they want to invest into, but they will be subject to evaluation by the Operator, whether the investor has enough experience and the particular transaction is acceptable to the investor. continued on page 8 >

BCC paper issue No 55

2

BCC NEWS

BCC Member to Member Discount scheme Chairman’s column

Chris Butler, Chairman of the Board, BCC Lithuania

The BCC MEMBERSHIP card is still valid until April 1, 2017.

Offer your company’s discount for BCC Members or get one yourself! It is simple. The Membership cards are issued to member companies and individuals of BCC Lithuania.

Sponsor Members receive 5 cards, Corporate – 3 cards, Small company – 2 cards, Overseas and Social Members – 1 card. Please share these cards with colleagues in your company.

The information about discounts and offers is constantly updated and can be checked on the BCC website www.bccl.lt.

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MAGHRIB Moroccan Restaurant

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The great American writer of humorous songs, Tom Lehrer, once said: “Always predict the worst and you’ll be hailed as a prophet”. Looking back on the events of 2016 one can see his point. Chief amongst them was the United Kingdom’s vote – highly regrettable in my opinion - to leave the European Union. But like it or not, Brexit is going to happen and the British business community needs to work out how to make it work.

At the Chamber we are hoping that post Brexit, many British businesses will see an increased need to invest in their presence within the European Union. Whilst Lithuania is undoubtedly a niche location for British investment, there are still plenty of opportunities to be sought out.

For example, within one week of the Brexit vote I was invited, with other members of the Chamber, to a meeting with the mayor of Vilnius Remigijus Simasius. He wanted to know one thing – how can Vilnius position itself to its advantage out of this? We all felt that perhaps the area of Fintech was something to be investigated, especially with Vilnius looking to invest in its Start Up infrastructure. There are both push and pull factors here. The City of London is one of the drivers of the British economy and Brexit forces many financial institutions in London to strengthen their presence in the European Union.

Why not Lithuania, which has plenty of creative young people but lacks capital markets?

We have a curious political event in Lithuania in 2016 as well, with an election that produced a landslide win for the party that in English we have

to call the Union of Peasants and Greens - which sounds terrible. I was on record 4 years ago of saying that the government formed after the 2012 elections was likely to be one of the worst in Lithuanian history. That in the end it didn’t do anything too bad (although not too much good either) is probably the greatest achievement of the outgoing Prime Minister, Algirdas Butkevicius.

As for the new government led by Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis it is almost a completely unknown quantity. I am certainly prepared to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I will be pleasantly surprised if it proves to be much of an improvement on the old one. The possible signs for optimism are that Skvernelis himself seems to be fundamentally decent and that his team of advisors and probably his government ministers are relatively forward-looking. There may also be a benefit from having a completely fresh team, with fresh eyes, looking at the issues facing Lithuania.

Unfortunately though, Mr Skvernelis is yet another Lithuanian Prime Minister who is not comfortable speaking English. More worryingly, his party leader Ramunas Karbauskis has decided not to take any leadership position in the government or the parliament, but instead to remain a grey cardinal in the background.

Worse still, the one major achievement of the outgoing government, the new Labour Code, is under severe threat of being repealed by the new government before it has even come into force. With the current labour regulations in dire need of reform, such a backward step would be a terrible signal to the market and to potential investors.

Being a natural optimist I refuse to become a prophet by predicting the worst for 2017. But with an unpredictable new president in the USA, elections in France and Germany and the likely start of actual Brexit negotiations, we are certainly in for an interesting time.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Chamber members and friends!

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The BCC paper is the official publication of the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania, covering a wide variety of subjects related to promoting and encouraging bilateral business relations between the UK and Lithuania.

The BCC paper also provides an outlet for the chamber and its members to publish their latest news and offer their professional views on current political, economic, European and cultural topics. The paper is widely circulated: available from Lithuania’s three main airports in Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga, business centres, hotels and the UK and Lithuanian embassies, in addition to being sent to all BCC members and business contacts, meaning it offers premium advertising space to companies wishing to engage with the Lithuanian business community.

The print run of BCC paper is 4000 copies.

Next publication date: March 2017

Odontika

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BCC paper team: Editor in Chief – Chris Butler Editorial support: Michael West, Alistair Day-Stirrat, Sandra Kundrotė Members section – Karolina Vainilkaitė, advertising – Sandra Kundrotė, e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt , tel. +370 5 2690062 Proofreading – Shaun Harvey, Michael West Layout - Tautmilė Stanevičiūtė Printing – Lietuvos ryto spaustuve, UAB

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For further information or to book your ad space, please contact the chamber: Tel. +370 (5) 269 00 62/84, e-mail: Sandra@bccl.lt

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

3

BCC NEWS

BCC welcomes a new member of the team

Running For Change: Back to make an impact

The BCC is delighted to introduce a new member of the team Karolina Vainilkaitė, who joined the office in November as BCC Membership Services Manager.

Karolina is a graduate of European Studies, who believes in importance to think beyond one's own interests and to be aware of the interactions with the "outside world".

After studying and working abroad for the past six years, Karolina's genuine interest is building international community in Lithuania, which has brought her to apply and win the job position at the British Chamber of Commerce in Lithuania.

Talent for Lithuania: Attracting Lithuanian Graduates from Foreign Universities

The Running For Change team

Global Lithuanian Leaders, a network of international professionals around the world and partners of BCC are proud to announce the results of the third round of the program “Talent for Lithuania”. The program aims to attract bright Lithuanian graduates from foreign universities to Lithuania for paid professional internships at leading companies operating in the country. The goal is to bring the value of international education to the Lithuanian labour market.

In November, five runners from the team Running For Change travelled to the Himalayas for the Nepal International Marathon, aiming to raise money to support a new learning centre which will provide education for up to 65 children.

Running For Change was created by BCC Board member Ben Harvey in 2012, when he was inspired to run his first marathon in Sierra Leone. Convincing 5 other novice runners from Lithuania to join him, the team’s efforts funded the construction and running of a primary school in rural Sierra Leone. Today the school that was “Made in Lithuania” has over 130 students and four teachers.

“I’m really proud of what we managed to achieve in Sierra Leone through the generous support of many people in Lithuania,” smiled Ben. “Now our focus in on Nepal. I went there as an 18 year old, and the place and people had a big impact on me back then. I’m sure we can again do something amazing that will help give something back at this challenging time.”

The 2015 earthquake in Nepal destroyed 50,000 classrooms and left over one million children without a school. For more information visit: www.runningforchange.lt.

Companies that joined the third round include DnB, Adform, Altechna, Citco, Devbridge, Ernst&Young, Eika, Girteka, Nasdaq, Light Conversion, Littelfuse, KPMG, Metasite, Swedbank, Strategy Labs, Teo & Omnitel, OVC Consulting, Small Planet, PPMI, Tieto Lithuania, DNB Bank, VRP Hill+Knowlton Strategies and others.

The Nepal Marathon gets underway

FLEXIBLE FLYING WITH SAS PLUS The program started with ten wellknown companies in 2015, and today more than 25 companies have joined the program in the third round.

Organisers believe that the program will be a great tool for work-based learning for recent graduates and for companies – a channel to recruit new colleagues.

More than 1150 students have joined in creating an interactive map which states what and where they’re studying. It is expected that the new Talent for Lithuania website (www. stazuokis.lt) will evolve into a database of young Lithuanian professionals who have graduated from foreign universities but are interested in opportunities for professional advancement in Lithuania.

The next 4th application round is coming in April. More information about the program is available at www.stazuokis.lt.

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BCC paper issue No 55

4

Regional Focus: Kaunas

Photo by Evaldas Virkietis

< continued from page 1

Access to motorways, airports and railways is very important for manufacturing and logistical companies. The existing free economic zone (FEZ) is reaching its full potential, therefore in light of the upcoming Rail Baltica project, it is aiming to start its second stage and expand. Foreign companies, like Finnfoam, Fortum, DPD and Itella, have all invested there.

Kaunas FEZ is situated close to Kaunas Airport, which, over the course of several years, has become the largest aircraft repair and maintenance cluster in the Baltics. The rapid development of maintenance and repair hangars for Ryanair, FL Technics and DOT LT have encouraged Kaunas airport to develop a new taxiway and apron. These facilities have the potential to be connected to the FEZ and bring greater value to the new maintenance stations, benefitting from the zone’s tax incentives.

Are you targeting any particular business sectors? Can you give any practical examples of how this is being done?

Kaunas is often cited as one of the most prominent cities in Central and Eastern Europe to hold great potential in offering shared services and

Kaunas Finding Its Own Place foreign manufacturing footprints. In 2015, Kaunas’ manufacturing companies generated turnover of over EUR 4 bn, whereas Vilnius totalled around EUR 3.6 bn. Companies like Kitron, Jotron, Histeel (automotive parts producer) are successful in Kaunas and the mechanical engineering sector will continue to attract FDI in the future. For the automotive sector or other engineering companies – Kaunas is the obvious choice.

What does the future hold in terms of new projects to attract business to the region?

business centres. In Kaunas only 4.3 employees per 1,000 inhabitants work in a business service centre, while in Vilnius, the level is higher at 16.6.

Keeping in mind the amount of young people in the city that speak more than one language and have skills in IT, finance, business and the law, employers will find it easier to find highly skilled

employees here than in Vilnius.

Kaunas has a strong base in engineering. For many years, KTU has been a centre of competence for preparing the country’s most advanced mechanical and electrical engineers. Overall, the city has the largest manufacturing companies, by turnover, in Lithuania, a result of both local and

For some time, Kaunas was an undiscovered land for business due to the reasons you have mentioned. We have assessed the situation, identified the issues that concern local and foreign investors and taken actions to improve the business environment. Things do not happen overnight, but the amount of office buildings rising in the city and the number of new investors coming to Kaunas is a sign that we are moving in the right direction. As such we intend to keep up the pace and move forward.

Prepared by Michael West, Editor of BCC paper

During the reconstruction of Vilnius Airport, the majority of flights will be diverted to Kaunas Photo by Simona Juočepytė

though this period will see differences in the schedule and frequency of flights, connections to the major European cities will remain in place, with the number of flights to certain locations perhaps increasing.

From 14 July until 18 August 2017, when Vilnius Airport’s runway will be undergoing reconstruction work, the majority of airlines will divert their flights to Kaunas Airport. Even

“Agreements are being reached with an increasing number of airlines to divert their flights to Kaunas Airport. Connections to Lithuania during the reconstruction of the runway of Vilnius Airport will not become worse and there may even be more flights in certain directions. For example, AirBaltic is considering flying a larger aircraft to Amsterdam for more people to reach this city”, said the Head of Communication and Marketing at Lithuanian airports, Indrė Baltrušaitienė.

Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Finnair, Lufthansa, LOT Polish Airlines, SAS – these and other airlines will operate according to preapproved schedules, i.e. the reconstruction of the runway will have no effect on the intensity of flights and mobility of passengers.

According to Ms. Baltrušaitienė, the majority of airlines have already started selling tickets to Kaunas Airport instead of Vilnius.

In order to maintain a quality customer service, additional car parking will be built near Kaunas Airport, alongside a renovated passenger terminal. At the same time, two additional temporary departure and arrival spaces will be set up, namely, a terminal for departing passengers

(covering the area of 3,445m2) and one for arrivals (1,000 m2).

The last time the runway at Vilnius Airport underwent repairs was about 20 years ago. In order to ensure flight safety, it must undergo major reconstruction. Having looked at the experience of other European Airports, a decision was made that the most technically efficient method was to totally rebuild the runway, lasting 35 days.

The timing of the project reflects the best balance between the technical requirements of the project and issues such as precipitation, temperature and daylight hours. If resurfacing works alone had been undertaken, the runway would have required additional work in 5-6 years.

Callcredit Information Group: Kaunas is an emerging Lithuania’s IT centre Office challenge Dainius Aksinavicius has been working as Head of CIG Kaunas office since the opening and recalls that the biggest issue at that time was to find appropriate office premises.

Callcredit Information Group (CIG), consumer data management company with headquarters in Leeds, the United Kingdom, established its office in Kaunas in the beginning of 2012. It was one of the first foreign companies, establishing their IT centre in Kaunas, second largest Lithuanian city, rather than choosing Vilnius.

“We are proud to work in one of the most modern offices in Kaunas. Our office is located in the Zalgiris Arena, one of the most iconic buildings in the city centre,” says Dainius Aksinavicius and admits being lucky to rent this place for newly established office.

According to Šarūnas Vaivada, decision to return to Lithuania was influenced by yearning for friends and family left in Lithuania, as well as by more and more expensive and intense living in the UK. “It took an hour to go to work in London and one more hour to return home. Here it takes only 10 minutes for me to come to office by bicycle,” says Šarūnas, excited by increased quality of his lifestyle.

Since restoration of independency only two new complexes of office buildings were opened in Kaunas and were fully booked. That meant the choice for newcomers was narrow.

Dainius Aksinavicius remembers, that other available options for office premises were not encouraging: building in Petrasiūnai, outer industrial Kaunas district, or a former soviet store of home appliances in station district.

Growth is status quo At the moment CIG Kaunas office employs 180 professionals. The number of employees has been growing stable during these five years starting from 6 persons at the beginning. There is a plan to grow the number of employees about 10-15% each year.

Kaunas office is the second biggest group’s office after the headquarters’ in Leeds. Since opening the office in Kaunas at least 7 new departments/ divisions have been moved to Kaunas and diverse teams in different offices work together.

Dainius Aksinavicius tells that currently there are database and software developers, test analysts,

Dainius Aksinavičius, Callcredit Information Group country director

IT support, project management, security intelligence, business intelligence, data analysing, digital marketing and consumer service specialists working at within the office in Kaunas.

“The best producer of talents, Kaunas University of Technology, is in town. I believe this is and will be the best place for IT education in Lithuania.

And talented IT specialists are what we need most,” explains Dainius Aksinavicius.

According to him, Kaunas office is an integral part of the Group, which is rapidly expanding worldwide, and is more and more capable to take functions which require higher skills and more responsibilities.

“Recently we hired entire team of 10 new people.

They are helping clients to install our products from Kaunas. I expect we will go further and will be closer to final costumers,” Dainius Aksinavicius says.

And now they start to return. Šarūnas Vaivada, Database Engineer at CIG Kaunas office, is a good example. He returned from the UK recently and chose CIG as his new employer. He works here for four months and is happy with his new life in home country. Till then Šarūnas Vaivada lived in London for two years and in Oxford for another two years and worked there as database engineer.

Connecting into IT community At the moment CIG includes the UK’s second largest credit reference agency (CRA) and employs approximately 1,200 professionals across Leeds, Kent, Bath, London, and Warrington and also has offices in Japan, China, Dubai and Lithuania, Kaunas, and agents working across international markets. CIG has announced about two new acquisitions in 2016 with focus on North America and Europe.

Attracts Lithuanians from abroad CIG Kaunas office employs IT specialist from Vilnius and other smaller towns in Kaunas region as well. The latest trend is to employ returning specialists from abroad, who emigrated from Lithuania to study and/or work in the UK, Ireland and other countries.

Age average of CIG Kaunas office employees is 30 years. Several of them were initiators of Kaunas IT community, named KIT club. November last year they invited IT specialists from various companies in Kaunas to participate in the first club’s meeting which was devoted to SQL language.

“KIT club is the place to communicate, share best practices and connect as a community for Kaunas based IT professionals. We invite students to come, make contacts and become part of our big team as well. Each time the number of participants increases, that is a signal for us that such meetings are relevant and necessary,” says Dainius Aksinavicius, being great supporter of the community. Five KIT club events already took place, gathering hundreds of IT professionals in one place.

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

5

Regional Focus: Kaunas

Overcoming the Cyber security threat to Lithuania One of the problems is low dialogue between the public and private sectors in sharing information, best practices, and what’s also important missing certain regulatory functions to increase qualitative responsibility between all players within the Cyber Security area.

An interview with FortConsult, part of the NCC Group, experts in deep technical cyber security assessments and end-to-end information assurance.

As experts, have you observed increasing awareness about data protection in the Lithuanian public and private sectors?

Could you please provide a short introduction about your company and its main activities in the Lithuanian market at the present time?

The maturity of users about cyber security has been gradually increasing. But qualifications and capabilities to detect and respond effectively and quickly in case of an attack need much more than just awareness. It requires cultural and mentality changes at the management level. The sooner we see those changes, the better, as cyber security issues have become a substantial threat to businesses, governments and individuals alike.

FortConsult was founded in 2002 in Scandinavia, and established in Lithuania in 2007. Two years ago, FortConsult was acquired by the NCC Group, which is one of the global leaders in cyber security and an IT risk mitigation consultancy. In the Baltics, we are focusing on cyber security awareness - we share our global experience and knowledge, but we are facing challenges in mapping global practices to the local and national knowledge and attitudes towards IT security – there is not enough knowledge sharing the way things are now.

There’s so much talk about cyber security issues on the Global arena. Do you have any facts or data, which you could share with our readers on cyber threats which the Lithuanian public and private sectors face today?

Absolute cyber security is neither possible nor practical, even from a costs point of view. IT risks are usually mitigated by the adoption of various compensating controls, which mostly align to

In 2018, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation will come into force. Could you comment briefly about this new regulation, what it is about and what effect it might have for market players?

Zoja Antuchevic, CEO

indirect protective schemes/procedures, or by means of highly expensive technical solutions, while the human factor (the weakest link in Cyber Security) gets forgotten. Budgets spent on Cyber Security in the public sector are much larger than in the private sector, nevertheless it is doubtful that such spending corresponds to the security level achieved.

The introduction of the GDPR brings an exciting new chapter in privacy. The significant size of the fines (up to €20M or 4% of a violator’s total worldwide annual turnover) is a statement of intent, and organisations are starting to prepare for life under the new rules, which will be applied from May 2018. Organisations that process or store personal information about their clients and/or employees will need to comply with strict rules about storing this data and follow certain protocols when reacting to a breach. The rules will

apply to organisations of all sorts: public, private, B2B, B2C, and even governments and ministries.

For individuals throughout the EU, GDPR will bring better protection of personal information and more transparency about how it is handled.

For organisations, both private and public, adjusting to the requirements might be a painful process initially, but in the long run, there is plenty of gain too. With the renewed focus on privacy that the GDPR brings, market players will fight to gain a reputation for protecting their clients’ privacy, and even strive to use security as a brand differentiator – as well as avoiding fines in the process. As of right now, a chunk of the transition period is already gone, and organisations need to act sooner rather than later – it takes time to understand your current position and create a roadmap to compliance.

Rome was not built in a day, and compliance with the new rules cannot be achieved overnight.

Are there any lessons to learn or good practices to share from the UK in the cyber security or data protection fields?

Information sharing. Timely and speedy sharing of information related to cyber security between organisations, nationally and internationally, and across sectors. Sharing knowledge and knowhow about common threats, best practices, attack vectors etc. is key. The cyber security landscape is changing continuously and rapidly, and the more we are able to collaborate, the less catching up we will have to do.

Prepared by Sandra Kundrotė, Executive Director, BCC Lithuana

Brit in Kaunas to 2008, spliting my working time between NGO community development projects and EU Project Management work within sustainable transport issues at the city of Kaunas Municipality. My third period started in 2012 still working mainly within transport and mobility although also now on different projects in the creative arts industry.

What have been the notable changes in the city during that time?

James McGeever, Sustainable Transport and Mobility Consultant

This time, I was looking for British people in Kaunas and came across James McGeever, Sustainable Transport and Mobility Consultant and currently working with the City of Kaunas Municipality. During our conversation James shared his story of coming and settling in Kaunas years ago and very important his views about Kaunas and its potential, seen through James’s life and many years of work experience in Kaunas.

James, how long have you been living in Kaunas, and what brought you there?

On and off since 1999, having three periods of living here with gaps in between. My background in Britain before coming here was working as a volunteer with GB based international development agencies and charities (such as Oxfam, Friends of the Earth, and CRISIS). My first move to Lithuania was as a British volunteer under the VSO‚ East European Partnership Programme‘. VSO found me a two-year placement with the newly formed Kaunas NGO Support Centre. My second period here was between 2003

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What have been some of the projects you have worked on in Kaunas?

Projects within transport include public transport route maps, cycle scheme improvements, urban space regeneration, e-ticket system, public transport route management system, city exchange of good practice, European Mobility Week activities, and initiating the country’s first schools and University ‘Gree Travel Plans’

Quite a few. The quality of transportation in and around the city has changed dramatically especially public transport (and the soon to be opened ‘state-of-the-art’ international bus station). We are also slowly but surely thinking more about more sustainable forms of travel such as car share and cycle share schemes.

Also the more recent and current transformation of the facades of our historical old city buildings, an initiative of the city Mayor who wants to dramatically improve the city image for citizens, and to encourage visitors and new business. On a more personal note, I think the transformation of the shopping experience has been a big one, especially with the increase in the number of quality places to eat along with the proliferation of coffee shops / cafes (in Kaunas replacing what used to be the proliferation of shoe shops!).

Do you see a change in the business environment in Kaunas, and if so what?

As we understand you were one of the first British people to be employed by a municipality in Lithuania?

