Although the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew more than twice as fast in the third quarter as in the second quarter, the value-added ‘pie’ was unbalanced, he said.
“This economic growth could be described as balanced only half-heartedly. The biggest concerns are the investments, which are not growing and even decreasing slightly. The ratio between Lithuanian business investments and GDP remains one of the lowest in the EU now, which raises doubts as to the country’s competitiveness in the future,” Mačiulis said in comments about the latest GDP estimates issued by the national statistics office earlier on Thursday.
Corporate investments had stalled due to concerns about Europe’s future, which should abate in the near future, and political uncertainty, he said.
Lithuania’s GDP grew 4.4 percent between July and September, compared with the same period in 2011.
In January through September, the country’s economic output grew by 3.5 percent, year-on-year, to 83.846 billion litas (EUR 24.3b) at current prices, according to the revised data issued by Statistics Lithuania on Thursday. Adjusted to of seasonal and calendar fluctuations, Lithuania’s GDP has now shown positive growth for eleven consecutive quarters, since the first quarter of 2010.
