Skype Center Should Stay in Estonia, Says MP
High-profile IT entrepreneur and Reform Party MP Andrei Korobeinik has expressed hope that Microsoft will leave Skype's development headquarters in its native Estonia, as the tech giant's acquisition of the company could lead to the creation of hundreds of new jobs in the country.
On May 10, Microsoft announced that it had bought the communications company for 8.5 billion dollars (5.9 billion euros).
In an interview on ETV's morning program, Korobeinik said that the presence of Skype has had a positive influence on the development of Estonia's IT sector as a whole.
"The example of Skype is quite important, since it has done a lot for the country. And although it's not an Estonian firm, a lot of talented engineers have come out of Skype, whose work we see for example in [the grass-roots, entrepreneurial development program] Garage 48," he said.
Korobeinik also said he believed the government should do more to bring in IT investment.
"If the state is able to attract more investors to the IT sector, it will be a great thing for our small country. I must admit that the government does not deal with these issues, but I believe that this is an area where more attention should be paid," he said.
Korobeinik is best known for founding the popular social networking site, Rate.ee, in 2002.
Steve Roman