We have a lot of untapped opportunity here especially in our education and research instutions. Transportation and logistics is excellent in a number of areas and the potential - if fulfilled – of the Rail Baltica train connections north and south should not be overlooked. I would like to see the city be much more committed to sustainable transport and mobility. We need to be brave enough to take on the ‘car mentality’ and to lessen traffic in the city centre. This will be a huge advantage for improving the quality of life for investors and new residents to the city.

Yes, I was taken on in 2004 to complete the management of a major EU transport and mobility project. The project was about improving transport and mobility in the city and we were partners with Aalborg, Nantes, Bristol and Bremen. I‘d like to think my input helped to shape the city‘s development of sustainable transport over the last 10 years or so. This project was actually how my career started as a sustainable transport and mobility consultant.

There are a lot of young educated people returning to Kaunas with ideas based on their life experience living and working on other countries.

I think we are seeing some of these new ideas, based on a different approach to business practices and even business ethics, not being implemented in small businesses here. Such things as customer service, although not perfect, is gradually getting better; marketing and promotion of business from really brilliant creative people we have.

What are the main advantages of Kaunas in your opinion, which could make this city attractive to the Foreign investors?

Prepared by Sandra Kundrote, Executive Director, BCC Lithuania

BCC paper issue No 55

6 < continued from page 1

BREXIT

Peering into the Fog of Brexit

Photos by Martynas Zaremba

The UK’s role in providing a forward presence for NATO in Estonia is an example of an active partnership in the field of security that will not diminish as a result of the leave vote. With the weakness of military spending across Europe, the fact that the UK still maintains a defence budget of around 2% of GDP should count for something.

The UK is also a key partner in terms of trade and investment in Lithuania, with a growing profile in areas like financial services. These kind of links will survive any type of Brexit, hard or soft, though perhaps requiring more work and a greater level of Keynote speech by Claire Lawrence, the British Ambassador to engagement. Most types of business are dependent on a number of person-to-person links. With such Lithuania: ‘The UK is leaving the EU, but not Europe’ high levels of movement of peoples between them, Lithuania and the UK have a firm bedrock on which to base future co-operation, no matter how the political situation unfolds.

It is clearly in Britain’s interest for the EU to be strong and it will continue championing certain policies within the bloc until it leaves, i.e. those encouraging greater levels of trade both inside the club and with those on the outside.

Developments since the conference have highlighted the debate within the governing party about whether to promote a ‘soft’ Brexit, where the UK maintains a similar degree of access to the single market, or a harder variant that provides the country with more room to manoeuvre in other policy areas, like immigration. Naturally most participants voiced their support for a softer approach, though a few questioned whether agreement was possible.

The View from the EU Raimundas Karoblis, Lithuanian then Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasised the feeling of loss that all sides felt on the matter, whether on the British side or the remaining 27 members of the EU. Any solution that evolves from this situation needs to take account of five major factors: the framework within with the EU and the UK trades; how the UK’s departure will affect the character of the union; how the EU will progress after Brexit; future co-operation Raimundas Karoblis, then Lithuanian Vicebetween the EU and the UK on the global stage; and Minister of Foreign Affairs managing the perceptions of third countries.

Those following developments around Brexit will no doubt be fully versed in the relative benefits and weaknesses of the trading arrangements countries like Norway, Switzerland and even Albania have with the EU. None of them suit the UK’s particular requirements, whether in terms of the unusual prominence of financial services or the political imperative to break certain EU taboos (free movement of peoples). Sensible voices talk of some interim agreement, such as mirroring EEA membership (i.e. Norway) that would permit pretty unrestricted trade in return for a discounted fee.

However, as views have hardened on both sides of the English Channel, the feeling is growing that a hard Brexit may be on the cards and a complete disjuncture possible.

Mr Karoblis expressed the fears of the rump of liberal-minded countries left in the EU that see the unbalancing effect the UK’s departure has already had on the character of the bloc. Undoubtedly the UK leaned towards a vision of Europe that was more outward looking and emphasised the importance of fostering trade within and outside its borders. At the same time, it guarded its national powers more jealously. Both sets of views often set the UK against the EU mainstream, especially after the onset of the financial crisis. The UK’s departure leaves a hole that will be hard to fill in terms of balancing the policy debate within the European Council.

Like a cartoon character running off the edge of a cliff only to hang mid-air for a few seconds before plunging to Earth, everyone is waiting for talks to actually start on Brexit. In Brussels itself an air of existential crisis hung over the city in the weeks following the referendum result, as the same old tired policies of the federalists were rolled out in the name of ‘more Europe’. This betrays the vacuum of leadership that exists in Europe with its three presidents all espousing policies that leave many Europeans cold.

Looking outside of Europe, the UK’s exit can only weaken the EU. For a body that embodied many of the ‘soft’ elements of power, i.e. those attracting prospective members to its common market and governing ideals, the departure of its oldest democracy can only dent this brand. The EU’s voice on the world stage naturally gains gravitas from the number of countries it speaks for and, though this will remain the case, it would serve the UK and the EU to form common positions towards bodies like the G20.

Lithuanian considerations Lithuania would not be one of the biggest losers from the UK’s departure from the EU. Mr Karoblis said that the UK ranks number ten on Lithuania’s list of export destinations, for a total of about EUR 1bn in trade. At the time of the conference, no-one was realistically contemplating an exit for the UK without some kind of free trade deal in place. The question seemed to be whether or not any deal would cover services, a subject of great importance to the UK economy. For Lithuania, were services excluded from any agreement, the country would stand to lose only one-tenth of its exports, so the prevailing attitude was relaxed towards the impact of Brexit on its economy.

Much more importantly and something alluded to by both the British Ambassador and Mr Karoblis, was the impact on European security. Though NATO acts as the base treaty upon which Europe’s security architecture has been built, the currency of international relations is credibility and Brexit represents a drawdown on the UK’s reserves in this respect. The oft-quoted argument that only Russia would be happy to see a Brexit was not just a moment of whimsy. As arguably the EU’s premier military power, the departure of the UK can only weaken the links between allies at a testing time. Of course, the UK will emphasise the opposite and it is not unreasonable to suppose that it may double-down on the security aspect of its relations in its talks with the continent. The fact that three of the four spearhead forces being deployed to the Baltic region in 2017 are from politically ‘Anglo-Saxon’ countries and not from the continent speaks volumes to the reliability of the EU as a security partner.

As a whole, we can expect to see the politics of the EU take a tilt in a more pro-Russian direction. It will grow increasingly difficult for the bloc to maintain the delicate balance in favour of maintaining sanctions on Moscow, following the departure of the UK. The southern ring of states lining the Mediterranean have always been less critical of Russia and a clear North/East-South/West split in the sensibilities of EU member states is only likely to harden as the UK leaves, not only on questions of containing Russian aggression, but in economic and financial matters.

Another issue of particular concern to Lithuania is the freedom of movement of its citizens in and out of the UK. On a practical level, there are broadly three categories of Lithuanian in the UK. Those that have lived there longer than five years, less than five years and students. Related to this, solutions would need to be found for transferring pensions, future arrangements for health insurance and other social benefits.

A much maligned debating point during the referendum was the various claims and counterclaims on just how much EU membership cost the UK. From the perspective of Lithuania, Brexit would only have practical implications from 2019 onwards, as the UK continues meeting its financial obligations to that point.

Assuming article 50 is invoked in March 2017, the loss to the EU’s current budget, as concerns Lithuania, would be EUR 43m. At the end of the day this is not a huge sum to overcome, but may need to be covered from elsewhere.

Panel Discussions Though coming from a number of different disciplines, the emphasis of the panellists was on correctly interpreting the results of this referendum and the need to traverse these events with a degree of equanimity. Picking up on the wider implications of the referendum, Andrius Kubilius, a former Prime Minister of Lithuania, found echoes of the debate in the current US election, where commentators speak of a revolt against the globalisation of the past 30 years. As Mr Kubilius elaborated, “this modern nationalism implies tectonic changes to the architecture of the international system that Lithuania joined [after the end of the Cold War]”.

The economic paralysis that most Western countries encountered after the financial crisis built upon a general sense of drift that had been building since the turn of the millennium, featured by flat income growth and a waning of trust in the political process. In the best of Soviet traditions, it was remarked, this modern nationalism is good at pointing out who to blame: Brussels and migrants.

Andrius Kubilius, a former Prime Minister of Lithuania

Broadly agreeing with this analysis, Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Director of Vilnius University’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science, said he did not consider a largely false “sense of creeping federalism from Brussels” to blame for the result.

Instead the referendum challenged the prevailing notion that more capitalism was good and, as a consequence, that we are now experiencing a push back against this trend. The inequality and the darker side of globalisation have been apparent for all too long and more should have been done to tackle these earlier. Any sense of revolt we have in current political movements is probably being fed by this discontent.

Ramūnas Vilpišauskas, Director of Institute of International Mr Vilpišauskas also noted just how much political Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University discourse is now conducted over the internet and the role social media has in forming bubbles of opinion into which opposing views rarely make headway. Though globalisation does pose severe challenges to the nation state, it has undeniably improved living standards worldwide. It is just that, while the economic system has become global, the political one remains national, even within the EU. One of the contradictions of Brexit could be that voters end up with a more open economy, as the country is forced to seek alternative markets outside of the EU.

Jekaterina Rojaka, Head of Economic Research at DNB

DNB’s Head of Economic Research, Jekaterina Rojaka, mirrored the British Ambassador’s point of view that, though an illusion of a big change is being projected from the result, we cannot assess its true nature for another year or so.

The utility of using referenda to answer questions as fundamental as a country’s relations with Europe was raised by Mr Kubilius. Though we like to view such exercises as based on objectivity and fact, in reality they are shrouded in subjectivity and the results can be unexpected. The UK’s referendum pitted poor against rich, young against old, each seeking answers to whom to blame for the problems they saw around them. It actually had very little to do with the question on the ballot paper. It is also reasonable to ask whether the EU can cure itself of the ills identified in this debate? So far the range of answers revolve around whether to have more or less integration. But, if politics is national, can the existing institutions do the job?

And, what of business?

David Thomas, the Executive Chairman of the Council of the British Chambers of Commerce in Europe, highlighted the vacuum of leadership in the aftermath of the referendum. Following the departure of many leading figures, the government will need time to establish its vision for the UK’s future relations with Europe and, more broadly, the world. And what a task this will be. After 43 years of membership and all of the dependencies that have built up between the UK’s economy and the continent, this divorce could end up very messy.

By some estimates, 13% of the UK’s economy David Thomas, the Executive Chairman of the Council is currently engaged in business with Europe, of the British Chambers of Commerce in Europe accounting for around 40-45% of foreign trade.

However, in his delivery, Mr Thomas emphasised that the figures do not account for the intricate supply web that has evolved over the past four decades and the degree to which Europe’s markets have integrated themselves. The picture is complicated and the removal of the UK from the single market could cause immeasurable damage to the country’s prosperity and its place in the world.

