According to the latest HR report released by Krakow-based ASPIRE, less than 5% of all staff inside BSCs are working in the office. The research is from late June 2020.
Full report here.

Shared services sector growth is likely to accelerate over the coming years, says Cushman & Wakefield in its latest report on alternative locations for business service sector occupiers.

The consultancy claims that the growth will speed up as most developed economies enter into an economic slowdown or recession caused by the global pandemic.
According to the report, Poland leads the way across the region for shared services and is expected to remain a favourite location for companies looking for savings from relocating some of their back-office functions to lower-cost locations.
The largest cities should continue to dominate the sector, but alternative locations are expected to grow providing they can meet investor requirements for office space and skilled labour, and that their respective authorities are supportive of business investment. The twelve growth locations Cushman & Wakefield singles out for special attention are Białystok, Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Częstochowa, Elbląg, Kielce, Olsztyn, Opole, Radom, Rzeszów, Toruń, and Zielona Góra.

ABSL Poland provides update for its 2020 plans in the new world of coronavirus.
Link to YouTube.

According to new research from ABSL Romania, in the current context, the number of employees in the industry may increase this year by up to 5%, the biggest challenges of this period being related to remote management and to the fast allocation of the daily tasks. Companies are orienting to high value-added services, especially in the context of industry automation.

The role of Central and Eastern Europe in the business services sector is growing in a post-pandemic world. The business services sector continues to grow through companies in the market and through new projects.

The most recent study of the industry in EMEA shows that this year the industry will register a slight growth of 1 – 5% and in the in the medium term it will register an increase of up to 10 or even 15%. This situation also valid for the Romanian business industry services.

Full Article and Report here at ABSL Romania.

In the next two years, a lack of appetite in investments and consumption will characterize the markets, according to Daniel Metz, CEO NTT Data Romania.

“Any crisis is, at the same time, an opportunity. Those players in the economy who will find smart solutions to escape into a future of technology will be the winners of the crisis,” he told The Diplomat-Bucharest. “The local market is under the influence of the decision-makers’ insecurity and by the entire population. Not only consumption but also investments decreased significantly. It will be a long process of regaining confidence in the future. The signs of an economic decline began last year. The pandemic has fatally aggravated the slipping into a lasting crisis.”

In his opinion, Romania must get out of the ‘trap of cheap manufacturing.’ “There are necessary measures to implement economic concepts leading to exports based on high value-added technology and manufacturing,” he explained. “We want to play an important role in digitizing the Romanian economy. The local market made last year over 30% of our turnover. In the last two years, we have reshaped the profile of our company. We have taken decisive steps in positioning ourselves as systems integrators able to carry out large, turnkey projects.”

What is your company’s business approach in the current economic context?

NTT DATA Romania is a company whose products and services are of high technological level, being at the same time internationally competitive. Over 50% of our turnover is in the automotive field. This industry is under high pressure, in the direction of a continuous efficiency.

The impact of the current crisis is low on the activity of our company. The multi-annual program for developing our portfolio of products and services, and expanding the markets in which we operate, definitely will compensate for the recoil felt. We start from the consideration that our turnover will increase this year by over 15%.

 FULL Interview at TheDiplomat Romania.

Croatian business process outsourcing (BPO) services provider Meritus Ulaganja (M+ Group) [ZSE:MRUL] said that its unit Meritus Upravljanje plans to establish a 51/49 joint venture company with UK-based Concentric Technologies in a transaction valued at 8 million euro ($9 million).

The new company will be established in Croatia, becoming an owner of the IT businesses of its founders, Meritus Ulaganja said in a statement earlier this week.

For the purpose, Meritus Upravljanje and Concentric Technologies have signed an investment agreement and an agreement on the regulation of relations of the shareholders.

Under the agreement, each party will allocate its IT business to the capital reserves of the new JV company.

The completion of the transaction is pending the required legal and shareholder approvals.

Concentric is a leading customer interaction software solutions provider, present in the UK, Hungary, Romania and the US. The company and its subsidiaries employ more than 110 people and reported 10 million euro in consolidated revenue for 2019, the statement reads.

Earlier in 2020, M+ Group completed the acquisition of its Turkish peer CMC owned by UK-based private equity firm Mid Europa Partners, thus becoming the largest BPO company in Southeast Europe. It now employs more than 7,000 people and is one of the largest private companies in Croatia.

M+ Group currently provides services to more than 220 clients from 58 countries. Its clients include Deutsche Telekom, NCR, Microsoft, RWE, Bosch, DHL, Siemens, Carlsberg, Raiffeisen, Addiko, Slovenian lender NKBM, and Croatia's Atlantic Grupa, among others.

Lithuania retains its position as a reliable GBS location with highly skilled and motivated talent and well-developed digital infrastructure.
94% of centers are multifunctional. IPA is developed in-house in 96% of centers. Services are offered in 35 languages. 86% of the GBS workforce has tertiary education.
GBS Lithuania: unceasingly evolving location with 81 leading global companies already entrusting their operations for Lithuania.

DOWNLOAD Full Report on the Invest Lithuania page here.

The Parliament (Seimas) of the Republic of Lithuania has adopted a package of investment and corporate tax laws, which offers a new instrument aimed at attracting large investments of local and foreign capital. The package of laws, also known as the ‘green corridor for investment’, provides for much faster and simpler establishment procedures for investors as well as incentives for municipalities hosting investors. It is a regional development-oriented initiative aimed at promoting investment across Lithuania.

‘We plan that these major changes in the regulation of investment will lead to the creation of 2000 new jobs throughout Lithuania within 5 years, including also the remote regions of the country. Our goal is to attract foreign direct investment projects that create many jobs and bring large investments, as well as offer additional incentives for Lithuanian businesses that wish to expand,’ says Minister of Energy acting Minister of the Economy and Innovation Žygimantas Vaičiūnas.
Amendments to these laws are important in increasing Lithuania’s ability to compete with other states for attracting large investments.
According to Minister Vaičiūnas, the abovesaid instrument will create opportunities for Lithuania to successfully compete with other countries for attracting and maintaining investments and gain an additional advantage: we will be able to both apply the corporate tax incentive and also create conditions for investors to benefit from faster procedures in the areas of territorial planning, construction, land use, migration and others.
FULL STORY HERE.