INVEGA plans to change name in September
Last year INVEGA became the only national development institution in Lithuania with the accession of the Public Investment Development Agency, the State Investment Management Agency and the Agricultural Loan Guarantee Fund. The merge of these agencies brings INVEGA's active client base to 11,000 and the range of financial products has grown to the point where businesses at different stages, sizes can expect financing. INVEGA's total portfolio now stands at almost EUR 1.4 billion.
Last year, the Green Finance Institute, the first of its kind in the Baltics, was created as a part of INVEGA. Change of the name marks a new stage in the growth of its activities, as well as a new bookmark for the company and its employees.
Dainius Vilčinskas, CEO of INVEGA
"Our organisation is undergoing a fundamental change and will proactively work with a wide range of businesses, offering solutions that are customer-oriented and focused on adding value to the businesses and the country. The financial instruments that we have already presented to the market are created for all types of companies and activities. We take a part of financial risk, and that will help businesses to grow and expand. Mobilising private and public funds to finance a wide range of economic needs will be a key part of our mission. By infusing money into the economy through financial engineering solutions, we estimate that the impact of our activities could be 1% of GDP annually until 2035," says CEO of INVEGA Dainius Vilčinskas.
Ambition for change
With the merger now finalised, INVEGA is starting the formal process of changing its name - after the amendment of the Articles of Association and other necessary procedures, the company will resume its activities in the autumn under the new brand name ILTE - Investing in Lithuanian Economy.
"In order to provide maximum convenience to clients, to ensure that they receive all financing services in one place and to high standard, the Ministry of Finance has done what previous governments have failed to do - merge the 4 national development institutions into a single strong national development fund. The essence of this consolidation is to bring together competences and expertise, to manage financial instruments more efficiently, to attract more funds from private investors, and to broaden the availability and supply of finance for projects that pay off financially. A strong, autonomous and independent company will ensure synergies between the various financial instruments and efficient use of EU funds. All this will help attract more investment in areas of national importance, creating a greener, more resilient and more sustainable Lithuania," says Deputy Minister of Finance Vaida Česnulevičiūtė - Markevičienė.
"A thriving business is the foundation of a country's economic prosperity. The resilience and competitiveness of business is one of the most important issues for the well-being of every citizen. I have no doubt that this institution, with a unified internal structure, pooled financial and human resources, increased capital and international visibility, will be able to fully implement national development plans, more effectively apply investing practices, strengthen public-private cooperation, sustainably increase the supply of financial instruments for financially viable projects, and contribute to the greater prosperity of the country as a whole," said INVEGA'S CEO Dainius Vilčinskas.
More than EUR 1 billion for the market
In order to increase financing availability, INVEGA launched 3 instruments with a total value of EUR 766 million in the first quarter of this year.
EUR 532 millions in loans for renewable energy projetcs: companies can apply for financing their solar and wind power projects to generate electricity for their own use. Municipalities and their owned institutions can already apply for funding and use it in communities with poor energy situation - €190 million is available for that. A further €48 million has been allocated to the venture capital market.
During the first three months of this year, 1,404 financing agreements worth almost €82 million were signed. More than half of this were portfolio and individual guarantees, €45.3 million, which helped to raise €60.3 million from financial intermediaries. €27.2 million in loans were granted, €3.6 million was allocated to the venture capital market.
INVEGA's total portfolio includes €762.8 million for business, €328.8 million for the public sector and €275.1 million for agricultural clients. A few financial instruments were launched in April that brings over €1 billion more funding to the market, which will contribute to the transformation of the Lithuanian economy and businesses.