Since the time of this speech, the Conservative party conference, around which the date for invoking Brexit was set, was seen by commentators to mark a hardening of opinion and raised the spectre of a hard Brexit.

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

7

BREXIT Mr Thomas’ position was naturally supportive of a negotiating stance that put the continued access of the UK to the single market front and centre. For business, the uncertainties unleashed by Brexit would only be compounded were serious doubts to be harboured over the UK’s position in the trading zone. COBCOE therefore calls on the government to underline the importance of keeping in place its existing trading agreements with the EU, as the alternative would be seriously damaging to the UK’s economic interests.

With this in mind, one must hope that current talk of a hard Brexit is just a negotiating ploy.

Wrapping up the panel discussion, Nerijus Nezinskas, a Partner at PwC, expressed his confidence that businesses would adjust relatively easily to any new reality. Personally he hoped that the four freedoms enshrined by the EU’s Treaty of Rome would stay in place, with some moderate restrictions. Still, as with other participants, he underlined the importance of being proactive.

Despite great progress, in his view, Lithuania, alongside other eastern European countries, still suffers from an image problem that has to be countered in any successful appeal to UK business.

Back to the panel In the final panel discussion, the speakers looked at whether any opportunities had arisen as a result of this decision and considered further the impact upon Lithuanian-UK trade relations.

Charles Cormack of the Cormack Consultancy Group sounded a reassuring note that business always manages to find a way.

Indeed, though heartily disagreeing with the result, he spoke of the opportunities of targeting UK companies that wish to maintain a presence in the EU. In this new avenue of business, the Baltic countries hold a number of favourable cards that should appeal to UK companies. As the sole Brit on the panel, Mr Cormack added that his instincts were warning him of a hard Charles Cormack of the Cormack Brexit, as the hurdle of immigration seemed impossible to clear. Consultancy Group Whether a hard or soft Brexit, the importance of maintaining the good relations enjoyed between Lithuania and the UK was paramount. Arūnas Laurinaitis, the Vice-President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, spoke of the need to get through this period of unpredictability as soon as possible. With so little certainty, he likened the situation to that of an artist with a blank canvas, setting the early scenes of his picture. Lithuania itself has a great deal to offer UK investors and, in his view, maintaining this relationship was all important.

Arūnas Laurinaitis, the Vice-President of the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists

Olga Jachimovič, Senior Executive at Adams & Moore agreed with the need for business to look for opportunities in the changing landscape. She also raised the two-way nature of any such exchange, with Lithuanian companies also seeking partners in the UK, as well as UK investors looking to Lithuania for answers. The UK has been a good place for Lithuanian companies to do business and this is unlikely to change. With these solid structures in place, businesses needs to drive forwards and develop their plans, as the negotiations surrounding Brexit are likely to drag on for a long time.

Joana Baublytė, Associate Partner at Valiunas Ellex

Nerijus Nezinskas, a Partner at PwC

Brexit from a UK Creative’s Point of View

By Nikky Smedley, changing cultures I think those of us who work in the arts, cultural and creative sectors are more inclined towards collaboration, finding new ways to work with fellow professionals to invent fresh experiences for our audiences. Even those who make their art in a solitary situation require the collusion of others to bring it to the attention of the public. Perhaps this is why so many of us are feeling shaken by the Brexit vote.

So far, I haven’t spoken to anyone who works in our sector who didn’t vote to remain.

Reaching out across borders, making new connections, constantly learning about our fellow travellers on the human journey who are living different cultural experiences is all the stuff that feeds our imaginations and creative processes. Much more has been lost!

Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom.

Established organisations are continuing to make the kind of high quality cultural experiences that give the UK such an enviable reputation for all things creative.

Those of us who supply creative services across the broader marketplace, including for businesses, now find that we are a little more affordable to our overseas partners since the fall in the value of the pound. And as people who specialise in finding solutions within uncertainty, used to creating a tangible something out of an amorphous nothing, we are well suited to finding innovative ways to move forward. It’s the shift in what is happening at grass roots level that is more disconcerting.

Olga Jachimovič, Senior Executive at Adams & Moore

London’s position as the financial heart of Europe will be hard to replicate elsewhere on the continent.

Acknowledging the size of London, both in terms of population and skilled workforce, as well as the advantages conveyed by law, language and time zone, replacing the UK’s capital will not be a simple proposition for the EU. As an example of this symbiotic relationship, Joana Baublytė, Associate Partner at Valiunas Ellex, highlighted how Lithuania funds its budget deficit in the capital. It is difficult to say just how much of what London currently does could feasibly be relocated to the continent, but where this to happen, Lithuania must of course look for partners to work with in helping with the transition.

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The widespread occurrence of arts projects and residencies in schools, community centres and local hubs has been hit hard over recent years due to the lasting policy of austerity. The money just isn’t there any more. In addition we have had education ministers who have undermined the value of developing artistic and creative practice within the system. The ‘Leave’ vote feels like another nail in the coffin. There is something in the mood of Brexit that gives validation to an attitude that dismisses creativity as something unnecessary and indulgent, frippery for the liberal middle classes that has no place in a good old fashioned independent Great Britain.

And that’s the main issue - it feels like a step backwards, precisely the antithesis of creating something new, trying to go back to something that went before. Which is after all a fantasy.

So - it’s going to be a struggle. But I think what’s needed is that intrinsic creative spirit that is so very British, and we need to ensure that those starting out have opportunities to develop their own unique methods to solve the challenges of the future. We need creativity more than ever, and it needs to be nurtured. As do the strong connections and relationships that we have with our colleagues in Europe.

For those of us who are dedicated to working with and across our entire exciting continent, no vote will ever change that.

BCC paper issue No 55

8

BREXIT

BREXIT and Art

How Will a Brexit Affect the Rest of the World?

Ben Lunn, composer & conductor The arts and cultural industries are inherently internationalist. Their existence depends on the exchange of ideas, knowledge, and skills so even before Britain’s membership of the European Union composers, musicians, artists, and actors were working with the organisations, institutions and citizens of Europe to further expand their own horizons. This mentality was prevalent in many of Britain’s leading musical figures like Peter Maxwell-Davies and Jonathan Harvey. Britain’s membership of the EU in 1973 bought with it a lot of potential and promise for the arts in general. The opportunities to freely move throughout Europe developing yourself as an artist as well as finding new regions where your work can be celebrated was one of the greatest positives for artists of all disciplines. The membership of the EU normalised multiculturalism within Britain, which is always a healthy atmosphere to create an affluent artistic landscape, creativity needs variety. Even though Britain has been extremely multicultural due to the expanse of its empire, being part of the EU normalised it, helping addressing issues of racism within the country as well as broadening the arts in the country. EU membership also allowed our artists to brush shoulder to shoulder with leading European figures further improving Britain’s artistic standing internationally, events like the BBC Proms, benefited greatly from this being freely able to invite internationally renowned orchestras and soloists to its annual concert series.

These positives also bought with it a lot of new issues for British artists. Due to the support available from EU for the arts, Britain gradually invested less and less in the arts, the current annual investment from the government for the arts and culture still stands at less than 5%, a European-wide average spending on the arts. Alongside this, due to decades of cuts to the arts, British orchestras have grown dependant on European citizens to make up the main body of the people power within the orchestra, simply not enough people are learning instruments. This particular issue was able to manifest itself without much notice, simply because orchestras in Britain have been thriving during to the expertise being bought by some many professional musicians from abroad.

The 52% majority to leave the EU was startling, but sadly unsurprising. Due to a combination of intense austerity for years, scapegoating of the EU and outright misleading lies told by figures leading the leave campaign the general populace saw leaving the EU as an opportunity to improve their standard of living, and end the unnecessary austerity being forced upon them. The immediate reality has shown a lot of the fears and promises were simply untrue and Britain sees itself the most divided it has been for decades. Industries like the NHS, Arts and Culture, Technology and Research, and businesses using Britain as a gate into Europe now find themselves in unsettling circumstances. As the situation currently stands, the lack of clarity and direction is causing the most issues for employers and employees within these realms. Will EU citizens living here be allowed to stay? How long do we have to prepare our strategies for leaving the EU? It is even worth staying in Britain? These are just some of the major questions that many industries are trying to work out how to answer these to deal with. For the arts, their personal stance remains internationalist. However they could find themselves forcibly isolated and underfunded a situation which could easily cripple many orchestras and galleries. This in turn is likely to push many of Britain’s leading young minds out of Britain in the hope of some form of artistic prosperity and stability.

This situation seems extremely bleak for those within the arts and culture industries, but the situation is far from hopeless. There are many ways for Britain to use this departure as a way of improving its arts and setting an example for the rest of Europe to follow. Firstly the most major thing to be addressed by whichever government is in power once Britain is finally out of the EU, is abandoning austerity. This economic policy has left Britain in a far weaker situation than many of its European counterpoints.

Greece is the only nation to see its wages take more damage than Britain, a terrifying statistic for one of the richest nations in the world. Abandoning austerity will allow British working people to see their lives improve and actually help address the issues of the national deficit. The arts directly need spending to be increased by at least matching the European average spending on the arts (5% of the national budget). Long term planning for arts education needs to be formulated otherwise no matter how much is spent on arts, the situation will only worsen. Finally a lot of effort needs to be put in to advertise British art and culture to the rest of Europe for it to survive it needs to be on a platform with the rest of European and international art. These are just the basics of the conundrum, as finer details like addressing inequalities in promotion of race, gender, and class also needs addressing within Britain.

Now those of you from very different business sectors may be thinking, why is any of this vital it is only the arts? Looking at the basic levels of it, statistics from 2010, showed that for every £1 spent on the arts it generated £8. This obviously is an astounding conversion of investment into profit, all of which feeds into the economy and so on. This kind of generation of capital is rather extreme but ultimately is fragile. Without the right support this could easily vanish, for example highly skilled artists move away in turn lowering standards of arts in the UK, in turn meaning people lose interest due to falling ability and creativity. Enough investment in the arts is needed to encourage musicians to not abandon their country for prosperity elsewhere. As we can see with musicians here in Lithuania, the highly skilled move abroad to find prosperity elsewhere because the network of support is not available to keep them; ultimately depriving a nation of its native talent and creativity which could have made such a profound influence on the nation.

As British politicians currently seem more enthusiastic about bickering than planning, it is very hard to see what long term effects Brexit will have on British artists. All I can see is if this is used as an opportunity to evaluate and improve upon how we engage the arts as a nation we could see profound seismic shifts making Britain the envy of the world. However this will not come from simply wishing it. The government has to investment in its arts, the public need to be engaged, and they need to be encouraged to remain internationalist. However if Brexit is used an opportunity to increase austerity and add further pressure to the working classes, the arts will begin falter very quickly; leading to a radical deterioration in quality, shrinking national engagement, and see many of our brightest minds leaving.

