RIGA - Economy Minister Juris Lujans said he expected 2005 to be the most successful year for Latvia's economy in the current decade, predicting growth of macro economic indicators, investments and the number of small and medium enterprises.
Speaking at a conference on economic development, Lujans said that the small and medium enterprise development program planned a 5 percent - 7 percent growth annually so that the number of SMEs per 1,000 population in Latvia would grow from the current 18 to 50, the EU average, by 2030.
The minister said a large number of new companies had opened in the first quarter of this year, and "they are new owners, not experienced businessmen creating subsidiaries."
