Feb 22 2010, no 290
22.02.2010, 00:00
Highlights from this issue:
TOP STORIES
- Latvian national carrier airBaltic confirms plans for a 15m passenger terminal for Riga, four times larger than the present one. "It is absolutely essential for our expansion plans," says airBaltic's vice president to news2biz. The Latvians also want to open connections from Tallinn and are pondering a takeover of Estonian Air (page 10).
- Latvia's GDP was down 17.7% y/y in Q4 2009 and is bottoming out. Experts comment on the data and agree that recovery will follow by the middle of 2010 (page 13).
- 7.4 million tax payer records have been leaked from State Revenue Service. Salary lists of some companies are already available to anybody with an Internet connection (page 14).
MANUFACTURING
- Grindeks finishes trials of its flagship product
- NEPCON forestry certification agency grows in Latvia
FINANCE
- Finnish Pohjola Bank plans to start operations in Latvia within the next
12 months
- Latvijas Krajbanka opens representative office in London
- Parex banka repays part of its syndicated loan
- A failed pyramid bank, declared insolvent 15 years ago, sues Latvia for damages
FOOD & AGRICULTURE
- Kronis cannery has plans for new production facilities and sets out to expand in Russia
- Largest egg producer Balticovo in Northern Europe launches new products
- Waste disposal site plans to branch out in food production
PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION
- Banks begin to take over real estate of their debtors
- Riga's ambitious Dienvidu tilts bridge may be abandoned just before it is completed as its builders have run out of money
RETAIL & SERVICE
- Latvia's ELVI retail chain denied its legal protection request
- Petrol chain introduces EUR and USD payments
- Swedish Halens takes over Quelle's postal order business in the Baltics
IT & MEDIA
- Mobile phone operators report an annual turnover drop but still remain profitable.
- LMT pushing mobile Internet
TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS
- Ryanair chooses Kaunas, not Riga, for its first CEE base. Latvian politicians frustrated, but Riga may get a second chance
- New car sales down a massive 80% in 2009
- DFDS closes down Riga-Lübeck ferry route due to losses
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
- Work resumes on Nordic-Baltic power exchange
- Russian power importer covers Baltics from Vilnius
ECONOMY & POLITICS
- Latvia's ratings still low, outlook improved
EVENTS (Riga)
- BCCL Breakfast, 25 Feb.
- Amcham monthly luncheon, 25 Feb.
- SSE Executive Workshop, 2 Mar.
- SSC Tax planning seminar, 4 Mar.
- DBHK member event, 11 Mar.
- BCCL Charity Event, 14 Mar.
- DCC Seminar, 16 Mar.
- Amcham annual general meeting, 18 Mar.
- SCC conference, 18 Mar.
KEY FIGURES pages
- Wages, real earnings, foreign trade, money supply, lending, inflation, interest rates, consumer price index, currency, stock exchange, prices of key commodities, retail trade, industrial output, producer prices, GDP, current account, foreign direct investment and key economic data forecast 2010-11.