Latvia's Competition Council has imposed a record-breaking fine of 6,222,635 lats (8.8 million euros) on five companies distributing Samsung Electronics electronic equipment in Latvia for running a cartel, says the organization's public relations officer Inita Kabanova, reports LETA. The largest fine was imposed on Samsung representative Samsung Electronics Baltics, in the amount of 4,099,942 lats. RD Elektroniks was fined 1,442,524 lats; Elkor Trade with a 541,920 lats fine; Rota un K, which runs Tehnoland will pay 270,718 lats and Proks with 267,529 lats. The Competition Council says that because of the cartel, consumers sustained significant losses as they had to overpay for Samsung electronic equipment for a lengthy period of time
Sales at Rimi Baltic supermarkets dropped 10 percent (excluding VAT) in the first ten months of 2009 year-on-year, reports LETA. Total sales for the January-October period reached 962.9 million euros. Rimi Eesti Food in Estonia posted 298 million euros' sales, Rimi Latvia 466.7 million euros, and Rimi Lietuva 198.2 million euros. Rimi Baltic has 243 stores in the Baltic states, including 77 in Estonia, 101 in Latvia and 65 in Lithuania. According to the TOP 101 list of Latvia's most valuable enterprises carried out by business magazine Kapitals together with investment bankers IBS Prudentia and the Riga Stock Exchange, Rimi Latvia (worth 270 million euros) is the 12th most valuable enterprise in Latvia this year.
