Summed up

TALLINN TO HAVE ITS RADISSON HOTEL: SRV Development OY and Estonia's AS Merko Ehitus building company signed a 300 million kroon ($19.53 million) contract to build a SAS Radisson hotel on the so-called Astlanda plot in central Tallinn. "Construction will start immediately, and the hotel together with an office block will be completed in January 2001," SRV Development OY said. The Astlanda complex will include the 300-room Radisson SAS Hotel Tallinn and a 6,000 square meter office block. The construction of the hotel will be financed by an international syndicate loan.

LITHUANIA WANTS TO ATTRACT TRANSIT: Lithuania intends to liberalize customs procedures hoping to retrieve transit through the country. Lithuanian Finance Minister Jonas Lionginas said increase of transit should be considered the most important issue since Lithuania has been failing to collect all planned budgetary revenues. Therefore, the state transit committee will be convened next week to look into the causes preventing the customs from efficient work and "make radical decisions," the minister added. Lionginas said that the decision came in response to numerous complaints about "the complex situation at the Klaipeda sea harbor."

LATVIAN RAILWAY SUFFERS DISCRIMINATION: Russia has taken another discriminating decision against Latvia by not applying rebates for oil and oil products transportation by railroad to and from Latvia. In order to increase oil and oil-product flows on Russian railroads and to secure stable tariffs, the Russian Transport Ministry has set a reduced ratio for previously approved tariffs until Oct. 1, the news agency Interfax reported, referring to sources in the ministry. The above ratio will be applied to oil and oil product transit across Russian railroads from and to CIS countries and third countries, except transportation from, to or through Latvia. Biruta Sakse, adviser to the director of Latvijas Dzelzcels railway company, said she cannot comment on this news until they receive official confirmation from Russia.

COTTON OUT, APRONS AND TABLECLOTHS IN: Lithuania's Alytaus Tekstile, one of the largest cotton processing operations in the Baltic states, will reorient its production to household textiles and work clothing. Gintautas Andriuskevicius, head of Alytaus Tekstile's executive board, explained that production of sewn garments grew this year by 23 percent, while yarn and refined cloth production grew only by 2 percent. In the first half of this year the cotton processing plant's losses reached 6 million litas ($1.5 million), down from 6.2 million litas last year, while turnover was 92 million litas, down from 105 million litas. The plant's activity was affected by the crisis in Russia; less cloth was sold to this market than last year.

LATVIAN BANKS COUNT PROFITS: In the first half of the year Latvijas Unibanka earned the largest profit among Latvian commercial banks. Its semi-annual profit was 6.13 million lats ($10.2 million). Parex Bank and Latvijas Krajbanka were also able to report a profit of over 1 million lats - 3.17 million lats and a little bit over 1 million lats respectively. Bank of Latvia Vice President Ilmars Rimsevics estimated the aggregate semi-annual profit of the commercial banking system in Latvia as 10.2 million lats (Rigas Komercbanka and Lainbanka's losses included).

INTEREST RATES ON HOUSING LOANS STOP FALLING: Both Uhispank and Hansapank, which lowered interest rates on housing loans this week, assess the present level as optimal and do not forecast any further lowering of interest rates for the next few months. Uhispank lowered its interest rate on housing loans by 2 percentage points to six-month EURIBOR plus 6 percent July 12. Hansapank responded July 15 by dropping the base interest on its loans to six-month EURIBOR plus 5.5 percent. "I think we have reached the ceiling at the moment and the prices will come down no further in the near future," said Hansapank Product Manager Kersti Arro. Uhispank loans development division specialist Triin Messimas also forecast persistence of the housing loan interest at the present level in the next few months. Hansapank's housing loans portfolio stood at 1.76 billion kroons ($115 million), and Uhispank's at 1.05 billion kroons at the end of June.

PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT TAKES VACATION: The Rigas Farmaceitiska Fabrika pharmaceutical plant has sent its employees on summer holidays and stopped production, Commercial Director Ivars Svarcs announced July 19. He said the plant would resume production Aug. 2. Svarcs assured the company had not stopped sales of its products during the vacation time. The monthly turnover of Rigas Farmaceitiska Fabrika ranges between 60,000 lats ($100,000) to 70,000 lats. At the moment the company's warehouses contain stocks sufficient to ensure turnover for another three months. "We are in no rush," the pharmaceutical plant's commercial director said.