As a British emigrant, currently studying in the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, the current landscape in Britain is balancing precariously and the issues of Brexit do not just stop at the British seaside. For many of us already living and working abroad, our very lives have become extremely unstable due mostly the uncertainty ahead. This being said, decent support and engagement with the arts can turn quite a treacherous period into quite an advantageous situation. Ultimately only time will tell, the current reality shows many things could occur, the biggest issue for many artists is these new circumstances are being forced upon them against their will.

Sarah Boumphrey, Global Lead - Economies and Consumers at Euromonitor International The UK plays a significant role in the EU, both economically and demographically. In 2015 the UK was the EU’s 2nd largest economy – behind Germany. The UK was the EU’s largest consumer market, and was responsible for 1-in-5$ spent in the EU. It was also home to 12.8% of the bloc’s population and was the destination for 11.5% of all EU migrants in 2013.

Due to its close trade linkages, Ireland is likely to see the largest negative impact from a Brexit.

Several non-EU countries are also likely to feel pain, with China, Saudi Arabia and Egypt all expected to see a similar level of impact to Germany in 2017. This is also due to trade linkages.

So the answer to a question How Will a Brexit Affect the Rest of the World? in economic terms is that it will affect a broad range of countries, but the direct impact will not be economically significant.

Although the negative impact will be broad-based but not substantial in any one particular country.

New tax incentives in Free economic zones to attract service providers to the regions

A free economic zone (FEZ) is an area designated for commercial, financial or industrial activity, in which a preferential tax regime is applicable. The taxation rules are determined by each country. In Lithuania, the activities allowed to be pursued in the FEZ may be limited for specific FEZ. In general, any economic activity that is not forbidden may be carried out there, except for the defense industry (including storage, trade or production of weapons and explosives), trade in tobacco, strong alcohol production, production of securities, coins, postage stamps, the production, storage or trade of drugs or poisonous materials, and casino and lottery activities etc.

Different tax incentives are applicable to the companies located in a FEZ. The companies in the FEZ do not pay real estate taxes, the dividends earned by foreign investors are also tax-free. Additionally, current regulation provides that investors of over €1 million, operating in industrial, warehousing, aviation or IT areas, are exempt from corporate tax for the 6 first years, and a 50% corporate tax rate is applicable for the next 10 years. As of 1 January 2017, this tax incentive will also be extended to business service companies, which employ no fewer than 20 employees and made capital investments of at least €100,000.

The amendment makes FEZs more attractive, not only to the large industrial companies, but also to the small to medium service providers, which would also benefit from the tax exemptions in the FEZ. It is expected that the FEZ could become interesting to HR, architects, engineering and real estate administration service providers, business operation services. Currently, such service providers are concentrated in Vilnius, however, the extension of the tax incentive may encourage such service providers to move further to the regions, including to Kaunas FEZ. Combined with available high quality specialists and a good strategic location, this tax incentive will increase the attraction of Kaunas FEZ to a broader circle of investors. Companies, willing to operate in the FEZ should obtain licenses and permits, if such are required for their activity. It should also be noted that the incentive is not applicable to credit and insurance companies.

Better financing for business in Lithuania with the new Law on Crowdfunding < continued from page 1

This evaluation will be carried out before the first investment into a particular transaction, but will be a recommendation in nature. This requirement of evaluation will not be applicable to professional investors under Lithuanian law. Crowdfunding investments will not be guaranteed by the general investment protection regulation.

Only legal persons fulfilling requirements established in the law and included in the public list of crowdfunding platform operators will be able to administer a crowdfunding platform. The main requirements for the Operator are: a minimum capital of €40,000; insurance or guarantees for a sum of €100,000 or €500,000; and the managers must fulfil the requirements established in law.

The Operator will also have to publish information on its website about investment risks, e.g. that the investor may not get a profit or may lose the investment, along with the rules and procedure for crowdfunding.

Operators will be supervised by the Supervisory Authority of the Bank of Lithuania. Operators failing to fulfil the requirements of the law will be subject to sanctions, such as fines of up to 2% of annual turnover.

With this law Lithuania becomes one of a few European Union countries to introduce crowdfunding regulation. It is expected to increase the innovativeness of small and medium business and will enable investors to invest more easily into projects they believe in.

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

9 BCC New Members Evening introduces new members and presents the results of BCC membership Referral Campaign 2016 CHRONICLE OF BCC EVENTS

On November 16th Members of British Chamber of Commerce were invited to New Member's Evening at Quadrum Business Centre, new premises of DNB Bank.

The New BCC Members Adams & Moore (former Eurobaltika), AFEX, Daniel Dolan, Dubingių Žirgynas, Gaspar's, Ginstata, Mahrib, Zenitech representing financial services & consultancy, construction, restaurants and resorts were kindly welcomed by Chris Butler, Chairman BCC and made short presentations to introduce their business fields and business interests within the chamber.

After presentations, new BCC members had the opportunity to enjoy the evening mingle with existing BCC members over a glass of wine and snacks, this time kindly sponsored by BCC Sponsor member DNB Bank.

Gintė Martinkėnė, BCC New Member Dubingių Žirgynas

During the event, Chris Butler, Chairman of the BCC Board has also brought the results of the BCC Membership Referral Campaign 2016 and thanked 3 members of the chamber for their recommendations turning into concrete ‘new member gain’ result in 2016. To mark the results of BCC Membership Referral Campaign, a lottery was arranged with a magnificent weekend trip to London kindly sponsored by Carlson Wagonlit Travel and Lufthansa and the lucky winner is Avitalis Maizelis (West Express). Congratulations!

Olga Jachimovich, Adams & Moore (former Eurobaltika)

The chamber is intending to continue this campaign in 2017 and is encouraging all members to engage, be proactive and promote BCC membership to their partners and clients. The successful cases will be yet again announced in the end of 2017 with a great chance to win a weekend to London.

The BCC Lithuania currently associates 130 members representing different business sectors, including 25 new members joining the chamber in 2016.

The Chamber thanks to BCC new Member Evening and Membership Referral Campaign 2016 Sponsors:

New Members Daniel Dolan, dancer & Edward Batrouni, Zenitech

Avitalis Maizelis, West Express – a lucky winner of the weekend in London prize at the Membership referral Campaign prize draw 2016.

New member Mahrib Moroccan Restaurant, represented by the owner Pankaj Arya

Paulius Valiulis, BCC New member Ginstata

BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS

Gaspar Fernandes, New BCC member Gaspar’s restaurant

Richard Torres, BCC New overseas member AFEX

BCC paper issue No 55

10 The BCC Ambassador Claire Lawrence meets with the BCCL members In November, the BCC Sponsors and Board members were invited to meet the British Ambassador Claire Lawrence during the informal lunch hosted by the British Embassy. During the meeting BCC members shared their views about the business environment in Lithuania, new Lithuanian Parliamentary elections and received the newest updates on Brexit from the Ambassador.

British Ambassador Claire Lawrence

BCC Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night in Vilnius On November 5th, the British Chamber of Commerce organised the 8th Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night in Vilnius Grand Resort.

BCC members and British community with families gathered to enjoy this traditional English celebration. The Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night in Vilnius followed the timehonoured British traditions of having a bonfire, a Guy effigy, mulled wine, traditional Shepherd’s pie and excellent apple cake this year kindly sponsored by Vilnius Grand Resort. For the entertainment this year we had Juggler Viačeslav Mickevičius and his magnificent performance was thoroughly enjoyed by the children and adults. The event ended in a traditional manner with a fabulous firework display to close the evening.

The British Chamber of Commerce expresses great gratitude to all Guy Fawkes (Bonfire) Night Sponsors for their outstanding input into organising this event

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

11 BCC Autumn season opening in ‘Dubingiai Stud’ On September 9th the BCC members and their families were invited to Traditional Season Opening social event, held at Dubingiai Stud outside Vilnius in the surroundings of the unique nature.

The weather was perfect to enjoy a Friday evening with families and to reconnect after the summer with other BCC members over a glass of wine and excellent buffet. The children mostly enjoyed the ride on a carriage around the mini zoo area and riding the pony. Dubingiai Stud is a new member of the British Chamber of Commerce and is keen to welcome all BCC members and friends interested in a variety of activities for corporate and families throughout the year.

The BCC Lithuania thanks to Dubingiai Stud for taking care of activities for the children at the Season opening social event

Monthly Breakfast Business Briefings BCC traditional monthly Breakfast Business Briefings came back after the summer break in a new format suggesting a wider coverage for the business related topics with panel discussions being introduced.

September Breakfast Business Briefing brought together Dr. Stasys Drazdauskas from SORAINEN, Zoja Antuchevic CEO of FortConsult part of NCC Group and Sigita Aurelija Vaičiūnaitė from the Lithuanian Ministry of Justice to analyse and discuss the cyber security issues related to the upcoming new regulations on data protection. The event was held at Shakespeare hotel, where business networking was enriched by morning coffee and excellent English breakfast.

Breakfast Business Briefing in November brought the topic ‘Generation Z: not difficult, but different’. Three presenters Al Kris, Delta Management Solutions, Przemyslaw Siuda, AIG and Aidis Dalikas, the expert in Social media from ‘Socialus marketingas’ agency were discussing what exactly makes Z generation people to be different and how to understand them better, what the employment market should expect from the Z generation employees and what are the best ways to actually reveal their potential and very important what are the best channels and communication tools to reach them.

The Breakfast Business Briefings were moderated by Robert Juodka, Managing Partner and Attorney-at-Law at Pr1mus and BCC Board member.

Malcolm Stewart, copywriter at First Impression

Sigita Vaiciunaite, Lithuanian Ministry of Justice

Dr Stasys Drazdauskas, Sorainen

In the end of October James Downtown, a leading expert in the field of inline Customer Acquisition and Digital Marketing, Malcolm Stewart, an expert in copywriting and Mindaugas Dambrauskas, Head of Omnichannel and customer insights at Teo Omnitel have shared their knowledge on E-Commerce related issues such and CRO (conversion rate optimisation) as one of the most important one at the moment attracting high interest from the BCC members and beyond.

Al Kris, Delta Management Solutions

Zoja Antuchevic CEO of FortConsult part of NCC Group

The chamber expresses thanks to Shakespeare boutique hotel for kindly establishing excellent prizes during the season

BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS

James Downtown, a partner of Clickverta

Mindaugas Dambrauskas, Teo Omintel

Przmyslaw Siuda, AIG

Aidis Dalikas, expert in Social media from 'Socialus marketingas'

BCC paper issue No 55

12 Aviva Lietuva awarded in largest European business competition

A brand-new wine oasis at Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square!

Life insurance and pension company Aviva Lietuva recognized in Europe’s largest business competition and has been named as a National Champion for Lithuania. European Business Awards were set up to celebrate business excellence and best practice in the continent’s business community.

