Summed up

  • 2000-03-16
THIS LAND IS OUR LAND: The Estonian parliament has dropped a Center Party-initiated bill which if adopted would have restricted foreigners' possibility to buy land in Estonia. The proposal to turn down the bill came from the standing Legal Committee. It was supported by 44 MPs from the ruling coalition parties and garnered 34 votes against from the opposition. Pro Patria Union's Juri Adams who heads the Legal Committee said the amendment put forward by MPs Jaanus Marrandi and Harri Ounapuu was inconsistent with Estonia's current ideology. He added that the government is going to send in a related bill of its own.

OUTLOOK FOR CENTRAL, EASTERN EUROPE: A conference, "Preparing for Accession" will occur May 22 at the Hilton Hotel in Prague. The impending accesion of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the EU's Common Agricultural Policy will form the center of Agra Europe's Conference on Outlook for Central and Eastern Europe in Prague. The conference, which is being fully supported by the Czech Ministry of Agriculture, will review the outlook for agriculture in the region, and assess the impact of EU enlargement on the food and agriculture industries of Central and Eastern Europe. Speakers include Jan Fencl, the Czech minister of agriculture, and Nikiforos Sivenas, the European Commission's chief agriculture negotiator in the accession talks, and Ciril Smirkolj, the Eastonian Minister of Agriculture. More information: [email protected].

RAILROAD TIES: Board chairman of Estonian Railway Parbo Juchnewitch said the next meeting of railway directors of the Baltic countries and CIS would take place at the end of September in Tallinn. Juchnewitsch said on Tuesday that the meeting in Tallinn is vary favorable, particularly from the point of view of the transit lobby. No precise schedule has been worked out yet for the meeting, Juchnewitsch said.

VENTSPILS WANTS KRASTINS TO PAY: Ventspils free port administration will demand Finance Minister Edmunds Krastins personally refund damage the port has incurred due to refusal of Krastins to guarantee a loan for the free port's development, Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs said March 9. "I have been underscoring it from the very beginning that actions of Edmunds Krastins are anti-state and illegal concerning this issue of the state's guarantee," Lembergs said. Krastins refused to guarantee a loan from the European Investment Bank. According to the latest estimates the loss will amount to about 2.3 million lats ($3.85 million) over several years. "That was a personal decision of Krastins and not the ministry's decision," said Lembergs.

ESTONIA AHEAD IN CAPITAL: Estonia is eighth in the world concerning its companies' opportunities to get capital, ahead of countries such as Canada, Germany, Japan and Israel, according to a Canadian survey. The Canadian paper National Post wrote on March 10 that according to a business enviroment survey by the Milken Institute, Estonia has the eighth highest Milken Capital Index. Only the United States, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Great Britain, Singapore and the Netherlands had a higher index than Estonia.

ENERGY BONDS: Lietuvos Energija [Lithuanian Energy], majority owned by the state, is planning to issue up to 85 million euros worth of bonds on international capital markets. The bond placement will be handled by Warburg Dillon Read, the investment banking division of UBS. The Cabinet of Ministers was expected on March 15 to consider authorizing its representatives in Lithuanian Energy to vote in favor of the bond issue. The money will be borrowed without a guarantee or collateral. Six banks and financial institutions have offered to lead-manage the bond placement by the Lithuanian power utility. Warburg Dillon Read offered to sell bonds worth up to 100 million euros with a maturity of three to five years and paying up to 9 percent interest.

ROOM GROUPS: The 6th international Furniture 2000 exhibition was March 16 to 18, while the 8th BMT international trade fair is on from March 14 to 17. Lithuanian manufacturers, including Siguldos Baldai, Klaipedos Baldai, Narbutas ir Ko, Voke III, Silutes Baldai, Vilnius Furniture Plant and others, presented new sets of furniture.The number of exhibitors reached nearly 100 this year, including 65 local manufacturers. The exhibition space will comprise an area of 6,000 square meters.

RUBBER ON THE ROAD: New car sales grew by 35 percent in Lithuania in February compared with the last year's figure, the Auto Tyrimai marketing information and surveys firm reported. In total, 465 new cars were sold last month. The sales rose by ten percent in February over January. Volkswagen led other car makers in terms of Lithuanian sales with 70 cars sold. Volkswagen had 21 percent of the Lithuanian market.