Company briefs - 2004-09-15

Finland's leading work-wear manufacturer, Image Wear, has acquired 100 percent stock in Estonia's A&G Textile. As a result of the deal, the sales and marketing department of A&G Kaubandus (A&G Trade) was as a whole transferred to A&G Textile, the company said. All 300 employees of A&G Textile will continue working for the new owner in their current positions, and A&G Textile will continue doing business in Estonia under its previous name.

Lietuvos Dujos (Lithuanian Gas), which is controlled by German and Russian investors, will have to pay a fine of 5,000 litas (1,500 euros) for improper advertising. The Competition Council imposed the fine on the company for using illegal comparative advertising. The council noted that the company deserved no more since it had already withdrawn the advertisement. Lietuvos Dujos indirectly compared service prices with those of its competitor, Vilniaus Energija, in its 2002 and 2003 publications.

The Estonian mobile-communication operator Radiolinja has asked the Eesti Telekom subsidiary EMT to open 10,000 numbers in its network since a new operator, Vertelson Mobiil, is reportedly preparing to enter the market through Radiolinja's network. New operators on the market are required to register a certain range of telephone numbers with the Communications Board.

SAF Tehnika, a Latvian telecommunication-equipment developer and producer, will supply equipment to ETB, the largest fixed-network operator in Colombia, said SAF Tehnika marketing section head Ieva Mucina. SAF Tehnika will supply equipment for ensuring voice and data transmission, and the expected value of the deal is $2 million, Mucina added. Board Chairman Normunds Bergs said the agreement was important since, "it affirmed our entry in the South American region. We are satisfied because this region so far has been one of our target markets, in which we are planning to expand operations in the future as well."

Estonia's Energy Market Inspectorate has issued an activity license to AS Nordic Energy Link, a company set up to build and run an undersea power transfer cable between Estonia and Finland. The planned cable will be the first link between the energy markets of the Baltic states and the European Union, one of the core projects for integrating the EU's power system and decreasing the Baltics' energy dependence on Russia. Eesti Energia holds 39.9 percent of the shares in the joint venture, while Latvenergo and Lietuvos Energija each control 25 percent of the shares. The remaining 10.1 percent are divided between Finland's Pohjolan Voima and Helsingin Energia.