“Aviva Lietuva marks a new business milestone this year: 15 years of business operations in Lithuania and leading position in the life insurance market for a third year in a row. We’re very proud to be selected to represent Lithuania as a national champion.

The awards are widely recognised as the showcase for Europe’s most dynamic companies and we are proud to be recognised at this level”, says Asta Grabinskė, the CEO of Aviva Lietuva.

Asta Grabinskė, CEO, AVIVA Lietuva

Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards.

Company was evaluated on the core EBA values of innovation, ethics and success.

“National champions including Aviva Lietuva are central to the success of Europe’s strong business community, and have shown the core principles we look for”, says

A contemporary Atelier Wine Boutique & Tasting Bar has just opened at the luxurious lobby of Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square. The bar features an exclusive wine range accompanied by an international snack selection and is run by the best sommelier in the Baltics, Mr Martynas Pravilonis, who promises an exceptional individual service!

At Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square, Universiteto str. 14, Vilnius.

COBALT: Consolidation of Pan-Baltic Insurance and Financial Sectors Continues

The awards, now in its 10th year, is supported by business leaders, academics and political representatives from across Europe, and this year engaged with over 33 000 businesses from 34 countries.

UAB Marina Nida, advised by GLIMSTEDT, has signed a deal with one of the world’s largest hotel companies Carlson Rezidor

The COBALT law firm remains active in advising clients on the largest and most innovative mergers and acquisitions in the region’s financial sector. In August, COBALT advised DNB Bank, the largest financial group in Norway and one of the leading credit institutions in the whole Nordic region, upon combining its operations with Nordea in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the aim of creating one of the leading banks in the Baltics. Nordea’s and DNB’s Baltic operations have 1,300 and 1,800 employees and €8 billion and €5 billion in assets, respectively. COBALT has been advising DNB in all phases of the transaction. There have not been any comparable deals in the local banking sector.

Very recently COBALT advised Gjensidige, the second largest Nordic and Baltic insurance group, which has finalised the merger of its companies in the Baltic States. It was the first in-bound cross-border merger of Baltic insurance companies with the surviving company established in Lithuania and also the first cross-border merger where a Latvian company was merged into a Lithuanian company. Due to the complex corporate structure of the group, the implementation of the merger required innovative solutions that have never been used in previous cross-border mergers.

STAY celebrates its second anniversary UAB Marina Nida, advised by law firm GLIMSTEDT, has announced the signing of a deal with Carlson Rezidor, a top international hotel operator, to open the five-star Radisson Blu Hotel & SPA Nida Marina in Nida, on the Curonian Spit - a curved sandy peninsula that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. The Curonian Spit was made a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010. Located on the waterfront of the marina, the Radisson Blu Hotel & SPA Nida Marina will overlook the Curonian Lagoon in the centre of Nida.

Mr Gintautas Bertašius, Board Member of UAB Marina Nida, said “The professional and effective service rendered by GLIMSTEDT in the negotiations with one of the world’s largest hotel companies has substantially contributed to the successful completion of the initial stage of this project”.

GLIMSTEDT continues to provide legal support to UAB Marina Nida on matters relating to the development of the hotel complex project. The newly built 93-guestroom resort hotel is expected to open its doors for the first time between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020.

Since 2014 every Christmas has been a very special milestone for STAY | Business & Leisure Concierge as part of our business journey. Getting more and more satisfied customers on our list has been the best evaluation of our efforts. It’s also a good sign that businesses in Lithuania understand the value of time and look for more efficient ways of working.

We fulfil our promise that by outsourcing some organisational services, company leaders’ can stay calm about the quality and speed of the work done, as well as release their team from additional Jolita Surgutanovienė and Daiva Rauktytė, Founding Partners unnecessary workload. Over the past of STAY two years we have celebrated, and got recognition for, many creatively organised business events, meetings, official openings, conferences, and have hosted important visits. We are thankful for our partners who consistently deliver high quality services, an innovative approach and contribute to the concierge concept strengthening.

Looking ahead to the coming year we invite busy business leaders to think creatively and free up more time for important responsibilities by exploiting the STAY experience and proactive professional assistance.

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

13 New simulation - assessment exercise

Lithuania – Central European Hub for FinTech Lithuania, with its recent regulatory changes and infrastructure advantages over other EU Member States, is stepping up efforts to become the central European hub for FinTech companies, especially for companies active in the payment and electronic money sectors. Several companies, including Revolut (UK), IBS (China) and Moneta International (Israel), have already announced plans to launch operations in Lithuania.

Business Case plus Presentation – this is a new simulationassessment tool suited for mid-level employees working in finance, sales management as well as business or data analysis.

Description: This exercise measures a person’s ability to assimilate information and performance metrics about a company across multiple offices/regions and identify the important trends, problem areas as well as recommend remedies to deal with the poor performing units.

In completing the exercise, the individual needs to quickly grasp and understand the statistics, charts, graphs, etc. but not get so involved in the minutia that he/she is not able to the bigger organizational picture, trends and problems.

Al Kris, Director of Delta Management Solutions

Existing advantages: From 1st January 2017, it will be possible to establish a specialised bank in Lithuania. A specialised bank can engage in financial services as a standard bank, excluding the provision of investment services. In addition, the capital adequacy requirement for a specialised bank is five times lower and amounts to one million euros.

At the end of the exercise, the individual is required to make a short presentation of his/her analysis, insights and recommendations to his boss (role-played by assessor).

Competencies Assessed: Managing Business Complexity, Leading the Business, Driving for Results and Communication. Time allotted: 95 minutes.

For more information, please inquire at info@deltamanagement.lt

Baltic Medical Centre’ staff participated at Charity Ball

The Bank of Lithuania as the financial supervisory authority in Lithuania can issue a licence to payment and electronic money institutions within three months.

This time limit is five to nine months shorter in practice than in other EU Member States.

Arturas Asakavičius, Associate at Sorainen

The Bank of Lithuania has empowered payment and electronic money institutions to join the SEPA payment infrastructure and enabled customers to have their personal national codes for IBAN accounts. Accounts opened with payment and electronic money institutions for payments in euros are becoming equivalent to conventional commercial bank accounts.

In November the Lithuanian Parliament adopted the Law on Crowdfunding. The new law will regulate debt and equity based crowdfunding platforms, including marketplace lending platforms engaged in assignment of claim rights deriving from credit agreements.

In October the Lithuanian Government amended its Resolution establishing client identity verification methods. The amendments establish additional methods for remote identification, which will be based on transmission of videos and photographs. The new identification methods must ensure live and direct video-streaming when identifying the client.

Sorainen was actively involved in providing suggestions for creating modern, well-balanced regulation meeting international standards and with a focus both on the local market and beyond.

From left to right: Diana Bumelytė, Vaiva Jakelytė and Ina Achmetova

On 4th November, representatives from Lithuania and the United Kingdom gathered at the Savoy Hotel, London, to celebrate the Annual Charity Ball.

The Annual Charity Ball attracted many politicians, economists, businessmen and famous artists.

Among the Guests of Honour were Vygaudas Ušackas, the former Ambassador of Lithuania to the United Kingdom, currently serving as the European Union Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Mr Edward Lucas, the Senior Editor at The Economist, Sir Roger Gifford, the former Lord Mayor of the City of London. Sir R. Gifford, 685th Lord Mayor of the City of London, Head of SEB Bank in the UK, encouraged closer economic and cultural relations between Lithuania and the United Kingdom.

Diana Bumelytė, General Director of Northway Medical Centres in Lithuania and the Baltic Medical Centre in London, Vaiva Jakelytė, Practice Manager of the Baltic Medical Centre, and Ina Achmetova, Paediatrician at the Baltic Medical Centre, also took part in the event.

Sponsors presented valuable prizes and important works of Lithuanian art. The funds raised at the Annual Charity Ball were donated to ‘Mamų Unija’ (‘Mothers’ Union’), a foundation established to help children with cancer. People wishing to contribute at the Ball made their contributions in envelopes anonymously and at the special auction. The auction, which evinced great interest and enthusiasm from all attendees, raised more than fifteen thousand pounds.

Barclays bank made a generous contribution to support ‘Mamų Unija’ during the event initiated by the LCCUK. The organisers were sure that funds raised this year would be record-breaking. The final sum will be announced later.

The Annual Charity Ball was organised by the Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom (LCCUK) under the Patronage of the Embassy of Lithuania.

No-smoking policy at the Radisson Blu Royal Astorija Hotel A no-smoking policy was implemented on 1st November at the Radisson Blu Royal A s t o r i j a hotel. Since that date accom10 0 % N O N S M O K I N G modation in the hotel has been 100% A C C O M M O D AT I O N non-smoking. The Radisson Blu Royal AsFROM 1 OF NOVEMBER torija hotel follows the Responsible Business programme which emphasises taking responsibility for the environment and the local community, which is a really important part of the hotel’s broader commitment to sustainable development. radissonblu.com/hotel-vilnius

The Responsible Business programme also encompasses health. For this reason the Radisson Blu Royal Astorija hotel offers only environmentally friendly amenities, constantly increase the number of nonsmoking rooms and promote the use of seasonal and local products in the restaurant. Recently it was decided to make a smoke-free environment in the hotel. The Radisson Blu Royal Astorija hotel believes that a non-smoking environment helps to ensure the health of all the guests and staff. Looking after clients and caring about their health is especially important for this hotel!

BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS

Law Firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene recognised as the most innovative services company in Lithuania

Photo from left: Chairman of the Council of the Lithuanian Bar Prof. PhD. Ignas Vėgėlė, Partner at Tark Grunte Sutkiene Vilius Bernatonis and ICC Lithuania president Valdas Sutkus

Law firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene has been recognised as the most innovative company of services for business in Lithuania in the national business awards event “Service of the Year 2016” and received awards in the main category “Service of the Year 2016” and in the category “Legal Service of the Year 2016”. The awards have been given for contributions to the creation of an exemplary model of financing renovation of multi-apartment houses in Europe.

“Purely legal services are no longer enough for business clients today. The current business environment requires that we should be not only legal advisors, but also a kind of business developer, who are able to offer various and innovative business development models. Therefore, our business is oriented so that our clients can get clear and effective business solutions that have not been offered by anyone in the market before. Last year, we were recognised as the best law firm according to business clients’ satisfaction in the Baltic States, and this year we have won the “Service of the Year” award. This award is one more confirmation that our strategy and business vision are correct,”Vilius Bernatonis, Partner of law firm Tark Grunte Sutkiene, says.

