Latvia’s 2025 investment record: what’s inside the €1.01bn headline
Latvia’s investment agency LIAA says implementation was launched for 31 projects in 2025, with a total value of €1.01bn and 1,350 planned new jobs. The key point: this is not “money already spent in one year” — it’s a pipeline that has entered the execution phase and will materialise over time.
Sector mix (value / number of projects):
• Bioeconomy: €460m (5)
• Smart energy: €428m (4)
• Manufacturing: €34m (3)
• Digitalisation: €21m (11)
• Defence: €20m (3)
• Other sectors: €48m
This structure matters: the biggest blocks are bioeconomy + energy, while job creation is relatively modest for €1bn — a sign of capital-intensive projects (equipment, automation, infrastructure), not mass employment.
What’s moving on the ground (examples):
• Port of Riga (Kundziņsala): a €120m renewable fuels project aimed at producing HVO (renewable diesel) and SAF (sustainable aviation fuel).
• Baltic Photonics (Berģi, Riga): the laboratory is already operational; the broader plan targets ~€120m for a night-vision/photonics production base (full-scale production planned later).
• Frankenburg Technologies (Estonia): plans for a Latvia-based facility for short-range air defence missiles (LIAA mentions €10m).
• Epson (Japan): Riga selected for a European business services centre.
• NtangledState (Canada): a Riga services centre with planned investment and high-skilled jobs.
A separate 2025 mega-deal worth tracking (forestry):
Ingka Investments (IKEA-linked) agreed to buy Södra’s forest holdings in Latvia and Estonia — €720m and 135,000 hectares in Latvia (subject to approvals). This is a different “type” of investment than greenfield projects, but it reshapes ownership and long-term resource control in the bioeconomy.
Also on the radar (wood processing / Austria):
In 2025, Austria’s HS Timber Group completed the acquisition of Latvia’s Vika Wood — another signal of consolidation and long-term bets on Latvian wood-processing capacity.
Bottom line: the 2025 record is real as a launched project portfolio, but the real test is delivery: how fast these projects convert into operating capacity, exports, and measurable productivity gains.
BSM@2026
Image: photos/photo_165@18-01-2026_15-50-30.jpg