Summed up

Jun 15, 2000

RUSSIA CHARGES THE BALTICS: Russia's railway tariff policy on
shipments of cargo to and from the Baltic states is the same for
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, said Nikolay Antipov, spokesman for
the Russian Railway Ministry's foreign relations unit. Antipov told
reporters the Russian Railway Ministry had met with leaders of Baltic
railway companies and discussed the tariffs. Late April railway
Latvijas Dzelzcels agreed with Russia about terms for rail
transportation to Latvian ports to be made on equal terms with other
countries.

CONTRABAND CONFISCATED: Latvia's State Veterinary Service together
with the Contraband Combatting Center confiscated over 15 tons of
meat products brought illegally into Latvia, said Vinets Veldre, head
of the SVS. From the total amount of confiscated meat 9.6 tons was
frozen pork. Veldre said the meat was imported illegally by companies
having no importation licenses. The authorities also detained 5.6
tons of poultry from China.

SHIPS FOR SAIL: Bidders have applied for shipping company Latvijas
Kugnieciba privatization financial advisorship before the tender's
deadline expired June 8. Janis Naglis, the general director of the
Latvian Privatization Agency, said he will not disclose the number of
bidders but said fewer bidders have applied than for Latvenergo's
privatization consultation tender when a total of 20 bidders applied.
A meeting will be called early next week to approve a short list of
bidders.

STATOIL SELL-OFF: Statoil Estonia has signed an agreement on the sale
of seven filling stations it bought from the local retailer Alexela
Oil last spring. Statoil Estonia general director, Epp Kiviaed,
confirmed on June 9 the sale of some of the stations still operating
in Alexela's colors but gave no details. Statoil bought 19 filling
stations from Alexela Oil last April. Statoil dressed some of the new
acquisitions in its own colors shortly after the purchase agreement.
Official details will be released July 1 after the owner buys the
seven gas stations on offer.

NEW CHIEF FOR TALLINN: A commission for the selection of top
municipal officials chose State Treasury chief Ahti Kallaste as a
candidate for the post of finance director for the city of Tallinn.
If he is approved for the job by the municipal authority, Kallaste
will assume office late this summer, said the Tallinn municipal press
office. Juri Mois, the mayor of Tallinn, said under Kallaste's
leadership Estonia had built up its most up-to-date accounting system
at the State Treasury.

LESS JOBS IN LITHUANIA: Lithuania has the highest unemployment rate
in the three Baltic states. The May figures showed that Estonia had
the smallest amount of job seekers. Unemployment in Lithuania was
down 0.1 percent but 11.1 percent of the population was still
unemployed. The official unemployment rate in Latvia dropped to a
record low of 8.6 percent of the working age population. Figures by
the Statistics Office revealed the jobless rate in Estonia is 5.2
percent.

NORDIC MONEY IN LITHUANIA: Finland's Merita Bank Plc is aiming to
become the leading player in the banking market in the Baltic and
Nordic region, said Thomas Neckmar, the head of the Nordic Baltic
Holding operations in the Baltics. Merita Nordbanken Group and the
Danish bank Unidanmark are members of the financial group Nordic
Baltic Holding. Merita Nordbanken Group has had a presence in
Lithuania since 1999. The Finnish bank's branch in Vilnius will focus
on servicing Nordic and international companies.

EU FINDS LITHUANIA SWEET: Lithuanian Minister of Agriculture Edvardas
Makelis said EU officials supported Lithuania's efforts to protect
its sugar industry. "The EU backs a specific customs duty we have
proposed. Practically, it would allow to maintain the current level
of the country's sugar market protection," said the minister.

ESTONIANS TAKING THE BALTICS: Since 1998, Estonian companies have
pulled off a quiet takeover of the Baltic region, The Wall Street
Journal said in its June 9 edition. Hansapank, started by Estonians
but majority owned by Swedbank, has moved into Latvian and Lithuanian
markets, becoming the largest bank in the Baltics and the only
panBaltic bank. The Tallinn-based information technology services
company MicroLink bought its way into the other Baltic markets with a
string of acquisitions: Its Delfi portals now lead in all three
countries, and MicroLink controls large shares of the market for
everything from hardware to systems integration.

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