Zenitech moved into a bigger office UK based Zenitech, has its largest international office in Vilnius. It’s rapidly growing organisation is moving from the ex-Spanish Embassy building in Algirdo Street into a newly built ‘City Building’ - a recently finished modern office on Žalgirio 90. The new doors are always open for those who are interested in IT business technologies and software consulting. They look forward to hosting you in the new space and watch out for the regular Technology events and talks through their Zenitalk platform.

BCC paper issue No 55

14

Presenting New BCC Members

BCC Overseas Member AFEX (Associated Foreign Exchange) FX / Foreign Exchange /International Payments AFEX help businesses and individuals save money on their foreign exchange and international payments.

With over 25,000 clients and 20 offices globally, AFEX are one of the world’s largest trusted foreign exchange brokers - process payments every day, around the clock and around the world, in over 200 countries.

BCC Overseas Member Triangle Richard Torres, Head of Desk says “Most of our clients in Central and Eastern Europe were originally going to local banks and were unaware they can achieve a better price by using a trusted currency broker – in some cases by as much as 3%” Company contact details: Richard Torres, Head of Desk – Corporate FX AFEX Tel.: +44 207 004 3887 rtorres@afex.com www.afex.com

BCC Corporate Member DUBINGIŲ ŽIRGYNAS DUBINGIU ZIRGYNAS (Dubingiai Stud) is a recreational and entertainment complex 37 km away from Vilnius.

Dubingiai Stud is the first part of the entertainment complex Dubingiai Diamond Resort established in unique natural surroundings. On summer evenings the three lakes, forests, long-lived oaks, and spectacular sunsets drowned in the fog in the ravine behind the outdoor horse arena, create a particular sense of cosiness and peaceful atmosphere.

Dubingiai Stud is distinguished not only by nature, where it is established, but also by its architectural uniqueness. A 1500 sq. m. round indoor arena, including unique and original wooden roof constructions and cosy lighting is what distinguishes us from other Lithuanian studs. Moreover, the arena, horse stables, restaurant and hotel in Dubingiai Stud are all situated under one round roof. While sitting in the restaurant one can admire the horses riding in the arena, and while sitting in the terrace one can admire the elegance of horses riding in the outdoor arena.

Gaspar’s restaurant is a place where you can experience a fusion of different cultures. The food is Indian fusion mixed with Western culture, with spices and herbs, colours and heritage. You have a chance to find age old recipes which Gaspar knows from his mother and grandparents, but with a modern refined twist to be suitable for

Since the nature itself is very unique and speaks for itself, our goal is to create infrastructure joining the nature which would not put the exclusivity of the surroundings into the shade, but would rather match and enhance this uniqueness. The architectural ensemble has been formed gradually and its dynamics have been a continuous process.

In our mini zoo we keep red deer, fallow deer and mouflons, beautiful alpacas and llamas, bactrian camel and donkeys, ponies and miniature horses, mini goats and sheep pasturing in the fields, ostriches, peacocks, Muscovy ducks and black swans swimming in the lake as well and many more.

Company contact details: Gintė Martinkėnė, Director UAB “Dubingių Žirgynas” Įlankos g. 23, Žalktynės k., 33263 Molėtų r. sav., Lithuania tel.: +370 (656) 56 333 www.dubingiuzirgynas.lt pramogos@dubingiuzirgynas.lt renginiai@dubingiuzirgynas.lt

the guests palette. It is a place which Gaspar calls home. He would like guests to get an experience if they would have been at his home for a meal, with good quality food, friendly people, pleasant atmosphere and positive memories. That’s why the restaurant is called as Gaspar’s.

Company contact details: Gaspar Fernandes Pylimo g. 23-3 Vilnius, Lithuania Tel. +370 (657) 07050 www.gaspars.lt info@gaspars.lt

BCC Corporate Member Holiday Inn Vilnius The Holiday Inn is an American brand of Hotels, which is part of the Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) with 3400 hotels worldwide. The Holiday Inn Vilnius is the only Holiday Inn in Lithuania. It is a four-star business class Hotel with all the amenities you would expect. Located centrally and close the ‘old town’ it has 136 newly refurbished rooms with 5 meeting rooms, lobby bar and a fine dining restaurant.

institutional partners.

Triangle own and operate the Holiday Inn and Ecotel in Vilnius Lithuania.

Company contact details: Eric Shakeshaft, Resident Manager Triangle 8 Cavendish Square, London W1G 0PD, United Kingdom Tel.: +44 (0) 20 7495 8000 www.triangle.co.uk info@triangle.co.uk

BCC Corporate Member Park Inn by Radisson Kaunas

BCC Corporate Member Gaspar‘s Restaurant Gaspar’s restaurant is a place where you will find a new take on Indian inspired food. Our Chef Gaspar Fernandes has got a huge diversity of tastes as he was born in Goa (India), with Portuguese grandparents, growing up and living in England for most part of his life where he got his education from Le Cordon Blu.

Triangle is a leading international investment, development and asset management group focused on property, hotels and resorts, and private equity.

Triangle is headquartered in Guernsey, with a major presence in central London alongside its international network.

Our Services: Triangle sources and manages international investments in: Bespoke residential and commercial property Hotels and resorts Select capital projects This is achieved through collaboration with our international network of private, corporate and

Company contact details: Eric Shakeshaft, Resident Manager Šeimyniškių str. 1, Vilnius LT-09312, Lithuania Tel.: +370 (5) 210 30 00 www.holidayinnvilnius.lt

Park Inn by Radisson Kaunas is a part of the international Rezidor hotel group. Located in the centre of Kaunas, the hotel promises visitors proximity to all the bustle of the city. It is a modern, colourful and vibrant place with quality service, providing comfortable accommodation, free internet access, different meeting rooms and fine dining at the Diverso restaurant.

It’s easy to mix business with pleasure, thanks to our leisure and conference facilities. Park Inn by Radisson Kaunas boasts an on-site spa, casino and one of the largest conference venues in the area, spanning over 1,400 square meters. These meeting rooms equip organisers with everything they need for a successful conference.

Park Inn by Radisson Kaunas offers 206 rooms, which pair a clean, modern style with choice amenities like heated bathroom floors, plasma televisions and Free Wireless Highspeed Internet.

Park Inn by Radisson has a strong track record of taking its people, communities and the environment into account in its business decisions.

We believe that by managing our business in a responsible manner we build trust, build relationships, and achieve great hospitality!

Company contact details: Jūratė Rudienė, General Manager Park Inn by Radisson Kaunas K. Donelaicio g. 27, Kaunas, 44240, Lithuania Tel.: +370 (37) 306 100 www.parkinn.com/hotel-kaunas info.kaunas@rezidorparkinn.com

BCC Corporate Member ZENITECH Zenitech is an emerging UK based company with offices in Vilnius and Central Europe. The company prides itself on being agile, lean and creative with the ability to work hand in hand with clients on some of the most complex and challenging tasks. Zenitech can advise clients on technology product development, digital transformation and software development using the latest in software technologies.

Zenitech works with clients from across the globe

by pushing the limits of today’s technology, by building the systems and platforms of tomorrow.

Company contact details: Edward Batrouni, CEO Zenitech Žalgirio gatvė 90, Vilnius 09300, Lithuania www.zenitech.co.uk

BCC paper issue No 55, 2016

List of BCC Members BCC Corporate & Group Members

BCC Sponsor Members

AVIVA Lietuva Life insurance and pension funds www.aviva.lt

Bunnahabhain rep. by Mineraliniai vandenys, UAB Production of single islay malt Scotch Whisky www.bunnahabhain.com

Carlson Wagonlit Travel Corporate travel management www.carlsonwagonlit.lt www.kalevatravel.lt

DNB bankas Banking www.dnb.lt

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals www.gsk.lt

Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square 5 star luxury hotel in Vilnius www.kempinski.com/vilnius

PricewaterhouseCoopers Assurance, Actuarial, Advisory, Tax and Legal services www.pwc.com/lt

Strategic Staffing Solutions International Provider of information technology solutions.

Recruitment Services www.strategicstaff.com

Tark Grunte Sutkiene Full-service business law firm in the Baltic region and Belarus www.tarkgruntesutkiene.com

BCC PR Partner

BCC Accounting Partner

15

AIG (www.aig.com) – Insurance ARIJUS (www.arijus.lt ) / Transport and Logistic services AVIS Rent a Car & Leasing Company (www.avis.lt) / Car rental and leasing BALTIC AMERICAN MEDICAL & SURGICAL CLINIC (www.bak.lt )/ Health Care BALTIC SURVEYS (Baltijos Tyrimai, UAB) (www.gallup.com) / Market research BANKSERVIS, UAB (www.bankservis.lt) / Bank and office equipment, security products and solutions BARCLAYS GROUP OPERATIONS LIMITED (http://www. lifeintechnology.co.uk/global-locations/vilnius-lithuania/) / one of strategic IT engineering centres providing support for Barclays business activity worldwide.

BEST WESTERN HOTEL VILNIUS (Naujasis Vilnius, UAB) (www.vilniushotel.eu) / Centrally located Hotel, restaurant, conference centre, fitness centre, swimming pool and sauna BITĖ LIETUVA, UAB (www.bite.lt) / Telecommunications BIURO PASAULIS, UAB (www.biuropasaulis.lt) (www.elektromedia.lt)/ /Office supplies, printing management and IT solutions BNTP, UAB (www.bntp.lt) / Private equity investment; real estate development and investment; asset management; project management; facilities management.

BRITISH COUNCIL (www.britishcouncil.lt) / the United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.

CALENBERG Vilnius | STEELCASE (www.calenberg.lt) / International moving/ relocation and dealership of the office furniture- STEELCASE CALLCREDIT OPERATIONS, UAB (www.callcreditgroup. com) / Experts in the fields of credit referencing, marketing services, consumer information, interactive solutions and consultative analytics.

CAMIRA FABRICS Ltd (www.camirafabrics.com) / Contract seating & transportation fabric manufacturer COBALT (www.cobalt.legal) - Legal services in all fields of business law in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Belarus COMFORT HOTEL (www.comforthotel.lt) / Hotel COLEMONT (www.colemont.lt) / Insurance broker, an authorised Lloyd‘s coverholder COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS (www.cognizant. com/lithuania) / Financial services within life- and health insurance, banking and asset management CSC Baltic, UAB (www.csc.com/lt) / IT services and outsourcing DELTA MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS, UAB (www.deltamanagement.lt )/ Recruitment, Executive Search, Temporary Staffing, Employment Services, Personnel Testing & Assessment, Greenfield Staffing Support DOMINAS DERLING (www.dominas.lt) / Law firm DUBINGIŲ ŽIRGYNAS (www.dubingiuzirgynas.lt) / A recreational and entertainment complex (NEW!) EKO RIVI, UAB (www.ekorivi.lt) / Consultancy in municipal and environmental infrastructure EUROMONITOR INTERNATIONAL (www.euromonitor. com ) / Provider of strategic market research on countries, consumers and industries EVERSHEDS SALADŽIUS (www.evershedssaladzius.lt) / Legal services FORTCONSULT(wwwfortconcult.net) Cyber security and incident response services G4S Lietuva, UAB (www.g4s.lt) / Security Solutions covering cash handling, guarding, electronic security, system maintenance, installation, courier service.

