Company briefs - 2004-10-20

Enterprise Estonia stands to receive more than 500 million kroons (32 million euros) next year pursuant to the 2005 state budget, which passed its first reading in Parliament last week. Of Enterprise Estonia's 504,496 million kroon budget, only one-tenth will be spent to support business - namely, to promote entrepreneurship, create new jobs and boost a company's competitiveness. The enterprise will also promote export and offer improved finance opportunities.

Latvenergo has said it would invest 3.1 million lats (4.7 million euros) in reconstructing a distribution station in the southeastern part of Latvia to improve power transit with Lithuania, which will be vital when the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant is decommissioned later this decade. The distribution station near Daugavpils is an important link in the Latvian power grid.

The Nemuno Banga Group, a PET bottle producer, has acquired its major competitor, Nemuno Banga Klaipeda (previously known as Veritas Stili), which is completing the construction of a new plant in the Klaipeda free economic zone. Through the acquisition, the group said that it expected to open new export routes via the Klaipeda port, boost manufacturing efficiency and its customer count. "This purchase will further strengthen our capacities and move us closer to the goal of joining PET bottle manufacturing leaders in the European market," said Arvydas Juozeliunas, Nemuno Banga Group's CEO.

Just two months after Ryanair announced plans to launch daily flights to and from Riga, tens of thousands of reservations have already been booked. Company director Lotta Lindquist Brosjo said that, "We are happy with the development of reservations, as more than 60,000 tickets have been reserved even before flights have started."