Company briefs - 2013-01-10

  • 2013-01-09

Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius says that experts of broad competence, regardless of their ideological beliefs, will review the tax system this year, reports ELTA. “The group of experts is not yet complete. Currently, we are working with them but there will be no secrets. People who have always declared liberal views are invited; those, for example, who have worked at the Lithuanian Free Market Institute. We want to have a broad range of experts, not just people who are the most acceptable according to our ideology,” said the PM on Jan. 3. Butkevicius said that the tax system will be reviewed in order to reduce labor income tax, but only in such a way that the total distribution of GDP would not be impaired. The working group will present its findings by July 1.

SEB is participating in the construction of the international container distribution center in Klaipeda port, which will be the first such center in the Baltic States, reports ELTA. SEB granted the company Klaipedos Smelte 32.5 million euros in loans. These funds will be used for the purchase and installation of special handling equipment. After the construction of the distribution center, Klaipeda port expects to attract large container ships from South America and North America and other distant countries. Handling volume is expected to increase up to four times. Deputy President of SEB Aivaras Cicelis says that neither Latvia, nor Estonia has such a distribution center. “In addition, hundreds of new jobs will be created. Having this in mind we provided the necessary funding for the project,” said the banker.

Despite the cool summer last year, the turnover of beverages producer A. Le Coq grew by 5 percent to nearly 80 million euros in 2012, reports Delfi. A. Le Coq’s manager Tarmo Noop said that 2012 was much more successful than the beverages market average for A. Le Coq. “We fortified the leading position further, while the beer market fell by 4 percent and the sector of non-alcoholic beverages fell by 5 percent,” said Noop. Company beer sales did not fall and stayed at the 2011 level. In the juice sector, the market fell by 9 percent while the company’s growth was 2 percent, and in the water segment where the market didn’t grow, the company won 13 percent of the market with its Aura and Varska Mineral brands. Noop estimated that the beverages market won’t grow this year and will stay at last year’s level.