GASPAR’S restaurant (www.gaspars.lt) / Food & Beverage (NEW!) GINSTATA (www.ginstata.lt) / Construction and repair work GJENSIDIGE (www.gjensidige.lt) / Insurance GLIMSTEDT (www.glimstedt.lt) / Legal services GRANT THORNTON BALTIC (www.grantthornton.lt ) / Assurance, internal audit, tax advisory, legal advisory, corporate finance, and accounting services HIGHLIFE, UAB / Manufacturing for export timber components for the furniture and construction industries.

HOLIDAY INN (www.holidayinnvilnius.lt) / Hotel IBIS Styles Vilnius (www.ibis.com)/ Hotel, Restaurant „The Lemon Tree“, Lounge bar, Conference center KLAIPĖDA FREE ECONOMIC ZONE MANAGEMENT COMPANY (www.fez.lt) / Management and development of Klaipėda Free Economic Zone KPMG Baltics, UAB (www.kpmg.lt ) /Audit, Tax, and Advisory services KRASTA AUTO (www.krasta-auto.lt) / automotive LEINONEN, UAB (www.leinonen.eu) / Accounting services LLOYD’S (www.lloyds.com) / Insurance and reinsurance MG Trade (www.mgtrade.lt) - Producers and sellers of high quality windows and doors NEWSEC (www.newsec.com) / Real Estate NORDGAIN (www.nordgain.com) - Financial, tax, asset, transaction, management consulting, finance and accounting services NORTHWAY (www.nmc.lt) / Private medical centre NOVOTEL VILNIUS CENTRE (www.accor.com) / Hotel services ODONTIKA (www.odontika.com) / Dental surgery OMNITEL (www.omnitel.lt) / Telecommunications PARK INN BY RADISSON KAUNAS (https://www.parkinn. com/hotel-kaunas) / Hotel (NEW!)

BCC SPONSOR MEMBERS

PRIMUS Attorneys at Law (www.primus.legal) / A panBaltic full service law firm with offices in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia PHOENIX CONTACT (www.phoenixcontact.com) / manufacturer of electric connection and industrial automation technology PROVIDENT FINANSAI (www.provident.lt) / Personal credits provider and responsible lender PUBLICUM, UAB (www.publicum.lt) / Public Relations, Public Affairs, Management consulting and training RADISSON BLU LIETUVA HOTEL (www.radissonblu.com/ lietuvahotel-vilnius)/ Hotel, biggest centre located Conference and Event centre, Riverside restaurant, Skybar, Lobby bar, fitness centre and sauna RADISSON BLU ROYAL ASTORIJA HOTEL (www.radissonblu.com/hotel-vilnius) / Hotel, French restaurant „Brasserie de Verres en Vers“, Astorija Bar, Meetings & Events center, Catering services, Health club with swimming pool RAMADA Hotel & Suites Vilnius (www.ramadavilnius.lt) / Luxury hotel SCHAGE Real Estate (www.schage.lt) / Real estate development company. Investing in, renting and selling premises for office, residential and commercial use SHAKESPEARE Boutique Hotel (www.shakespeare.lt) / Boutique hotel, Sonnets restaurant, Globe bar, conference halls SORAINEN (www.sorainen.com) / Legal services in all fields of business law in the three Baltic countries and Belarus SUE’S INDIAN RAJA (www.suesindianraja.com) / Indian Restaurant VALIUNAS ELLEX (http://www.valiunasellex.lt/) / A leading and internationally highest ranked business law firm in the Baltics.

VANAGUPĖ HOTEL (www.vanagupe.lt) / 5* Hotel, Modern Conference centre and luxury GOLDEN Spa centre, gourmet cuisine restaurant L’Ambra Rossa VILNIUS GRAND RESORT www.vilniusgrandresort.com / 5 star Hotel, 8.000m2 Conference Centre, Catering Services, Spa, Fitness Centre, Leisure, PGA design Golf course, Over the water restaurant, Real Estate WESTERN UNION Processing Lithuania UAB (www.westernunion.com) - Financial Services WEST EXPRESS (http://www.westexpress.lt/) / Travel agency, providing and organising professional business and leisure travel services ZABOLIS PARTNERS (www.zabolis.com) / Finance and Real Estate ZENITECH (www.zenitech.co.uk) / Full-stack Software Development and Technology Consultancy based in the UK, the Baltics and Central Europe (NEW!)

Small company/NGO Members A HOSTEL ( www.hostelsvilnius.lt) / Accommodation Services ADDELSE (www.adduco.lt) / Employee assessment AMBER STAFF (www.amberstaff. com) / Temporary staffing and employee leasing BALTIC FILM SERVICES (http://bfs.eu.com) / Film and television production BALTIC HOLIDAYS (www.balticholidays.com) / Tour operator in the UK specializing in Lithuania, Latvia & Estonia BCS INTERNATIONAL (www.bcsinternational.net) / The Behaviour Change Specialists, are an international people development organisation, dedicated to the practical use of emotional intelligence to improve individual and team performance.

DEKONA, Evaldo Darškaus IĮ (www.dekona.lt) / Management Consulting: Operational efficiency, Lean, Six Sigma, process improvement D & T Global - Developer of real eastate EUROCONTINENTAL Limited / Textiles FINREDA, UAB (www.finreda.net) / Corporate services provider. Legal, financial and business consulting & services including translations to Lithuanian and foreign companies FRENCH INTERNATIONAL LYCEUM OF VILNIUS (www.efv. lt) / School GENCS VALTERS, Law Firm (www.gencs.eu ) / full service, general practice international business law firm with offices in Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius focused on tax, litigation, M&A, corporate, immigration, finance and intellectual property law GROWING TALENT (www.growingtalent.eu) / Providing executive coaching, and delivering training for leadership and talent development LONDON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES (www.londonisl.com) / Business courses, specialized training for both IELTS and TOEFL university admission exams LitCapital Asset Management (www.litcapital.lt) / independent professional private equity fund management MYKOLO ROMERIO UNIVERSITETAS (http://www.mruni. eu) / higher education MAGHRIB, Moroccan Restaurant (www.facebook.com/ MaghribLT/) Food & Beverage VILNIUS MONTESSORI PRE-SCHOOL (www.vms.lt) / International Montessori environments based on Dr. Maria Montessori’s humanistic philosophy and approach, specializing in Early Childhood Education and Parent Education

QUANTUM CAPITAL (www.qcapital.eu ) / Investment banking & strategic advisory boutique RAIMDA Auditas (www.raudit.lt) / Audit STAY (www.stay.lt) / Business & leisure concierge TAURAGĖ INDUSTRIAL PARK (www.tip.lt)/ Industrial premises for rent in Southwest Lithuania V. Paulius & Associates (www.vpa.lt/) - Real Estate VILNIUS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL (www.vischool.lt) / International Baccalaureate World School. Early childhood education, primary and middle school.

VINKLERIS and partners (www.legalconsulting.lt/) / international law firm providing legal advice regarding taxes, company establishment and competition, as well as family and labor law issues OVERSEAS MEMBERS Overseas members ADAMS & MOORE HOUSE (former EUROBALTIKA) (www. adamsandmoore.co.uk) / financial and accounting services AFEX (www.afex.com) / Associated Foreign Exchange (AFEX) in international payments. (NEW!) CHANGING CULTURES (changingcultures.wordpress.com) / Business consultancy in creativity and engagement JYSKE BANK Private Banking (www.jyskebank.dk) / Private banking NORMA FOSTER LTD / business consultancy on export communications, sales and reputation in international markets SENATE PUBLISHING LTD (www.senatepublishing.co.uk/) / Full-spectrum publishing and communications solutions TODAY TRANSLATIONS (http://www.todaytranslations. com) / translation, interpreting services TRIANGLE (www.triangle.co.uk) / Investment, Development and Asset Management (NEW!)

BCC Social Members Adrian North Andrius Končius Ben Lunn Bryan David Wallace Chris Butler Christian Ranft Daniel Dolan Geoffrey Cohn (Life Member) Hugh Miles Thomas OBE, FCA (Life Member) Dr Helene Ryding Jūratė Rusteikaitė – Bakšienė Kevin Badgery Mark Whittle Mervyn Richardson (Life Member) Milda Dargužaitė Michael West Nick Price Ron Sheppard Sigitas Žutautas Linutė Miknevičiūtė Cohn

BCC Board 2015-2017 Honorary President Claire Lawrence, HM Ambassador to Lithuania Chairman Chris Butler BCC Social Member Field of interest in the Board – Events & Membership Alistair Day-Stirrat Odontika Field of interest in the Board – BCC Paper Asta Grabinskė AVIVA Lietuva Field of interest in the Board – Financial Services Ben Harvey Growing Talent Field of interest in the Board – CSR Mantautas Paškevičius Strategic Staffing Solutions International Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment Milda Dargužaitė Barclays Technology Centre Field of interest in the Board Trade & Investment, Financial services Robert Juodka PRIMUS Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment Toma Vevelstad Amber Staff Field of interest in the Board - Events & Membership Tomas Kontautas Lloyd’s of London Field of interest in the Board - Financial services Vaineta Barevičiūtė DNB Bank Field of interest in the Board - Financial services Viktorija Trimbel Quantum Capital Field of interest in the Board - Trade & Investment

Making Private Banking easy, personal and out of the ordinary Our clients receive a much more personal relation than many would expect from an international bank. Maybe that’s why, on average, our client relationships last for more than twelve years?

We offer Private Banking services, which include: • • • • • •

Private Banking services from EUR 150,000 Individual investment advice based on your requirements and investment profile Unbiased investment advice – there are no bonus schemes Competent investment advice in consultation with a large number of specialists Direct contact to your adviser – we don’t have call centres All this from a healthy, solid bank ranking among the 10 strongest banks in European stress test.

Join us as a client and you will have a bank that has specialised in international private banking for more than 40 years with more than 20,000 international clients in more than 135 countries.

Please contact us to hear how we can help you.

Søren Langkjær Intl. Wealth Management Adviser soeren.langkjaer@jyskebank.com Tlf. +45 89 89 61 82

Sean Stray Senior Relationship Manager stray@jbpb.dk Tlf. +45 89 89 61 83

JYSKE BANK PRIVATE BANKING COPENHAGEN • Vesterbrogade 9 • DK-1780 Copenhagen V • Denmark Phone: +45 89 89 62 34 • Fax +45 89 89 61 94 • privatebanking@jbpb.dk • www.jbpb.dk