OREANDA-NEWS. September 23, 2010. Enterprise  Estonia (EAS) is now working on nearly 70 shorter or longer foreign investor projects in Estonia, but the focus is on about twenty of them.

EAS board member Maria Alajoe said in a comment to BNS that the duration of an investment project was usually a couple of years from initial interest until its realization.

Concerning the projects in focus machine building and metal working continue to dominate, but there are interesting projects also in the electronics, IT and energy spheres, as well as in light and food industry, Alajoe said.

Of countries the most active ones are Finland and Sweden, but there are several projects coming also from Germany, the United Kingdom and France. Quite a few of the projects being dealt with are extensions of companies already operating in Estonia, Alajoe said.

Concerning the effect of Estonia's transition to the euro to foreign investors' activity, Alajoe said that the effect was certainly there but this should be seen in the context of Estonia's accession to the OECD and general economic policy stability. "It is these factors that help Estonia arrive in the group of countries where investments are considered and this accounts for the bigger interest in Estonia today. But the general expectation of economic growth in Estonia and the neighboring countries as well as enlivening of financial markets is of equal importance."

In case of making decisions concerning concrete investment projects, Alajoe said, several factors were of importance, such as availability of labor or the skills and pay level of the work force,  availability of production and service premises, an environment favoring investment and general economic environment.