Summed up

MERITA BANK PROMISES BALTICS BIG GDP GROWTH: Economic growth in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will reach 4.5 percent to 6 percent next year as the countries overcome the impact of the Russian crisis and enter the stage of growth and internationalization, Merita-Nordbanken's new chief economist Juha Ahtola predicts. The three Baltic states are expected to have the fastest growth among countries bordering the Baltic Sea in the next few years. The bank forecasts gross domestic product growth of 4.6 percent in 2000 and 5.6 percent in 2001 for Estonia, very similar forecasts are made for Latvia and Lithuania.

ESTONIAN SKY MEDIA LAUNCHES NEW RADIO STATION: Sky Media plans to bring on the market a new radio station called Raadio Eesti and playing only Estonian music, mainly hits of 1980s and 1990's, interspersed with some older songs. The station, which will start broadcasting on September 1, will have a format of a 24-hour hit-broadcasting radio and target the 20-40 age group. The reception area will at first cover only Tallinn and the surrounding Harjumaa region, but in future the station plans to expand to Tartu as well. The similarity of the newcomer's name with the state-owned Eesti Raadio may trigger court action.

LASCO PRIVATIZATION TERMS ARE SENT TO INVESTORS: The Latvian Privatization Agency has sent information on privatization terms of the shipping company Latvijas Kugnieciba, a.k.a. LASCO, to 15 potential investors. The information has been sent to the potential investors who have expressed interest in the Latvian Shipping Company beforehand - the so-called industrial investors from Scandinavia, Great Britain and the United States as well as to financial investors. The number of potential investors could increase.

LITHUANIA'S PRIVATIZATION FUND SHRINKS: The Lithuanian Privatization Fund fell 79.8 million litas ($19.95 million) short of the planned income over the first half of this year. Of the projected six-month income of 450 million litas, 370.2 million flowed in, including 328.3 million litas received for privatized companies, blocks of shares and facilities. Practically all the funds have been reserved for the government's lost savings compensation scheme, with no money left for other needs. The State Assets Fund plans to receive another 436 million litas from privatization by the end of this year, of which 290.67 million litas will be used to pay compensation to depositors who lost their savings due to the ruble hyperinflation in early 1990s.

CHANGES TO SEVERAL TAXES PROPOSED IN LATVIA: A number of taxes may be changed in drafting the next year budget. Propositions include imposing income tax on deposit interest and dividends, cutting property tax from the current 4 percent to 2.5 percent and balancing the excise tax rates with other Baltic states and, in future, with the European Union. It is also proposed that Latvia develop a program for attracting big investors, envisaging tax rebates for big investment projects or labor force retraining programs. The proposals will be discussed by parliamentary factions next week and are expected to be submitted to the government Sept. 14.

FUEL FIRMS SUSPECTED OF CARTEL AGREEMENT: The Estonian Competition Board has launched a preliminary inquiry into the dealings of Estonia's major fuel retailers on suspicion of a cartel after Shell, Neste and Statoil all raised the price of gas by 0.10 kroons per liter. Statoil was again the first to announce the hike, citing a rise in the world market prices of fuel as the reason. Fuel retailers claim there is no cartel agreement. Preliminary investigation will be carried out by the middle of next week. If a cartel agreement is found, companies will face a fine of 5 percent of their annual turnover.

LITHUANIA'S SODRA BORROWS MONEY FOR PENSIONS: The Lithuanian state-run social insurance company, Sodra, is again borrowing money from banks to pay out pensions due by August 28. Of 283 million litas ($70.75 million) needed for August pensions, Sodra had not paid 17 million litas as of Wednesday. In total, Sodra has taken out 219 million litas in short-term loans up to date. The fund received 2.397 billion litas over the first seven months of this year, lagging behind its income plan by 181 million.

EBRD DISLIKES TALLINN WATER UTILITY'S TARIFF POLICY: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development condemned the municipality's plan to lower water tariffs. The EBRD is concerned that this would breach a 1994 loan agreement between the bank and Tallinn Water Ltd., which requires the water utility to maintain tariffs at 1.3 times the tariff level in March 1994, in real terms. The lowering would also result in fiscal losses for the company in the next fiscal year, the bank estimates. The bank lent the water utility 44.4 million German marks ($24.26 million) under the 1994 loan agreement.